Nibblers For Cutting Metal
At Toolbarn you'll find the right electric shears or nibblers, whether you're cutting fiber cement siding, or 18 gauge, 16 gauge, or 14 gauge steel sheets. With tools from brands you know and trust, including DEWALT, Makita, Kett, Fein, and Bosch, at Toolbarn you're sure to find the right tool, from the right brand. Sheet Metal Nibbler Double Head Saw Cutter Cutting Tool Power Drill Attachment 4.5 out of 5 stars 2 product ratings 2 product ratings - Sheet Metal Nibbler Double Head Saw Cutter Cutting Tool Power Drill Attachment.
We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, when you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. This adds no cost to our readers, for more information read ourNot sure how to cut corrugated metal roofing? You’re not alone.After weeks of research and interviews with professional roofers and metal workers, we’ve found the best and the least destructive ways to cut corrugated metal easily, efficient and without cutting yourself.Because of its unique wavy shape, some people find it difficult to cut corrugated metal sheets.
If you adequately prepare before you cut, use proper cutting tools and safety gear, cutting corrugated sheets is easy.Tin sheets are lightweight, easy to maneuver, flexible and soft – you can cut it manually using snips or by using electric tools like turbo shears, nibblers or grinders.Today we share the safest, best and least destructive ways to cut corrugated metal roofing. With the tools we recommend, you’ll make clean, fast and efficient cuts with smooth edges. Snips are ideal for cutting any type of corrugated roofing, especially for cutting softer metal like tin sheets. Probably it’s also the cheapest way for cutting corrugated tin roofing.Tin roofs are lightweight and soft by nature, this is why cutting them manually with snips is a good option.There are many types of snips available on the market, designed either for straight or curved cuts.
Left offset snips. Right offset snips. Straight cut tin snipsWhether you’re cutting galvanized, stainless steel or plastic corrugated sheets, tin snips can handle it.Although very slowly, snips will give you clean, controlled cuts. They’re also great for making small cuts and help you with detailed work. Nibblers are ideal for cutting corrugated sheet metal, making fast, safe and clean cuts. Easy to operate, nibblers can cut along the sheet and around corners quickly and easily.How do nibblers work?The tool nibbles its way through the sheet, so it literally punches tiny pieces of metal one at a time at high speed, leaving behind waste material in the form of tiny metal chips.Somehow, this way of cutting protects the edges from corrosion.If you’re a professional roofer, an electric nibbler is the main tool you should use to cut corrugated metal.Another thing we like most about this tool is that it doesn’t damage the metal, the paint or the protective coating. This is what makes nibblers the most professional, safest and cleanest cutting method.
Another efficient way to cut corrugated metal sheets is by using electric shears. We prefer double-cut shears instead of single-cut shears.The double cut design leaves clean and smooth edges on both sides (unlike the single-cut shear) and doesn’t leave too much waste. Poly roll game app. The Milwaukee double shears make two cuts at a time, leave a wider strip of steel behind easy to clean after.If you don’t want to buy a standalone electric shear, turbo shear attachments might be a great option for you. Plus, they’re much cheaper than a standalone shear tool.
Is a Sheet Metal Nibbler or a Sheet Metal Shear Better? Cutting Sheet MetalOther than hammers and screw drivers a cutting tool is probably the one you will want to have the largest collection of in your tool box. We often get asked the difference between types of sheet metal cutting tools and while there isn’t a clear “best cutting tool”; we do think there are strengths and weaknesses of each.
Sheet Metal Nibbler Cuts Metal FastA sheet metal nibbler is an extremely compact cutting tool that will surprise most that use it. Nibblers cut extremely fast and can cut tight curves.
A nibbler cuts in a unique fashion where a shaft will move in a linear motion through a fixed die and a ridge or “blade” on the shaft will shear off tiny pieces of metal each time the blade passes over the metal inside of the die. As you push the metal in the shaft will cut the metal.The nice thing about a nibbler is that it won’t distort the metal and can cut tight radii in metal that most other cutting tools can’t accomplish. Also because the head of this tool is small in diameter you can cut in the center of a panel simply by drilling a pilot hole to fit the head into the sheet metal.Now a nibbler does have some small downsides. The first is the mess; a nibbler cuts metal quick and tends to throw the waste metal all over the place. This can be an issue if you’re working in a clean shop or a delicate area on a project where metal waste can’t get near the project.
When cutting with a nibbler we suggest trying to contain the cutting area to limit the travel of the waste. The other downside is that the “kerf” or area removed when cutting is much larger than a shear. This means you need to plan the cut accordingly and you need to make sure you have enough material there to cover the kerf. We suggest use a nibbler to make a quick, first cut and use a more accurate tool with little to no kerf for the final trim/cut. Electric Sheet Metal Shears Cut Quickly and with Great AccuracySheet metal shears come in many different sizes and types but we’ll be focusing on the closest competitor to the sheet metal nibbler. Metal shears cut by inserting a piece of metal in between a fixed and movable set of jaws with sharp edges. A standard straight cut shear will have a flat surface you lay the metal on and the top blade will come down and cut the metal.
There is usually a very small gap or clearance between the blades. This blade gap is set depending on the gauge of metal you are cutting. Handheld Sheet Metal Shears work in a similar fashion except the jaws are more like a pair of scissors and one blade goes up and down quickly. Will allow you to make tighter curves and have little to no kerf. Will have a larger kerf where there are two fixed supporting jaws that are spaced apart enough for the rotating jaw to come between them and shear the metal.
This method is very quick, but does have a kerf the width of the gap between the jaws. Both styles of sheet metal shears can cut curves and are very accurate. These come in both air and electric versions and different thickness ratings. Handheld sheet metal shears do have a limit in the radii they can cut, but in a pinch you can make a few cuts to achieve the radius you need.Sheet Metal Shears are one of our most common tools, but we have a diverse line of metal cutting tools. See our entire line.