• The flame of the cutting torch can burn through metal.torch image by Guy Verville from Fotolia.com
  
  Cutting torches are used in industrial settings for cutting metal parts for machinery, automotive panels and construction fabrication. However, cutting torches can be purchased for use by homeowners and hobbyists to cut multiple metal objects. This tool has several practical uses.
  
  

Making Holes in Metal

• When putting metal pieces together that require bolts rather than welding, sometimes the brackets do not line up properly. Drilling holes through these brackets is very difficult and can be very time-consuming. Using a cutting torch to burn a hole through the metal, however, takes a few seconds and is easy to shape to the exact size you need the hole. Just hold the torch where you want the hole and let the heat melt the metal. Stick a spud (tapered steel rod) into the hole until the width is the correct size. Clean off any excess metal with an angle grinder, a rotary-power tool with a grinding wheel fixed at a 90-degree angle.
  
  

Cutting Curves

• A cutting torch can cut along curves very well because it uses the heat of the torch to cut rather than a blade. Moving slowly on the outside edge of a drawn line will cut through the metal on any curve that can be drawn. It is a good practice to leave an inch at each end to keep the metal piece steady while cutting with the torch. The ends can be cut with a saw, grinder or the torch.
  
  

Heating Metal to Bend

• A cutting torch gets extremely hot but it will not actually cut anything until the oxygen is added by pressing the handle. This makes it a useful tool for bending thicker metal to form custom brackets or bends. Clamp the metal to a noncombustible surface and run the torch along the area where you want the metal to bend. Take a another clamp on the end not clamped and bend the metal to the desired position. This is very handy for fabricators of custom automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts.