Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Good morning,
Any tips for not screwing up a screwless wall seam next to where I will be cutting a hole? My hole will start just over an inch away from the seam in the picture. It will be a 15" wide x 24" tall hole (basically cutting out between two studs). Considering jigsaw with metal blade; any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Harry

I'm find of making a Masonite template of the hole to be cut and taping it to the side, it gives you a rigid line to follow and it's thick enough the if the jigsaw blade hops out (as it likes to do when you run into something on the other side) it will prevent dings in your finished metal.

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I used tin snips on the alunimum. The window will fit tight between the 1x1 metal ribs. You only have to get the radius for the corners right.

The aluminum cuts like butter with a fine tooth metal blade in a jig saw. If your saw has oscillation settings, I would set it for straight up and down motion to get the smoothest cut.
Make sure to lay down plenty of wide masking tape around the area to keep the base of the saw from scratching the surrounding paint.

Thanks for the tips. Now to decide on best way to start the hole; considering drilling a starter hole for the jigsaw blade to go in. Do you drill from inside trailer to outside so you know that you are in correct vicinity of where to drill or is it better from outside in?

I am pretty sure my jigsaw is not oscillating type; i have never seen it do anything but up and down. However, it does have a knob on top you can use to do what I think is called scroll saw. Need to find a manual on it; I have had the jigsaw for over 30 years; in fact, having a hard time finding blades for it. They are universal tip (not the "T" kind) but they have a hole in them for a screw to go in to help hold them in. I have a couple of metal blades but want to make sure once I start that I have spares in case one breaks.

Thanks!
Harry

They're calling it a "speed adjustment". When engaged, it kicks the blade forward with each stroke, giving it a more aggressive (and rougher) cut.
Unless you're saving the cutout for something, just drill your starter hole an inch or so inside the cut lines, then arch you way over to the line when you start cutting.
That first cut is nerve wracking... You've got this.

Is it best for there to be backing in the wall or leave it vacant to make the cut? I wish I could cut from the inside but I imagine that makes a mess of the metal on outside.

I ended up having to order saw blades for my jig saw; It's hard to find Universal shank blades with the screw hole. Supposedly, they are to arrive today....Amazon said yesterday...today they say today....we will see, ha!

Harry