Metal working tools

[Dave Mc]

One of these will make short work of cutting sheet metal.

[GnomishDelight]

I know this is a wood site but fairly often I need to work some metal as part of the woodworking project.  Currently I am installing dust collector and have a few tools.  I was trying to cut an already put together 6" duct.  I was using aviation snips to cut the pipe before it was put together.  To cut the built up duct I went to my pancake compressor and a cheap HF rotating cut-off tool and cheap HF wheel.  It was taking forever to get done with the compressor unable to keep up with the tool.  Eventually I broke out the jig saw and it cut right through the remainder very quickly although not very cleanly.

I know the major issue is the compressors lack of ability to keep up with the tool.  I do have a bigger compressor but it is cumbersome and not installed as needed to work, it will be some day.  Is the quality of the HF tool and or abrasive a contributing factor?

Also what tools come in handy for working with metal duct?  I have aviation snips and a crimper.  I have managed to get this far without bleeding but I think only because I have been lucky so far.

I've worked with sheet metal for 9 years and counting. Steel, Galvalume, Galvanized, Steel, Copper, Zinc, Stainless, you name it.

Get a good pair of Midwest Right and Left Cut aviation snips, and if you really end up doing a lot with duct-work, a pair of bulldogs. Nothing beats the utility of a set of good hand snips and believe me, there are more crappy snips than there are good. Trying to walk you through getting your snips to cut right is likely going to be a waste of your time because if they're less than the best and they've been used without being adjusted correctly, they will either be ruined or require extensive TLC.

Midwest Left and Right.

Midwest Bulldog snips.

These have been daily use tools for me for a long time. If there are better snips out there for general use someone is great at keeping secrets.

If you want to make a cut that curves or takes an angle to the left, you cut with the left snips. Same for the right. If you want to cut straight you use whichever is more comfortable for the angle you're cutting from. The bulldogs are used for cutting through hems, folds, seams, and anywhere the metal is overlapped several times.

When you get them adjust them before using. Screws always come loose during shipping. You should be able to cut the thinnest pieces of paper, plastic or tinfoil you can get your hands on smoothly from the front of the blades to the back before you ever touch them to sheet metal and the blades should make a nice metallic snicking sound like a pair of brand new pruning shears.

If you've got good snips and you keep them cleaned up and adjusted, cutting sheet metal is as easy as cutting fabric. Any shape, angle or tolerance. The metal of the blades rusts like nobody's business though, so put some heavy oil on them and bag them up when you store them.