With the help of a metal profiled sheet, it is possible to solve a variety of construction tasks. to finish walls and roofs, to mount pre-fabricated buildings, fences and other structures. Due to its small thickness and weight, this material can be customized directly at the installation site using hand tools for these purposes.
Features of cutting corrugated board. tool selection
Although the processing of a profiled sheet looks simple, however, certain features of the material must be taken into account. The fact is that this is not an ordinary homogeneous metal sheet: corrugated board in its structure resembles a layered cake, which includes a metal base and several layers of a protective and decorative type. If this protection is violated during cutting, this will expose the inside of the sheet for corrosion.
As a result, the life of the material is significantly reduced. Therefore, before cutting corrugated board, it is important to know the features of this procedure, in order to avoid causing serious damage to the material.
Working with angle grinder
The biggest danger when working with corrugated board is the heating of its surface, which usually accompanies cutting. It is for this reason, when choosing the option of how to cut a professional sheet, it is better not to use gas cutters. The same applies to the angle grinder: like all other high-speed tools with abrasive wheels, it provokes the combustion of metal along the cut line. As for the protective coating, it is damaged on both sides of the cut line. The thickness of the damage strip can reach 3-5 mm, due to which edge corrosion appears on the surface.
Sparks arising during the cutting of corrugated board angle grinder are also a certain danger. High temperature allows them to damage the protective coating of the profiled sheet even at some distance from the processing site. An angle grinder can only be used if the abrasive wheel is replaced with a special disc for cutting corrugated board with small teeth. It is important to understand that even this tool cannot guarantee a complete absence of damage. If there is no complete certainty on how to cut a corrugated angle grinder, it is best to exclude this option.
How to cut a professional sheet. safe options
Especially popular among builders is an electric saw equipped with a special drive.
The undoubted advantages of this tool for cutting corrugated board are:
- The rotation speed is almost half that of an angle grinder. This allows the circular saw not to melt the metal at the place of cutting, but to turn it into small sawdust.
- The performance of the circular saw is very significant, which contributes to good productivity.
- It is very easy to find replaceable disks for working on a profiled sheet: they are usually located in departments for cutting discs of various modifications.
When working with an electric tool that has a rotating circle, considerable care must be taken. During the work of cutting metal sheets, metal particles are formed which, when scattered in different directions, can cause injuries. Such operations should be carried out by people with the necessary skills on how to cut corrugated board.
In those situations when it comes to cutting a small amount of material, it is best to use the classic option. a manual hacksaw for metal. This tool, although simple, but with its help you can carry out a wide variety of operations even to a person with minimal values, how to cut a professional sheet. As for the likelihood of injury in this case, one needs to try very hard for this. However, it is important to understand that cutting a profiled sheet with a hacksaw will take quite a while. The implementation of such an operation will require a special table.
You can also use a hand or electric saw. The speed of operation will increase, however, the line of the cut will be only straight. As for the jigsaw, it is also used to make figured cuts: this is often used to adjust the roofing in places where chimneys or ventilation ducts pass. Before carrying out such operations, it is important to carefully mark the processed area in order to avoid cutting errors. It is important to understand that a jigsaw can overpower a profiled sheet in which the height of the profile does not exceed 20 mm. If this parameter is higher, gusts of metal and damage to the cutting tool may occur.
Video: Than Cut Profiled Sheet For Roofing
If you want to adjust the corrugated board, which has a slight thickness, for this you can use scissors for the corrugated sheet. For this, both a conventional metal hand tool and special electrical devices for working with corrugated board are suitable. Three varieties of such scissors are distinguished: they can be nibbled, knife and slotted. If you want to achieve significant accuracy of cutting, it is better to use a slotted tool. It has a special head guaranteeing excellent cutting quality of the metal sheet. Deformations and distortions usually do not occur in this case.
Professional builders mainly prefer electric scissors, as it is most convenient to cut a profiled sheet with their help. Along with conventional and electric tools, there are also nibbers. When cutting a profiled sheet with their help, two parallel lines are obtained. This avoids the process of bending the material.
Before starting work, the presence of a special handle makes it possible to set the matrix holder at a right angle to the direction of the cut. Thanks to this, it is possible to avoid burrs when cutting a rectangular profile. This tool is quite expensive, and is characterized by a narrow specialization. Usually the purchase of die-cutting or electric shears is justified only in the case of professional use.
Some masters when arranging a roof prefer to use special nozzles for a drill. If you have experience, using such a nozzle is quite convenient to cut and fit profiled sheets in areas with limited access. All of the above tools for cutting corrugated board has its own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, it’s obviously impossible to give a prescription for all occasions. Usually, the choice of the optimal tool directly depends on the specifics of the work. the complexity and shape of the cut, the convenience of the operation. A significant role is played by work experience and personal preferences.
The specifics of the use of jigsaws. how to cut correctly
When choosing the right tool for cutting profiled sheets, it is recommended to pay attention to the electric jigsaw. He is especially good in cases of independent implementation of roofing in his country house. The same applies to the construction of fencing from corrugated board. Preference should be given to a tool with a laser guide. The jigsaw allows you to cut the profiled sheet, without any experience in such operations. Serious efforts are also not needed. In addition, this device will become useful in carpentry or for cutting branches in the garden.
Maintaining an electric jigsaw is quite simple. The same applies to handling it. for cutting a profiled sheet in this case, you will not need any special skills. The tool has a high speed, with a very minimal likelihood of injury. If the saw breaks, the installation of a new nozzle is very fast. Thanks to such qualities, the jigsaw is very popular when choosing the suitable option for working with corrugated board.
The procedure for working with an electric jigsaw:
- Before cutting the profiled sheet, you need to carefully mark out the surface intended for cutting. It is convenient to outline the lines of future sections with a conventional marker.
- When fixing the sheet, it is important to raise it to a height of at least 100 mm from the desktop, achieving its reliable fixation. Any displacements during operation should be excluded. It is convenient to work in this case on ordinary construction goats.
- After the marking and fixing of the material is carried out, you can begin to cut it. It is better to replace the visual control with a laser pointer: this will allow you to achieve evenness of cutting, without deviating to the right or left of the intended direction.
- When working, it is advisable to press the jigsaw to the cutting blade as tightly as possible. Not every area will succeed, but where possible, it is advisable to do so. In this case, the load on the saw will noticeably decrease, and it will not break so often.
- This tool is one of the safest options for working with a profiled sheet. the risk of injury or damage in this case is reduced to practically zero. For this, there are special safety and protective mechanisms on the jigsaw, such as shields and saw limiters. However, despite this, additional caution will not be superfluous. When cutting, it is not recommended to use the hand as an emphasis on the sheet. It is better to hold it by the edge or edge. The hand should not be located along the cutting line at all. no safety mechanism will save from such stupidity. It does not matter at what distance the cutting tool is located. As for protective clothing, tight mittens or gloves, a tight jacket and glasses that protect against flying shavings will not interfere.
How to protect the ends of a profiled sheet from corrosion
Even a special tool for cutting corrugated board does not give a full guarantee that the material will not receive some damage. The most resistant in this regard is a sheet of thickness class 1, with a protective coating of zinc: its molecules along the cut line provide reliable protection against oxidation.
In other cases, the edges of the profiled sheet must be treated with anti-corrosion mastic. Also, painting these areas in tone with the protective layer will not hurt. These simple precautions reliably protect the edges of the material along the line of its fit from premature loss of performance.