Ideas & Advice

Valued metals4U customer, Harry Brooks, talks us through how he made a fantastic brass mirror from a piece of CZ108 grade bright polished brass sheet.

Most metal working projects will require cuts to be made during fabrication. There are many different cutting methods and equipment options available ranging from simple hand tools to industrial specialist machinery. Although all methods will result

‘Score and snap’ is a hand-cutting technique that is simple to complete on light gauge sheet metal and thin aluminium and steel profiles. This technique needs very little equipment and is very quick. The only equipment you will need i

How to cut metal with a jigsaw. A jigsaw is a hand-held power tool that is operated by a squeeze trigger in the handle and is designed to cut sheet metal, pipework and wood. As with most power tools, jigsaws vary in the features they offer; for the

What is a chop saw, cut off saw, or mitre saw? Chop saws and cut off saws make a straight cut across the profile at 90° while mitre saws cut across profiles at an angle, however, the directions for using all these machines are the same. Mitre saws,

How to cut metal with a circular saw. Circular saws work on the same principle as a mitre or chop saw, however, a circular saw is not fixed to a cutting plinth; this gives complete freedom over the cutting movement to enable freehand straight and ge

Pipe cutters are a simple hand-held tool that easily cuts through steel, copper, bronze and aluminium tube sections. The tool is constructed in a ‘C’ shape that has rollers and a cutting blade set within the inside edge. Some models need to be

How to cut metal with a band saw. Band saws are a power tool that have a looped metal cutting blade tensioned over 2 pulleys. The top pulley retains and guides the blade, while the lower pulley varies the speed. The blade runs in one direction rathe

Hacksaws are a hand tool that is a very versatile addition to any workshop. Hacksaws work by simply moving the blade through the metal backwards and forwards in a regular ‘sawing’ action. The C shaped handles are relatively cheap to buy and the w