How To Cut Sheet Metal For Art

Terry leafty is a welder at bc welding in camp verde.

How to cut sheet metal for art. Cut out the design using a sharp knife. In our test it cut through rebar like a hot knife through butter. A handheld cutting tool fitted with a metal cut off wheel will easily cut through sheet. Thick using a ferrous metal cutting blade.

Such as straight cut snips left cut the right cut etc. Tin snips or aviation snips are one of the most widely used tools to cut sheet metals. This is something that can produce breathtaking artwork from sheets of metal however it takes years of practice to be able to create consistent clean symmetrical grind patterns that truly look professional. Trace your design onto the sheet metal using a marker.

It may not be an obvious choice but fitted with the right blade a circular saw is a great metal cutting tool. Cut metal with your circular saw. For a large design use three or more clamps to hold the cardboard firmly in place. Use a plasma cutter to begin cutting out the letters.

Remove the stencil once it has been traced. Clamp the cardboard template to the sheet metal. A soapstone pencil or metal scribe can help you in this regard. You will be left with an outline to follow with a plasma cutter.

Trace around the cardboard with soapstone. These will guide the plasma cutter to cut the art piece. Jigsaws and metal cutting band saws are more work but can make most cuts in light to medium sheet metal. You can cut mild steel up to about 3 8 in.

The method you choose to cut sheet metal depends on the thickness of the metal and the type of cut you plan to make. The stencil decal removes easily from the metal. Use at least two clamps. You will notice in our helena martin collection that we feature precise decorative grind patterns to the surface of the sheet metal.

You can also use a soap stone pencil or metal scribe. Hot metal chips will fly everywhere. Start by taping both sides of the sheet metal directly over the line you want to cut and clamp the metal to a work station so it doesn t move. Clamp the template directly to the sheet.

If the metal is really greasy first clean the metal with a solvent. Learn how to create sheet metal art with shears and a sheet metal nibbler in this free educational video series. There are some cuts that you can do with decent tin snips. To cut straight lines use an electric saw.