Rotary sheet metal shear

[homebrewed]

As noted in a previous thread, nibblers work well but produce a proliferation of sharp little crescent shaped shards.

There's a variation that doesn't produce those little chunks of waste metal. It looks like this, sort of a cross between a nibbler and shear. Harbor Freight sells one that looks almost identical. I think its minimum cutting radius would be significantly larger than the other style, more like what you'd get with straight snips.

 

[Winegrower]

Do you have to make many curved cuts for your electronics enclosures? If not, a shear, corner notcher, brake, nibbler and die filer pretty well cover what I need. I have wanted a Beverly shear for a long time, just not bad enough to pay new prices or resurrect a dying one.

 

[C-Bag]

It took almost 30yrs to find my Beverly B2, but was worth the wait. I’d almost forgotten this little guy:

3.5 Amp, 18 gauge Metal Shears

Amazing deals on this 3.5Amp, 18 Gauge Metal Shears at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

$40 and works great. Strantor is right about leaving extra then doing the final cut, works good and stops the pretzels.

 

[Ken from ontario]

There's a variation that doesn't produce those little chunks of waste metal. It looks like this, sort of a cross between a nibbler and shear. Harbor Freight sells one that looks almost identical. I think its minimum cutting radius would be significantly larger than the other style, more like what you'd get with straight snips.

The pistol grip you mentioned, wastes some material also (in long strips , 1/4" wide) , I have one just like it but under a different brand , it is a good tool to have if you don't mind the waste, , I didn't plan to collect metal shears(4 different types so far) but as the years went by I found out each one was particularly great for a specific type of cut and not so great for other cuts .
The one I use the most (for curve cuts) is the electric barre-grip shear, and also the pistol grip though not as much. for straight cuts I often use the old fashion metal hand shear, I have never tried but have heard a lot of good things about Makita JS1602 which I suppose is very similar to the barrel -grip metal shear I mentioned before but way too expensive for my taste.

 

[C-Bag]

didn't plan to collect metal shears(4 different types so far) but as the years went by I found out each one was particularly great for a specific type of cut and not so great for other cuts .

Lol, I guess I’m in that category too! I was given an old Milwaukee pistol type shear where I used to work. The motor was great but the shear was toast. Turned out they had a deal on the whole head for cheaper than the shears so I replaced the whole head. It cuts nice and doesn’t distort but throws a curl of metal 1/4” wide. Like Ken said, different tools for different jobs. I think this Milwaukee is made for like metal roofing. Great for straight cuts and if it’s in good shape I see them cheap on CL.

 

[Ken from ontario]

Hi Tony, I found out recently our Canadian HF(princess Auto) sells the blade set for the pistol grip type, very inexpensive.but anyway I always use a couple of drops of cutting oil on the blades and they seem to cut better and last longer, I still have the original set.

 

[homebrewed]

Do you have to make many curved cuts for your electronics enclosures? If not, a shear, corner notcher, brake, nibbler and die filer pretty well cover what I need. I have wanted a Beverly shear for a long time, just not bad enough to pay new prices or resurrect a dying one.

I won't need curved cuts for the enclosures. Thank goodness.

It appears I will be adding to my current paltry selection of sheet metalworking tools. In addition to the enclosures I need to replace the roof on our old barn and the new one will be the old-fashioned corrugated roofing. I know the throatless rotary shear worn't work for that. So something that can cut that stuff is on the want list, too. If it eases the construction of enclosures, so much the better.

 

[C-Bag]

Hi Tony, I found out recently our Canadian HF(princess Auto) sells the blade set for the pistol grip type, very inexpensive.but anyway I always use a couple of drops of cutting oil on the blades and they seem to cut better and last longer, I still have the original set.

Hi Ken. The guy who gave me the shear was a total mess. The kind of guy you would never loan any tool, even an anvil. He and his brother did construction too and he mentioned that shear had roofed many an industrial building. I think the head cost me $35 where they wanted like $35ea for the jaws. It was some kind of close out deal.

 

[C-Bag]

It appears I will be adding to my current paltry selection of sheet metalworking tools.

Welcome to the slippery slope I am obviously a sucker for sheetmetal tools and machines. I’ve been keeping an eye on CL for a decade and between CL and Harbor Freight I’ve managed to cover all the small projects I’ve always wanted to be able to tackle. I love doing sheetmetal projects and would much rather do that than wood.