How To Shape Sheet Metal With Hand Tools

There are some cuts that you can do with decent tin snips.

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. Follow along as i demonstrate how to hammer forming metal. Instead we recommend using a diamond blade that s rated to cut ferrous metal. Some of the more interesting combinations use a soft top die and a hard bottom one.

But the discs wear down quickly cut slowly and shrink in diameter as you use them. 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. Such as straight cut snips left cut the right cut etc. 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.

Hammer forming is one of the oldest simplest and least expensive ways to shape sheet metal. Mark your bend lines. For this example we will hammer form some tank end caps. This is a handy metal fabrication technique you need to learn.

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. They look like scissors and work fine with sheet metals like brass aluminum tin steel etc.