I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

Andy writes:
The normal procedure for checking this technique out is to get a
small
piece of scrap and try it out. If it works well, please post it
back here....

I haven't found a way to cut metal that is cleaner than tin snips,
tho.
If you are referring to the serrations that happen when you move the
snips forward, you are doing it incorrectly, or have the wrong kind
of snips.

By the way, the finer the teeth on the blade, the cleaner the cut.
Also, a metal cutting blade put into a skill saw may work also, tho
it actually 'grinds' rather than cuts.

I've also used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade. But nothing has
done it as clean for me as a shear, which is what tinsnips are....

Andy in Eureka, Texas

you might find a local ductwork or metal shp who can shear it for you.
best cut that way.

so what are you building?

i have used the 'reverse' saw blade before and it worked ok.

"Bob" wrote in message
...
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

"Bob" wrote in message
...
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning
it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance



They make carbide saw blades for cutting metal. I have a 12" Makita
blade in my chop saw I've cut unistrut, cast iron pipe and other metals. I
do no the blades come in deferent sizes, you should find them with web
search. Also a good building supply should have them.

I've used the reverse blade a few tims and it works really well. Once the
blade is installed backwards you need to make a new cover for the blade so
that there is very little room left around the blade sticking through the
table saw. I use a piece of wood just to the left of the blade to hold the
metal against the table, otherwise it tends to want tot run over the top of
the blade. Take your time and wear ear and face protection...




"Bob" wrote in message
...
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning
it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

This suggestion comes up pretty regularly w/ answers on both sides,
generally. I've never tried abusing a blade in such a way, but can't
imagine you could possibly get as clean a cut as w/ a good set of
snips.

Alternatives --

Best possible cut, accuracy dependent on the operator you find is to
take it to a tin shop and have them shear it.

Depending on the gage of material, you should be able to get as
accurately dimensioned cut as needed w/ snips if the snips are of good
quality capable of cutting the material. You can always clean up the
edge w/ a good file if you leave it a tiny bit proud.

For thicker material, an abrasive blade is certainly an alternative,
but it may color and/or distort the material from the temperature.

"Bob" wrote in
:

I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to
be a cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin
snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in
that size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and
turning it over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for
metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance



rent a compressor and a air nibbler.(used on autos to install sunroofs)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"HotRod" wrote in
:

I've used the reverse blade a few tims and it works really well. Once
the blade is installed backwards you need to make a new cover for the
blade so that there is very little room left around the blade sticking
through the table saw.

A "zero-clearance insert";you fasten a piece of hardboard to the saw with
the blade raised then drop the blade (under power) down thru the hardboard
to cut a slot only as wide as the blade.
(if a table saw,lower then raise the blade)
This gives more support to the workpiece.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

It might help if you could be more specific than "metal", since that
includes
annealed aluminum to stainless steel. IOW, a huge range of physical
properties.

Huge variation of machinability.

Shear and deburr.

J

I own a compressor, air nibbler, shears and cut off wheels. Everything
except a brake, though a friend does own one. All of the other mentioned
forms of cutting "shrink" or "expand" the metal leaving a very lightly
rolling edge or small marks. The table saw is the nicest cut I've made
though you need to make sure you don't scratch the aluminium.




"dpb" wrote in message
ups.com...

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be
a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning
it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

This suggestion comes up pretty regularly w/ answers on both sides,
generally. I've never tried abusing a blade in such a way, but can't
imagine you could possibly get as clean a cut as w/ a good set of
snips.

Alternatives --

Best possible cut, accuracy dependent on the operator you find is to
take it to a tin shop and have them shear it.

Depending on the gage of material, you should be able to get as
accurately dimensioned cut as needed w/ snips if the snips are of good
quality capable of cutting the material. You can always clean up the
edge w/ a good file if you leave it a tiny bit proud.

For thicker material, an abrasive blade is certainly an alternative,
but it may color and/or distort the material from the temperature.

"Bob" wrote in message
...
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning
it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance



Cutting sheet metal is tricky, even when you do it right. I have used a
pneumatic tool that looks like three fingers stuck out. I have used snips.
I have used a blade on a saw, but it makes so much noise and jumps so much I
think I only used it once.

Accurate cutting is difficult. For me, there was a lot of time finishing.
Taking an electric wire brush, and knocking down the razor sharp edges.
BUT, this is tricky, and it is easy for the material to kick. Always have
the material clamped down, and always feed the material in such a way to
avoid kicks. Hand files and a good old sanding block are standard tools,
too.

I have heard people using electric snips and hand scissors, but I have no
experience with them. I believe if I had a lot of it to do, I'd invest in
one of them, but only after much investigation and trial use. Manual hand
cutting is very hard on the hands, both muscularly and lots of cuts. I'm
sure there's something that would work for you that would give you the cut
you need. It may cost a few bucks, but when you get a finished product
without much additional finishing, it's worth the cost.

Steve

" wrote:

you might find a local ductwork or metal shp who can shear it for you.
best cut that way.

so what are you building?

A sheet metal shop may have plasma and/or CNC plasma as well which will
give you nice clean cuts for non-linear stuff that a shear can't do.

Pete C.

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs
to be a cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin
snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in
that size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and
turning it over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for
metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs
to be a cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin
snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in
that size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and
turning it over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for
metal cutting.

It might work, but ... do NOT use a carbide tipped blade!! The chips may
fly off it.


Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

I've had some luck with sandwiching it between two pieces of 1/4" plywood
and cutting. But, it depends on lots of things.

WHAT are you trying to cut and what specific problems are you
getting/seeing?

Pop`


Thanks in advance

Bob wrote:
I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance

I use a circ. saw with an abrasive blade to cut sheet metal all the
time. This is probably the quickest, easiest way to get a nice straight
cut.

Putting a saw blade on backwards so it spins the wrong way? Sounds like
the wrong way! If you really wanna try this, just be sure that you are
NOT using a carbide tipped blade.

Mike

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:32:09 -0600, "Bob"
wrote:

I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a
cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?


It will depend a lot on how thick the sheetmetal is.
If you're really concerned about the clean-ness of the
cut, clamp the metal between two hunks of scrap wood,
and cut through the whole stack. You might also
consider cutting 1/16th" beyond the line, and then
grinding your way back with a sandng wheel,
if the workpeice is small.

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:32:09 -0600, "Bob"
wrote:

I have some sheet metal that I need to cut for a project. It needs to be a

As is usually the case here, you don't say how thick the sheet metal
is. I've had tremendous success cutting aluminum siding with a small
bandsaw, which is all I could afford, and a metal cutting blate.

There is a little edge left of shredded aluminum, but I think it would
brush off with my fingers. Instead I use the slightest touch of a
wire wheel on a bench grinder axle. And I mean the lightest touch,
because I didn't want to hurt the brown finish, which matched where I
was putting the item.

I'm sure the bandsaw would work very well with much thicker pieces and
with steel etc., to the limits that are given in the specs.

cleaner cut and more accurate than can be achieved with tin snips.

I considered buying a 7 1/4 inch cutting wheel (if they make them in that
size) and using it in my Skill saw.

My brother said he had heard that taking a regular saw blade and turning it
over so it rotates in the wrong direction, works well for metal cutting.

Anyone ever used this method or have any suggestions - pro or con?

Thanks in advance