Cutting Thin Sheet Metal

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Tools
1

Hey guys,

I wanted to see what everyone else uses for cutting thin sheet metal when scratchbuilding. For the this stuff, I just use an exacto or a razor and the results are ok. For the stuff that is just a little thicker, I use tiny scissors. There are two problems I have with this though. The first is that sometimes it leaves the tiniest lip, that seems impossible to flatten out. The big problem is complex shapes though… Sometimes it is impossible to get the small details or cut-in parts without the scissors messing things up.

Is there a better way to do this?

~ Thanks
~ Garth

2

I pretty much do it the same as you but I use snips with a very finely serrated edges. The metal cuts very cleanly because it doesn’t slip as the snips cut. I believe they are called wire snips and are designed to grip wire so it can be cut cleanly without sliding out of the jaws.

3

Depending on the guage, I’ll use either scissors or Weiss tin snips ( will cut up to 20 guage fairly easily). To get rid of the lip, lay the piece on a piece of glass and take a brass tube and roll out the edges.