What Are Tin Snips?

Tin snips are much like shears, except they are designed to cut thin metal surfaces like sheet metal. If you are inexperienced with tin snips, be prepared for stiff cast-offs, which are often sharp and don't clear away easily. You may need to wear gloves while learning how to properly use your snips to avoid getting stabbed by a sharp corner or sliced by a jagged edge. Until you get used to using the snips, you will most likely create a jagged edge or two, so practice on a piece of junk sheet metal until you get the technique down pat. This will minimize your margin for error when working on the actual project.