This same subject just came up in the neighborhood last week. I don't
know for sure what the guy did, but I suggested that he find someone who
sharpens saw blades as a business. There's a guy around here who does
it and he has tooling to sharpen planer blades that are as much as 36"
long. Seems to me that he could do your job.

Pete Stanaitis
----------------------------

Grant Erwin wrote:
I have a little Scotchman ironworker. It shears structural steel stock
fine, but it hasn't ever worked on sheet metal (gap too big). Today I
removed the lower bar shear blade, cleaned it, cleaned behind it, and
shimmed it out to close up the gap. Now it will cut sheet metal, except
in the middle. There is apparently a wear spot in the middle, because
when the blades are closed the gap in the center is about .005" larger
than elsewhere. It would make sense, because that's where most of the
flat bar gets sheared.

Seems like I could grind the vertical face of the blades until they
clean up, adding shims to replace the material ground off. I hate to
think of what a new pair of shear blades would cost from Scotchman!

I'm wondering if my plan will work. Anyone else try this? It wouldn't
just be an issue with an ironworker shear, could be about any guillotine
or scissor type shear.

If this does work, then I'm going to have to find someone with a bigger
surface grinder than I have, mine's only 12" and the blades are 14" long.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington