what do you guy's use to cut sheet metal. i need to replace some floor pans, i was thinking about the air cutter with 3" round cutting wheels?

any suggestions? thanks chris

grinder with cutting wheels, air sheers, tin snippers, theres all kinda of cutting wheels

thanks tomb7us, will the tin snippers make the edge of sheet metal wavy? i was thinking of using a air grinder with 3" cutting wheels?


chris

I like an airsaw for precision cutting, blades are inexpensive when compared to premium cutoff wheels. My Blue Point saw has held up for 6 years now, the two Ingersol Rand saws before that gave up after 1 1/2 years. Blades can be made from regular hacksaw blades and cut and trimmed to size. With a small blade radiuses up to 1/2" can be cut easily. I do use a cuttoff wheel for some of the longer straight cuts but the saw does most of my work. Jilson hand nibblers are also a very handy tool.

Air Body Saw... 1st choice

Air muffler hammer with cut chissel tip .. for big cut out's.. ROUGH CUT ONLY..

Wizzer wheel for cutting over floor braces or sandwiched panels.

saw saws work too but they can sometims leave bad cuts. tin snips will cause a little bit of wavyness it all depends on how thick the metal is and how long of a line yoru cutting

Just be careful when cutting over braces. I like to bust the spotwelds loose and slide a piece of stainless between the brace and pan so that I don't cut into the brace.

It really depends are what you are doing at any particular time. All the aforementioned items work well but you will find:
“There is a tool for every job and a job for every tool”.
I like air shears for big cuts and a cut off wheel for more precision cutting. Depending on what area of the car you are working on and the constraints of a particular area the best tool for the job might not fit. With the advice above and a little experimentation you’ll be fine…..

I really like the air shears myself as long as you don't get too close to the edge or a sharp bend. They are fast and do not distort the metal, but cannot cut around corners. One suggestion when using them, drill a hole at the end before starting.

If they don't fit the space then the wheels work but very slow.

Ed

I'll use a cutoff wheel if there's anything on the backside I don't want to cut into, like a brace. As far as cutting the new patch, using the old one as a template for the plasma cutter is the winner, hands down. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Darren

Amen on the Plasma Torch & their getting more affordable!

get you an air chisel with the 3 finger cutter. draw a line. it will cut it straighter than you think. also a cutoff wheel.025 or .035 installed on a 4 1/2 side grinder. tatal cost of these items at wal mart $15. THERE ABOUT

I have used a $25 jigsaw and sheetmetal cutting blades. It works, kinda acurate, really cheap, doesn't do everything though. If yah got air, a nibbler is good, too.

I can't seem to use a air saw. I end up destroying the blade and I can't cut a straight line with it. My favorite thing is an air nibbler that I bought cheap from harbor freight. I use a cut off wheel where the nibbler doesn't work. I have also used a sawz-all and a metal blade in a sabre saw with good effect.

Those air nibblers, air saws use a ton of air don't they? Might not be a good choice if you don't have a big compressor.