Use the right tools to ensure a clean edge.
Whether you're installing new gutters, or altering an existing one to divert rainwater into a rain barrel, you're going to have to trim some aluminum. The quickest and most accurate way to do this is with a power miter saw, but if you lack such a power tool, don't worry, a hacksaw and some heavy-duty tin snips --- also known as aviation snips --- will also do the trick. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Mark the line in pencil along which you wish to cut with the help of a combination square. This will allow you to carry the line all the way around the section of gutter. A combination square allows you to check that both 90-degree and 45-degree angles are accurate.
2. Put on heavy-duty work gloves and safety goggles.
3. Cut the metal with a combination of heavy-duty tin snips and a hacksaw. Cut with the hacksaw whatever you can't snip accurately with the tin snips. Fit the hacksaw with a blade that has many teeth to ensure a clean edge.
4. Use a 12-inch power miter saw if you have access to one, instead of a hacksaw and tin snips. Fit the saw with a carbide-tipped finish blade. Tim Carter, of AsktheBuilder.com recommends that the blade get up to speed before you drop it --- slowly --- into the metal. Wear goggles and ear plugs as there will be lots of metal flying around and the blade will make lots of noise as it cuts through the metal.
Tags: clean edge, combination square, ensure clean, ensure clean edge, hacksaw with, heavy-duty snips