Cutting 26 Gauge Sheet Metal

Cutting sheet metal with snips can be tricky and frustrating.

Cutting 26 gauge sheet metal.

These problems are common for those of us who don t work with sheet metal every day. The equivalent thicknesses differ for each gauge size standard which were developed based on the weight of the sheet for a given material. Thicker steel like pipes tubes and plates may require the use of power saws and torches. Saws and torches can also be used on thin steel but are impractical choices unless you re cutting high volume or need to cut steel often.

While you can cut down the middle of a large sheet of metal aviation snips are best for narrow strip removal. The edges are sharp the cutoffs are stiff and get in the way the snips bind or you just can t seem to negotiate the curve. Sheet metal gauge size chart gauge or gage sizes are numbers that indicate the thickness of a piece of sheet metal with a higher number referring to a thinner sheet. These bench mounted shears convert leverage into a compact scissor which is capable of cutting medium gauge sheet metal.

To compensate for how metal may curve or bend cut a strip out where you use red snips for one side and green snips on the other cutting 2 inches at a time on alternating sides so two inches up the right side two inches up the left. Thin gauge steel like sheet metal can be cut with a large variety of tools. And for this reason there are other tools for cutting metal roofing such as metal shears or an electric nibbler. Most sheet metal cutting tools are limited to 16 gauge and thinner 14 gauge is still sheet metal but in common forms 11 gauge while technically sheet metal is 1 8 thick and not really sheet metal for the purposes of this article so we will focus on 16 gauge and thinner.

The lower the number the thicker the metal is. Gauge to thickness chart gauge stainless galvanized sheet steel aluminum fraction inches mm inches mm inches mm inches mm 30 0 0125 0 33 0 0157 0 40 0 0120 0 30 0 0100 0 25. These types of shears lend themselves towards hobbyists and sheet metal shops doing custom or repair work. Also referred to as aviator snips these scissor like hand tools cut sheet metal materials up to 18 gauge in thickness accurately without leaving a ragged bent edge as the finished product.

Metal corrugated roofing can come in different gauge s most gauges can be cut with tin snips easily but slowly. It will primarily limit your cuts to straight lines.