Cutting sheet metal, or PE fret

[SaintsPhil]

Evening all,

Any one out there recommend the best tool to cut thin sheet metal, like 5 or 10 thou brass or aluminium sheet or left over PE fret?

I've tried a sharp (new) scalpel blade and it broke (fortunately it didn't go anywhere near me) on an old tile. I've also got some mini tin snips but they tend to bend the edges. So what do you lot use??

Thanks

Phil

[Andy K]

I tend to use a piece of ceramic tile as a cutting surface and a modelling knife

[glueman]

I've encountered a similar problem with my latest build (2001 Space Station from Fantastic Plastic). The PE parts are made from thin stainless steel. I tried using new, sharp rounded scalpel blades cutting on a large piece of ceramic tile. That worked for one or two cuts but the blade quickly became blunted. I think in this particular kit the PE parts are slightly on the thick side and being made from stainless steel are pretty hard to cut through.

I ended up using a thin disk cutter attached to a rotary tool. That worked well as the individual parts are large enough to hold (saying this, one or two did jump down below into the carpet monster ... luckily I managed to retreat them). The added benefit of using the disk cutter was that I could quickly remove the burrs from the PE part.

I wore protective goggles when using the rotary tool and had a strong light source to illuminate what I was cutting.

Pete

[LaurieS]

Found the best is a CD. One you you do not like or a blank.

Cheap and only the PE will blunt the blade.

The best I have found is a Morton no 10 blade which is rounded. Line up against the PE edge roll

the Swan Morton over the attachment. Works well. Nice little click as it is cut.

Laurie

[chacer]

I use tamiya decal scissors for cutting thin etch. I use bigger scissors for longer cuts & get a nice straight edge.

[bzn20]

I made a skin knife from a hacksaw blade,I snap it in half and tape one end until its thick enough for a "handle" and drag it across the cut line until nearly through, snap it and clean up the edges. On sheet metal that thin, a scriber will do it too,on a glass sheet/mirror or ceramic tile . Make sure its not from SWMBO's maxfactor tool kit !

Edited March 20, 2016 by bzn20