pole barn: cutting metal on slop for gable end wal

Egon · Jun 18, 2004

Egon messed up as usual. 4/12 = 1/3

Seems the story of my life lately. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon

nobull1 · Jun 18, 2004

egon,
That's "not" usual for you.That's why I had to read it 10 times before I posted.Then I still wasn't sure. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

mopower440 · Jun 19, 2004

These are 3' wide panels, dont want to mess them up, thats for sure, i already messed up the cut on 2 roof panels..

DiskDoctr · Jun 19, 2004

Mopower440,

We just put up a 40x60 steel building a short time ago, and one of the things we found was cutting the metal siding was not easy.

We found two methods about equal, depending upon which way you are cutting.

1) 4.5" or better 9" portable grinder with CUTOFF wheel. NOT grinding wheel which takes too much material and more time. Be sure to get good reinforced wheels.

2) We bought a pair of air shears. These are not the air nibbler we already had which only take a small bit. The shears actually look like scissor or tinsnip blades. These saved a tremendous amount of time, but can't always cut across ridges. They are great for the long, flat cuts.

I figured after you determined and marked your cut, the actual cut might give you some trouble...

-JC

bgott · Jun 21, 2004

I flip the blade on a Skil saw and use that. Wear eye and hearing protection, it's noisy and hot metal flies everwhere.

kubotachief · Jun 21, 2004

I cut all my steel with straight cut long bill snips. You can buy the them at sears. They look just like the small aviatin snips with longer blades. The easiest way to cut gables is to simply use your 12 inch speed square. I always cut starting at the overlap end. get your length then put your square on the mark then rotate the square to your slope (keep the pivot point at the mark and rotate square to the the number 4 on the common scale) mark with a pencil then use a straight edge to continue your mark. If you use saws, abrasive blades, etc it tends to generate heat and will burn the paint then your ends will rust fast. With a little practice you will be very fast and efficient. After you cut one sheet measure the long or short side of the piece you just cut. Depending on which way you are running (up or down) then you have your measurement for the next sheet. I always wear leather gloves. Pull the scrap piece that you are cutting up with one hand and you wont have any problems. I set two 16 foot 2x4s across my saw horses for a work station. Good luck Glenn

Robert_in_NY · Jun 22, 2004

They have abrasive saw blades for circular saws. That is all we will use on a barn. No sense messing around with shears or anything else as they all take way to long.

mopower440 · Jun 22, 2004

ok, i understand that for my 4-12 pitch, i need to cut 1 foot for every 3 ft across, 3 feet would be 36", these metal panels i have are EXACTLY 38" wide, so can someone tell me exactly how much to cut for 38"? should be a hair over 1'..?

Bird · Jun 22, 2004

Hmmm, I just answered this in a PM, and now you're going to try to get someone else to verify my figures (and I don't blame you a bit). /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif It's best to double check and measure twice. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif