I am going to buy a sheet metal shear. The one that looks like a drill with
a pair of scissors sticking out of it.

I have seen some reconditioned units on ebay, both Milwaukee and DeWalt.
The Dewalt is in the #890 range, with a couple of variations that will allow
them to cut down to 14ga, and have a swivel head.

I saw a NEW Milwaukee last week at a flea market in Las Vegas, but the guy
wanted $150. I was uninformed as to what they sold for, so passed, as I am
going back on the 6th.

Thoughts: What's your idea on buying a reconditioned unit? There's quite a
bit of difference in cost. I will try the local AM radio trader show next
week, and see if I can snag one that way. And what are your thoughts vs:
Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee on reliability etc.

Anyone got a used pair they want to sell?

Steve

"Steve B" wrote in message
.. .
I am going to buy a sheet metal shear. The one that looks like a drill
with a pair of scissors sticking out of it.
...
Steve

I like this style:
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/upl...erl_ss500_.jpg

The 8" Enco cuts 1/8" steel reasonably well. Unlike the scissors type you
push the metal in for the next cut and pull the handle to shear it as two
separate operations, which makes guiding the cut along the line easier. The
pneumatic scissors one I have doesn't always feed forward smoothly, so I
lean hard on it and then it breaks free and jumps. The waving sharp-edged
curlicue it removes is closer than I like to my hands.

On the plus side the scissors leaves both sides flat while the bench shear
curls one downwards, so it's better for trimming the waste off the edges
than slicing a piece off a full sheet. The scissors will cut corrugated
roofing crosswise without (much) distortion.

Then there's the cutoff wheel in the angle grinder, which can make blind
cuts with square corners.

jsw

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...

"Steve B" wrote in message
.. .
I am going to buy a sheet metal shear. The one that looks like a drill
with a pair of scissors sticking out of it.
...
Steve

I like this style:
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/upl...erl_ss500_.jpg

The 8" Enco cuts 1/8" steel reasonably well. Unlike the scissors type you
push the metal in for the next cut and pull the handle to shear it as two
separate operations, which makes guiding the cut along the line easier.
The pneumatic scissors one I have doesn't always feed forward smoothly, so
I lean hard on it and then it breaks free and jumps. The waving
sharp-edged curlicue it removes is closer than I like to my hands.

On the plus side the scissors leaves both sides flat while the bench shear
curls one downwards, so it's better for trimming the waste off the edges
than slicing a piece off a full sheet. The scissors will cut corrugated
roofing crosswise without (much) distortion.

Then there's the cutoff wheel in the angle grinder, which can make blind
cuts with square corners.

jsw

I have WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much to cut to use one of these smaller types. And
I am going to use it to cut larger pieces out of full sheets for sculptures.
And I need to get into areas that have tight accessibility.

Steve

On Dec 31 2011, 11:49*am, "Steve B" wrote:
I am going to buy a sheet metal shear. *The one that looks like a drill with
a pair of scissors sticking out of it.

I have seen some reconditioned units on ebay, both Milwaukee and DeWalt.
The Dewalt is in the #890 range, with a couple of variations that will allow
them to cut down to 14ga, and have a swivel head.

I saw a NEW Milwaukee last week at a flea market in Las Vegas, but the guy
wanted $150. *I was uninformed as to what they sold for, so passed, as I am
going back on the 6th.

Thoughts: *What's your idea on buying a reconditioned unit? *There's quite a
bit of difference in cost. *I will try the local AM radio trader show next
week, and see if I can snag one that way. *And what are your thoughts vs:
Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee on reliability etc.

Anyone got a used pair they want to sell?

Steve

I've got a Bosch 1500C shear that I like a lot. I used it recently to
chop up some old sheet metal shelves for a project that I had.