10 Best Metal Cutting Tools for Clean, Accurate Cuts in Steel and Sheet Metal

Cutting metal accurately is vital for almost any kind of welding or fabricating. One of the key benefits of using metal is its strength and durability, meaning cutting effectively requires specialized tools.

In this article, we’ll discuss the best tools for cutting metal and how to select which for your project.

What to Consider Before Choosing a Metal Cutting Tool

Not all metals are the same; aluminum, for example, cuts differently from steel. There are many cutting tools that can claim to cut all types of metals, but this will often depend on the quality of the cut you desire.

Another key consideration is the type of cut you need to make; is it to manufacture small intricate parts from sheet metal, or is it severance cuts for large beams, angles, or tubes for use in construction?

The 10 Best Metal Cutting Tools and When to Use Each

1. Snips: For delicate, low-volume cutting of thin sheet metal
2. Hack saw: Best for small, one-off jobs; no power is needed, and the skill of the user generally determines the accuracy.
3. Angle grinder and cut-off wheel: quick and relatively imprecise, but almost any material can be cut
4. Cropping or shearing: extremely fast cutting of flat and plate stock, reasonably accurate, but does create a slightly deformed edge
5. Bandsaw: Precise cuts of lengths of material, such as tube and angle iron
6. Circular saw/cold saw: Very square cuts in bar stock and sections, but slower than a band saw
7. Plasma cutter: Repeatable but imprecise cuts in sheet and plate
8. Waterjet cutter: Incredibly accurate parts from sheet and plate
9. Laser cutter: fast and accurate parts from sheet, plate, and sections (laser tube cutting)
10. Oxy-acetylene: Manual process, so accuracy and cut quality depend on the operator’s skill, extremely versatile, and cheap.

Comparing Accuracy, Speed, and Cut Quality

When cutting any material, but particularly metal, a compromise has to be made between speed and accuracy. A method that can cut most materials quickly, e.g., an angle grinder, does not usually give the best cut quality or accuracy.

Cost also needs to be factored in; if a method is fast, accurate, and produces a good edge quality, the chances are it will cost more than the alternative, although exceptions are possible.

Best Tool for Accurate Cuts

For cutting plate and sheet materials, a waterjet cutter generally offers accuracy to within 0.1 mm on X-Y dimensions and an excellent edge quality that is square and smooth. This is generally better than laser cutting and far better than most plasma cutting.

The trade-off is that it is relatively slow, and the machines and consumables are expensive, meaning the total cutting cost is high.

For cutting sections, such as angle iron, tube, and beams, automated bandsaw or cold saw systems are excellent at getting repeatable and square cuts.

Best Tool for High-Speed Cutting

For profiles, from plate and sheet up to 20-30 mm, laser cutting offers very fast cutting speeds; in some materials and thicknesses, up to 10 m/min is possible.

This means that although the machines are expensive to operate, individual part costs can be reasonable if the quantity is high.

Laser cut edge quality is generally good; better than plasma, but not as good as waterjet. In some cases, material, thickness, and machine parameters are dependent, and edge hardness can be high. Consider this closely if machining or welding of the edges of parts will be needed.

Best tool for High Cut Quality

As mentioned above, waterjet cutting gives the best edge quality, producing a smooth, burr-free, and parallel edge that has no heat-affected zone.

When cutting sections such as angle iron and tube, tools like angle grinders, manual hacksaws, and oxy-acetylene can sometimes give a serrated, angled edge finish. Band saws, if not properly maintained, can give non-square cuts, particularly if the blade is not sharp.

For the most accurate and square cuts, a cold saw, also known as a circular saw, is best. The primary downside of cold saws is their often limited capacity (particularly in comparison to bandsaws) and their lack of speed.

Safety, Maintenance, and Tool Longevity

Safety is an extremely important factor in any manufacturing process. Powered handheld tools such as angle grinders, acetylene torches, and hand plasma torches need extensively trained personnel.

In many cases, automated machines, provided they have sufficient guarding, interlocks, and safety equipment, can be used with the operator generally out of harm’s way, meaning accidents are less likely to occur.

In general, if a machine is expensive to purchase, its maintenance will be costly, too. Whilst there are exceptions, machinery such as laser cutters and automated saws has more motors, sensors, gearboxes, and other components that require maintenance.

From our list, waterjet and laser cutters are probably the most expensive to maintain, whereas simpler tools such as saws and cutting torches are generally easy to keep in working order.

Tool longevity and cost should be a large factor in selecting a new type of tool for your workshop. Whilst laser and waterjet cutting do not use a consumable tool as such, numerous parts do degrade from use.

Waterjet cutting, for example, requires replacement nozzles and focusing tubes, often made from expensive, extremely hard materials like tungsten carbide or even sapphire.

How to Choose the Right Metal Cutting Tool for Your Work

Several factors should be considered; some are down to preference, others due to necessity.

Cost

Budget affects almost all engineering decisions; waterjet and laser cutters, for example, require a large upfront expenditure and have significant maintenance costs.

However, before opting for the cheaper option, consider the post-cutting work that may be needed with a lesser machine that gives worse dimensional accuracy, edge quality, and process speeds.

Project Scale

Cutting 10 parts is very different from cutting 1,000; similarly, if said parts are only needed once in a blue moon, it’s not worth investing in costly equipment if the drawbacks of an inferior process are easily resolved.

Sub-contract Availability

The alternative to buying a new cutting tool and processing material in-house is to outsource. If the parts your project needs are made from run-of-the-mill materials and easily cut by commercially available services, it may be more cost-effective, even in the long run, to subcontract the task.

On the other hand, if the process needed involves a bespoke setup, materials that aren’t often stocked by cutting companies, or your lead time demands are tight, in-house processing may work best.

Buy Your Metals Cut from Metal Supermarkets

To save time, money, and wastage, consider buying your material from Metal Supermarkets pre-cut and delivered. Choose from a wide range of materials, section sizes, and thicknesses.

Find your nearest store, or browse the selection of materials here.