This may be related to an answer from a previous question; i.e., drill lots of holes, use nippers and files. But that doesn’t work for everything. I’m curious what method some of you use for cutting out things like door panels, fuselage foot step frames, ammo shut panels, etc. I can’t seem to come up with a way that cuts and shapes cleanly and is relatively simple ( read that not too time consuming) to do. Although the above statements may be a contradiction in terms. I can work with wood and plastic; but metal I can’t seem to figure out. It’s gotten to the point I’m trying to duplicate metal parts with plastic and wood – wondering if this is what other scale builders do. Thanks.

Very fine details out of plates up to 0,6mm thick (a bit thinner than 1/32") usually come out great when photo-etched, i bought myself a spray etch machine for such purposes. All else comes out of a mill, either by hand or over the CNC mill a friend of mine owns......

Using plastic to simulate metal works well, and it is much easier to work with. When I have to work with metal like that, I pull out my hand-held Dremel with the cut-off wheel and sanding drum attachments.

Dr.1

I have a carbide tipped plade on my Dremel table saw and it cuts aluminum quite well. I use a belt sander to smooth the edges.

Me and My dad are making a real plane... there are shears (really big scissors) that are made for cutting thin aluminum (I also used them for a popsicle stick bridge) and they make almost perfect cuts. They bend the metal a little so you sometimes need to use pliers to put it back into shape. I ordered one pair from aviation supply or one of the other suppliers, and we found a smaller pair at home depot. The smaller ones are easier on the hands but the larger ones are easier to cut with, personally I like the larger ones cause I have huge hands but both get the job done.

If your talking sheet metal, get a pair of aircraft snips. They come in left, right and straight cuts. Get some decent files.

for small brass fittings i use aviation hand shears cut oversize and then use bench grinder to get close, then take a file to finish. for cowls i use the drill lots of small holes, use a small jewelers saw to cut between the holes then file to shape. i have several files different shapes and courseness.

Siding sheers from you local aluminum siding supply work real nice.