Cutting Thick Sheet Metal

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rwm

Robert
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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Mar 25, 2013
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So how do you cut thickish sheet metal? Anything 1/8 or thicker I cut easily with the bandsaw. Anything thin I cut with shears. What do you do about .050 stainless??? That easily destroys my bandsaw blade. I cannot cut it with shears. An angle grinder is painful. What is the best solution? (Do not say laser)
I was looking at a Pexto shear that is rated for 16g mild steel? Enlighten me!
Robert
 
I have Plaz. Not sharp enough, smooth enough, edge for precise fabrication. I am talking about precision cuts.
Robert
 
I use my 4" angle grinder with 1mm blade for stainless to cut everything, poor little beast really gets a bashing.
Good ear protectors and its easy to get straight even cuts, but I wouldnt call them exactly precision cuts.
 
I use my bandsaw for everything to get me to a scribe line than mill for a precise edge. I do have and use a plasma cutter but usual only use for circles,arcs or when I have long lengths that are usually welded. Or the well saw for bar stock. My go to tool though is a angle grinder with a 6" cutoff wheel.
 
How big is your shop?

Big shears, iron workers, etc. all do what you're after. If your space and/or budget is limited and you can't upgrade then maybe look into friction blades for your bandsaw if it runs fast enough. Otherwise it's a 4" cutoff wheel and a whole lot of flap wheel work to get up to your layout lines.

John
 
It seems most of the bases have been covered. Angle grinder, Band saw, shear, plasma (high def CNC is better), laser. Cold chisel and hammer not mentioned yet, or skill saw with blade reversed or gas torch. None I would consider to be “precision” , more fabrication, level cutting with post processing required. This seems to beg the question, how precise are you wanting to get, and why do you need it for sheet metal? Most CNC tools, laser, plasma, turret punch are at best +/-0.005 with plasma +/-0.010 on thin stuff - kerf will be more than that on thicker material. That covers most of the processes I’m familiar with, most are well beyond “hobby” level for most. Maybe someone else knows some more and can get you where you are trying to get to.
 
If you have the budget.

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or maybe there's a shop in town that has one and will do your job on the side.

John
 
What about the Evolution circular saw for metal. The one I have works well, I haven’t tried it on anything that thin though. Might be worth a look.
Ryan
 
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