Hello all,

I'm thinking about buying a nibbler that will nibble 1/8" steel.

Those cost about $1100. But there is a thing that Bosch calls a
Unishear that is about half as much. There are also versions by
DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. These seem a little more like shears, at
least as much as I can tell by looking at the picture in the catalog.
Though not like pneumatic shears that look like power scissors.

Anybody ever use one? Do they distort the edges like a pair of
regular shears do?

Any other recommendations? Comments?

-jim

The unishears that I have used were meant for 16 gauge and lighter. If you
are trimming an edge they work pretty good. It does take a bit of skill to
take a good trim to the line drawn.
For 1100 you are starting on the way to a smaller plasma cutting outfit.
In fact the shop were I used the Unishear years ago made cabs for oil rigs.
Cutting out window openings took a long time with the Unishear and a
nibbler. Time on cutting windows dropped significantly as soon as the
outfit bought a plasma. The Unishears ended up on the shelf collecting
dust.
I wouldn't even consider battling 1/8th with a unishear or nibbler.
Randy



"jjjjj" wrote in message
om...
Hello all,

I'm thinking about buying a nibbler that will nibble 1/8" steel.

Those cost about $1100. But there is a thing that Bosch calls a
Unishear that is about half as much. There are also versions by
DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. These seem a little more like shears, at
least as much as I can tell by looking at the picture in the catalog.
Though not like pneumatic shears that look like power scissors.

Anybody ever use one? Do they distort the edges like a pair of
regular shears do?

Any other recommendations? Comments?

-jim

I sure like my nibbler. It is really amazing to watch it go.

Steve Smith

jjjjj wrote:

Hello all,

I'm thinking about buying a nibbler that will nibble 1/8" steel.

Those cost about $1100. But there is a thing that Bosch calls a
Unishear that is about half as much. There are also versions by
DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. These seem a little more like shears, at
least as much as I can tell by looking at the picture in the catalog.
Though not like pneumatic shears that look like power scissors.

Anybody ever use one? Do they distort the edges like a pair of
regular shears do?

Any other recommendations? Comments?

-jim

If you mostly cut straight lines or outside curves, a B3 Beverly
shear works very well even on 1/8" material -- but it's not real good
at small-radius inside curves and no good at all for holes. Ads say
"light sheet metal" but the B3 is rated for 1/8" mild steel and does
it with no strain. It's not as fast as plasma, but you can hew very
close to a line with no cleanup required and I think it's a lot
easier to control than a power nibbler though I've never tried one of
the newer high-buck power nibblers.

The Beverly will not distort the part on the stationary part of the
shear for straight cuts or outside curves, but it may distort the
cutoff part.

Yow, prices sure have gone up on those since I got mine!



On 8 Mar 2004 17:16:00 -0800, (jjjjj) wrote:

Hello all,

I'm thinking about buying a nibbler that will nibble 1/8" steel.

Those cost about $1100. But there is a thing that Bosch calls a
Unishear that is about half as much. There are also versions by
DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. These seem a little more like shears, at
least as much as I can tell by looking at the picture in the catalog.
Though not like pneumatic shears that look like power scissors.

Anybody ever use one? Do they distort the edges like a pair of
regular shears do?

Any other recommendations? Comments?

-jim