Deburring Tools for Aluminum Sheets | CRATEX Abrasives

There are many different techniques for deburring and edge finishing. Some prefer manual work with sandpaper and file, other use power tools, like handheld Die Grinder with deburring wheels. The first option is cheaper, as files, emery cloth, sanding paper and deburring tools cost less money when compared to abrasive wheels, points and cones. Foredom, Dremel and grinder machines cost $250 or more each.

If you are serious about homebuilt aircrafts, you'll simply need to invest money in tools. Polishers and grinding machines are essential and can’t be borrowed, since you'll need them almost every day. Of course, this doesn't mean that deburring and polishing can't be done without expensive set of tools. On the contrary, there are various deburring techniques that involve just basic hand tools. These techniques will require a little more patience and time, but if you are doing this as a hobby and you're not in a hurry, you'll be able to do a great job of preparing aircraft construction parts with a few cheap, handy tools. On the other hand, in case you are running a shop and have clients and deadlines, power tools are a necessity.

Since you'll probably going to use both hand and power tools in your shop, we'll present some of the tools used the most by aircraft builders and deburrers.

#1 Counter Sinking Hand Tool (H2)

Counter sinking tool is an amazing tool that works best for small holes. It is basically a countersink mounted and glued into a handle. The tool is inexpensive (General or KSEIBI tools can be found on Amazon for between $8 and $15), super handy and super fast. After you drill a hole, you can just grab the counter sinking tool and fit the hole from the opposite side and remove the burr quickly and effortlessly before you move on to drilling the next hole.

#2 Deburring Tool

A deburring hand tool is something your shop shouldn't be missing, as this is a tool for every application and material: for straight edges and inner straight corners, hole edges and outer edges, flat surface and sheets. It is basically a sharp, hook-shaped blade on a handle that can be used on steel, aluminum, copper, brass, cast, stainless steel, sheet metal and hard metal (there are different blades for different types of metal). The tool requires quite a bit of pressure, so you'll need to put the blade in place and give it a good pull.

Tip: be careful while deburring the outer hole edges with this tool, as the tool can easily slip and cut the hand that is holding the round part. Perhaps a file is a better option in such cases.

The prices for Vargus' SHAVIV range from $6 to about $20 dollars on Amazon and are available as individual components or in sets and kits.

#3 Hand Files

You'll cover everything you need by getting a flat and a round file. Flat files are great hand tools for rounding off corners or removing sharp burrs from the backside of the sheet metal after drilling holes.

Round files are used to create relief holes without sharp edges, or to remove tool marks from inside the wind holes. After you finish deburring with the round file, you can go around the hole edge with the deburring tool to remove metal.

Of course, you should know that there are a LOT of different types of files out there: full-size, intermediate, needle files, single cut (for softer materials, such as aluminum), cross-cut (for harder materials, such as steel), different grits (from coarse to extra fine), but you'll find the best combo that costs the least money whole getting most of the job done.

#4 Sandpaper

Sandpaper is used for knocking off edges and smoothing the surface after the file and deburring tool action. Being chip-removal tools, files and counter sinking tools create small secondary burrs, so you'll need to remove those too if you want to do a proper deburring job. And this is where the good-old sandpaper comes in.

Simply polish the edges by applying little pressure, going back and forth, and after you're done, you should be able to run your finger over the edge without cutting it. Be very careful and don't rush, because you will cut yourself in case you don't invest enough attention into each deburring and polishing step.

#5 Deburring Wheel

Large 6-inch deburring wheels can be mounted on a bench grinder and used for sheet metal outside edges. It will help you get a long straight shot and it will help you get the job done quickly.

You can also use smaller 3-inch grinding wheels and mount them on tools such as the bench press. The wheel is then used for inside holes – the sheet metal is raised to the spinning wheel that is placed inside holes.

Grinding wheels can also be mounted on angle grinders and used for deburring edges and rounding off corners before using the file, deburring tools and sandpaper.

#6 Mounted Abrasive Bits

The use of electric tools with mounted deburring bits will surely reduce time spent in the garage dealing with the aircraft construction. Conventional deburring tools are convenient for straight edges, but if you need to finish a rib with tight angles, they become useless. It’s even impossible to use small wheels to get inside the corners. At that point you'll need to bring bullet points and cones into the action.

Rotary power tools and mounted bits are a valuable and fast way to deburr that is not physically demanding, so with a steady hand and the right tools, you'll get yourself an absolute perfection. And speaking of perfection...