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Sheetmetal Technology
Sheetmetal Technology
Sheet metal is used throughout the world in a variety of fashions. From manufacturing of
automobiles, to erecting roofs, to making many things that you have around your home.
Working with sheet metal also has many hazards associated with it.
Sheet metal is very sharp, it is thin, and the edges can penetrate a lot of things including human
skin. When working with sheet metal, it is imperative that the proper PPE (personal protective
equipment) be used. Gloves (Kevlar) designed to protect against cuts and abrasions, long
sleeves (Kevlar), leather (cut resistant) work boots, and of course long pants.
When cutting sheet metal with hand snips, or portable power tools, the above mentioned PPE,
should always be used, as well as safety glasses and a full face shield. Also keep in mind that
thin sheet metal bends very easily, so if you are cutting it, the sheet metal could flex to the point
that you may lose temporary control of it, and could cause injury. Shavings left over after cutting
sheet metal are razor sharp. Never pick up shavings with your bare hands, they will cause severe
cuts. Grinding sheet metal leaves very tiny metal particles all over just about everything within a
few feet. These tiny particles can get on your clothes, skin, in your hair, and are very difficult to
remove, not to mention this will literally ruin your washing machine at home, and contaminate
any other clothes in the same machine.
If metal particles get on your skin, put your arms under running cold water, and never attempt
to rub the shavings off with your hands. This will only possibly embed metal into your skin. Let
the water gently wash them off. If it gets into your hair, do the same, let your shower water
rinse the metal from your hair.
Always remember, working with sheet metal is dangerous, but accidents and injuries can
altogether be avoided, if the proper precautions are taken.
SHEETMETAL METAL TYPES
Steel is the most commonly used material in the sheet metal shop. This is because it is relatively
cheap and is available in alloys and with special coatings for various uses. The most commonly
used types of sheet steels are mild steel, galvanised, stainless and tin plate. Mild steel comes in
two forms: hot-rolled commonly known as black iron, and cold-rolled commonly referred to as
mild steel. Black iron is a cheaper variety and tends to be softer than mild steel. These two in
effect would be classified as plain steel sheets. Black iron looks bluish-black near the sides of the
sheet and may have a silvery appearance near the centre, whereby mild steel sheets have a
silver grey appearance and are of better quality overall.
Coated and Solid Sheets
Sheet steel may be coated or uncoated (solid). A commonly used coated sheets is galvanised.
Stainless steel is the most commonly used solid sheet. Plain sheets are seldom used because of
their susceptibility to rust and corrosion.
The coating on galvanised sheets and is for corrosion resistance. If these metals were used on a
job which required welded seams, the product would burn off the protective coating. On the
other hand, stainless steel may be safely welded because it is resistant to corrosion and has no
coating.
Black Iron
It is also known as uncoated sheet since it carries no artificial coating on its surfaces. However, it
is probably the cheapest of all types of sheets used in sheet metal work. Being uncoated, it is
prone to corrosion. Consequently, its use is confined mostly to the manufacture of such items
which are to be painted before shipment, e.g. block iron is used in tanks, pans, trunks, stove
pipes, etc.
Metal Hammers
Their heads are made of high carbon steel, hardened and tempered on the striking ends. Their
sizes are known by their weight – weight of the head.
Stretching Hammer
This is used for stretching edges and flanges on curved work. It is normally used in conjunction
with a stake.
Planishing Hammer
The principal purpose of the Planishing Hammer is for smoothing and finalising a surface after it
has been roughed out to the required shape.
A ball peen hammer is used for forming soft metal, peening rivet heads, and striking metal in
out-of-the-way places.
Cross pein hammer
A cross peen hammer is used as a chisel for removing rivet heads and for stretching or bending
metal. Also used for riveting in awkward corners where a ball pein will not fit.
Raising hammer.
This hammer is used together with the raising stake
for stretching sheetmetal to produce deep bowls.
Mallets
The size of the mallet is known by the diameter of the head.
Boxwood or tinman’s mallet and Rubber Mallets These mallets can
be used on mild steel, copper or aluminium to prevent marring the metal.
Raising mallets
the head is made of boxwood and the handle of cane. The wedge
shaped end is used to produce large bowls while the flat end is used
for tiring up dish rims
Bossing mallet
The head of this mallet is egg shaped. It is used for shaping bowls in sheetmetal by beating into
shaped wooden block or sandbags. Mostly used when shaping non-metallic sheet metals like
copper and brass
Cutting and shearing tools
Tinsnips
Their size is known by their overall length. Tinsnips are made from carbon steel, hardened and
tempered.
Straight Snips
These snips are used for straight line cutting and on outside curves. They are available in many
different sizes. Available from 150mm to 350mm long.
Curved tinsnips
The blade of the curved tinsnips allows it to be used to cut inside curves as well as external
curved work.
Bench shears
BENCH SHEAR for metal cutting is designed for quickly and cleanly cutting mild steel, aluminium
and other metals.
Parts
a) Handle is made of mild steel. It is used as a lever for lowering the top blade for cutting.
b) Top and bottom blades. They are made of special carbon steel.
c) Body: it is made of mild steel
d) Steady/material foot: made of mild steel, this part is used to press down and keep the
work piece being cut horizontal.
e) Cropping hole/shear hole: this hole is drilled in the top blade. It is used cutting rods up
10mm diameter.
