How To Shape Sheet Metal With Hand Tools

Tin snips or aviation snips are one of the most widely used tools to cut sheet metals.

How to shape sheet metal with hand tools. For this example we will hammer form some tank end caps. This is a handy metal fabrication technique you need to learn. In the past we ve presented metal shaping articles that showed the average inexperienced joe how to create just about anything from a flat sheet of steel provided he has access to the right tools. But the discs wear down quickly cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them.

An angle grinder fitted with an abrasive metal cutting disc works well to cut all kinds of metal including bolts angle iron rebar and even sheet metal. Hand operated bead rollers like this one form beads and ribs into sheet metal. Hammer forming is one of the oldest simplest and least expensive ways to shape sheet metal. Some of the more interesting combinations use a soft top die and a hard bottom one.

They look like scissors and work fine with sheet metals like brass aluminum tin steel etc. Such as straight cut snips left cut the right cut etc. Numerous forming and folding dies are available for bead rollers. How can you go about shaping metal with simple hand tools alone.

Now that you know your bend allowance take your protractor and draw a clear line with your marker across the point at which you will bend your sheet metal. Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius. Instead we recommend using a diamond blade that s rated to cut ferrous metal.