Use a hand grinder with a cutoff wheel about 30 seconds if that to cut your strips. DO NOT FORGET THE SAFETY GLASSES!!! Plasma cutter on wire mesh will wear out the tip with all that stop and staring and " air cutting"
[PROBLEM SOLVED] I’m resurrecting this old thread because I realized I never got around to posting the nifty mesh-cutting approach I finally came up with–use a saber saw. A fine metal blade will quickly slice through the thin wires in the 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth. But there are some tricks: First, I carpet-taped a transparent plastic baseplate to my saw. Dimensions aren’t critical, but it does need to have a close-clearance slot for the blade. I used Plexiglas and made the slot with a band saw:
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/meshwork/TransparentBaseplate.JPG)
I rolled out the mesh onto my cutting table and clamped it down with a scrap board. The table was a convenience, but this method works equally well if you lay the mesh out on the floor and prop it up with a 2 x 4 or something. Do clamp it down somehow, though:
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/meshwork/CuttingMesh.JPG)
My elevated benchwork is 16-inches wide and almost all curved, so I sliced 18-inch pieces off the end of the four-foot wide roll. These I tossed out onto the grass and walked on them to help flatten any curl:
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/meshwork/FlattenMesh.JPG)
This goes very quickly. I was able to cut enough pieces to cover ~200 ft of benchwork in one short morning. 'Twas then but a simple matter to lay the pieces on the bench, fold over the edges, and staple things in place. For example:
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/dawgnabbit/meshwork/FortyFootMeshed.JPG)
By the end of the job, both the transparent baseplate and the blade were showing signs of stress, but both are easily replaced. The blade registers easily along one of the mesh wires, so no straightedge is needed to guide the saw. The close clearance baseplate keeps any tag wire ends from flying about BUT WEAR EYE PROTECTION ANYWAY. It’s noisy, so ear plugs are another good idea. Cheers,
I know I use it for the light screen I do my hardshell with … but I’d be interested to see, has anyone tried a pair of EMS shears on this? You can cut a penny in half with them … I suspect if you needed something other than long straight cuts or to cut out sections around obstructions they might just do it. And … at about $5 a pair, you can go through several without breaking the bank, too.
Matthew (OV)
Excellent!
…:)…
I use aviation snips. The come in left, right and straight styles. They are more expensive than the cheaper shears, but they will last forever. I have had my snips for about 30 years.
Bob C.
I use small Craftsman dikes. They cut close to the cross joint and are easy to work with the mesh if it tries to roll.
Ron
I used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Very fast, impressive sparks, and frankly pretty scary. But as long as I wear a facemask it is fine.