Cutting Large Holes In Sheet Metal

At first locate the center of the.

Cutting large holes in sheet metal.

How to cut a round hole in sheet metal. Don t say that you were thinking of holding that metal sheet with bare hands. Place your sheet metal on your steel block and position your centre punch at a central point in your cut out design. It s meant for creating lightening holes of the type seen when building aircraft or maybe just toolboxes and furniture that are built like wwii fighter planes.

It is common practice to use a self starting step bit to form the. Tap your hammer to leave an indentation on the sheet metal. For large holes a hole saw gets the job done cleanly and quickly. In a well designed sheet metal cutting process the cracks should meet each other and form a continuous break.

Be that as it may here is a neat idea from flyboy accessories for cutting larger holes in sheet metal. This break will create the fracture region. Use clamps to hold the sheet. I ve messed with trepanning tools abrasive wheels hole saws and all manner of other stuff for cutting large holes in sheet metal.

Use a scrap of plywood as a backer for the hole saw s pilot bit and to protect your work surface. Like twist bits hole saws chuck right into your drill and will cut through thin gauge sheet metals like aluminum and steel. Depending on the tools you have you ll now need to punch or drill a hole where the indentation has been made to produce an accurate hole in your sheet metal. In response to a question about h.

For this step you ll need a compass ink and a center punch.