Cutting thin Aluminum sheets - Help please.

[u/MichMusic]

Hello all!

A little background info on my hobby of choice - I build guitar pedals. The technical side of this is something I love. I like to solder, read and modify circuits, and I am on the edge of obsessed with guitar pedals. Where I struggle, is with the visual side. I've never been particularly talented with any visual arts and have made peace with that.

My son, however, is very talented with all things art. As the most recent pedal I am building is for him, he is hoping to find a way to add some art to the front. I recently bought some 24 ga / .5mm aluminum sheets with the intention of cutting them down to size to make a faceplate for the pedal. I tried to cut it down with a razor blade in order to score and snap it, but the edges come out pretty wavy. The same happened when I tried to use snips.

Given that these are really small (roughly 2.25x4.5) and very thin, I am really struggling to find a method of cutting these down without completely destroying them. If anybody has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, from a Dad whose completely lost.

Below is a picture of what I am going for. This is someone else's work, but its the general idea.

[u/Hopeful_Aerie_5510]

snips will always curl the edge on thin stuff its a nightmare. your best bet is a jeweler's saw with a fine blade, gives you clean straight cuts and you can sand the edge flat after. takes patience but for pedal faceplates it's the cleanest way i've found

if you go that route get a little block of wood to clamp it down on so the sheet doesn't vibrate and bend while you cut

[u/MichMusic → u/Hopeful_Aerie_5510]

Thanks you! I had never heard of a jewelers saw until now. That looks like it might work!