Use straight-cutting metal snips for making long, straight cuts.
Sheet metal wall art is a unique way to decorate your home, and it can be created for very little money. Making wall art by cutting metal combines the aesthetic of line drawing with the tactile qualities of sculpture, and it makes an excellent hobby or rainy day project. Fortunately, you don’t need many expensive tools or a sophisticated workshop to cut your own sheet metal for wall hanging. With the right preparation, you can cut your own sheet metal wall art at home in an afternoon.
Instructions
1. Choose the right type of offset compound metal cutting snips. These snips are designed to make particular types of cuts in sheet metal, but the right pair of snips can accommodate many different types of cuts. Choose a green-handled pair of offset compound snips (designed for clockwise curving cuts) if you are right-handed, and a red-handled pair (designed for counterclockwise curving cuts) if you are left-handed.
2. Draw the design you want to cut onto the sheet metal with a grease pencil. If you are new to cutting metal, begin with a simple design-avoid overly intricate or sharply angled detail work.
3. Put on a pair of thick leather gloves. Hold the waste sheet metal in your non-dominant hand and pull it away from the blade of the snips as you cut. This will help to keep the snips from binding on the metal.
4. Cut out holes in the sheet metal by holding the tip of a flat-head screwdriver against the metal. Tap the handle of the screwdriver with a hammer until it punctures the metal. Use this puncture as a point of insertion for your metal cutting snips.
5. Make long, straight cuts with a large pair of straight-cutting snips. Your offset compound snips offer more versatility than straight-cutting snips for curving cuts, but it is difficult to make a long, straight cut with offset compound snips without producing a ragged edge.
6. File all cut edges of the sheet metal art with a metal file before handling without gloves or hanging the artwork on the wall. Newly cut sheet metal edges will be very sharp.
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