The Guillotine
The principle of shearing is similar to punching except that the area being sheared is a relatively
small continuous section, starting at one end of the sheet and ending at the other. A hold-down
clamping stop holds the sheet rigid while the blade of the guillotine shears through the sheet.
An important factor in the production of a good cut edge is the clearance between the blades as
well as the sharpness of the blade edges. Some machines have provision for altering the blade
clearance to suit the thickness of sheet being cut out, usually the clearance is set at
manufacture and checked periodically. A reasonable guide is 0.1 mm increase in clearance for
every 1 mm of sheet thickness. The shearing capacity of the guillotine should be more than the
shearing strength of the material being cut.
Bending sheet metal equipment
FOLDING BARS
The Folding bars below are made from mild steel. They are held in the fitter’s vice when holding
work for bending
Sheetmetal tools
Hand groover
The groove is used to close a grooved seam joint.
(a) (b)
Diagram (a) is the groover and in diagram (b) Locking a grooved seam with a hand groover
Stakes
Stakes may be referred to as small anvils, as you use them for similar operations
(shaping/forming sheet metals). They are made of wrought iron faced with steel.
Types of stakes
Hatchet stake
The hatchet stake has a sharp, straight edge bevelled on one side. It is very useful for making
sharp bends, folding the edges of sheet metal, forming boxes and pans by hand, and tucking-in
wired edges and seaming.
Half-moon stake
The half-moon stake has a sharp edge in the form of an arc of a circle bevelled on one side. It is
used for throwing up flanges on metal discs, or profiled blanks, preparatory to wiring and
seaming. It is also used for tucking-in fired edges on curved work.
Funnel stake
As the name implies, this stake is used when shaping and seaming funnels and tapered articles
with part conical corners such as ‘square to-round’ transformers.
Beak or Bick iron stake
This stake has two horns, one of which is tapered and the other is a rectangular anvil. The thick,
tapered horn or ‘beak’ is used when making spouts and sharp tapering articles. The anvil may
be used for squaring corners, seaming and light riveting.
Side stake
A side stake has only one horn which is not tapered. It is more robust than a bick-iron and can
withstand considerable hammering. Its main uses are forming, riveting and seaming pipe work.
It is also used when forming tapered work of short proportions.
Pipe stake
A pipe stake is an elongated version of the side stake and, because of the overhang, is less
robust. As its name implies it is used when forming and seaming sheet-metal pipes.
Extinguisher stake
This is very similar to a bick-iron. It has a round and tapered horn at one end and a rectangular-
shaped horn at the other. Some extinguisher stakes contain a number of grooving slots on the
working surface of the rectangular horn. These are useful when creasing metal and bending
wire. The tapered horn is used when forming, riveting, or seaming small tapered articles. It is
also useful when forming wrinkles or puckers prior to ‘raising’.
Creasing iron
This has two rectangular shaped horns, one of which is plain. The other horn has a series of
grooving slots of various sizes. The grooves are used when ‘sinking’ a bead on a straight edge of
a flat sheet (i.e. reversing wired edges).
Bench mandrel
This is firmly fixed to the bench by means of strap clamps which may be quickly released,
allowing the mandrel to be reversed or adjusted for length of overhang. The mandrel is double-
ended – the rounded end is used for riveting and seaming pipes, whilst the flat end is used for
seaming the corners of pans, boxes, square or rectangular ducting and riveting. It also has a
square tapered hole in the flat end for receiving the shanks of other stakes and heads. Bench
mandrels are available in four sizes ranging from 20kg to 114 kg.
Planishing mandrel
Planishing mandrels are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. The one shown is called a
‘Tinsmith’s anvil’ and is used when Planishing flat surfaces in all types of work. The working
surface is highly polished.
Round bottom stake
These stakes are available in various diameters and have flat working surfaces. They are used
when forming the bases of cylindrical work and for squaring knocked-up seams.
Canister stake
This stake has square and flat working surfaces. Its main use is for working in the corners and
squaring up the seams when working with square or rectangular products.
Convex-head stakes
These are used when forming or shaping double-contoured and spherical work. They are usually
available in two patterns – with a straight shank and with an off-set (cranked) shank.
Horse
This adaptable stake is really a double-ended support. At the end of each arm (one of which is
cranked downwards for clearance) there is a square, tapered hole for the reception of a wide
variety of heads. Four typical heads will now be shown.
Long-head
This is used when making knocked-up joints on cylindrical articles, and also when flanging.
Round-heads
Two types of round head are shown and these are used when ‘raising’.
Oval head
This is oval in shape as shown and has a slightly convex working surface. It sometimes has a
straight edge at one end.
Types of sheetmetal joints.
There are five ways in which the edges of sheet and plate metals can be fastened or joined
together. The following methods can be used.
a) Soldering;
b) Brazing;
c) welding;
d) grooving; and
e) riveted joint
But whilst we are limited to the use of one or other of these forms of jointing, there are
numerous modifications of them in practice.
Butt joint
It should be soldered for strength. It is used for joining rings
Lap joint.
Lap joint also require soldering for strength. It is used for joining cylindrical and conical work.
Lapped and grooved
It is made in the same way as lap joint and then it is soldered and grooved. The grooving will
create a flash side.
Folded seam
It is formed by two folded edges which are hooked together, then hammered close and soldered
for strength. This joint is used to join sheet metal on item like cylinders and cones.