How To Tap Sheet Metal

If you re working with a thick sheet of metal apply heat from a blowtorch along the bend line to soften it.

How to tap sheet metal.

To use self tapping screws place the screw directly on the aluminum sheet. This allows you to skip pre drilling a hole into thinner gauges of sheet metal. Identify the thread size and pitch on the drill and tap chart. Keep in mind that a properly secured work piece is a safe work piece.

Then tap your metal along the bend line with a rubber or plastic mallet until the sheet bends to the angle you want. A self drilling screw has a chisel tip similar to a drill bit. Self drilling or self tapping metal screws increase productivity by reducing the number of steps required to screw together pieces of metal. Stabilize the screw so it doesn t tilt as it goes in and twist the screw into the metal.

Very soon you will feel the teeth of the tap start to cut into the metal. For a short while the turning will be wobbly but as the tap progresses downward into the hole it will stabilize. Locate the size of the fastener you need to install in the metal.