Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Thinking ahead is half the fun of these types of projects. Although I am still in the trailer stage I am thinking about fitting sheet metal. What have your experiences been using hand held electric sheet metal shears? Which type work best, there appear to be two main desin types. Do the HF ones work? From looking at the pictures of the HF model they look like there may be problems with the cut away excess material being able to roll if it is wide. Does HF carry replacement blades? How long do the blades last? At the price of the HF tool it seems like it would be worth while if it would last through the job and ig it can do the job with a clean edge.

Jocko

I can not give you any opinion on electric sheers, I used many type of manual sheers with no luck, left the edge chopping and not clean, so I move to a angle grinder with a cutting blade to make all of my metal cuts, it has been the only thing that has worked for me to get a clean cut. Again merely my opinion. Unless you have a metal break, that would do a much better and cleaner job of cutting, but that is not an affordable option for me anyway.

My experience has been similar to yours using common tin snips on steel. I have one set of shears that is made for cutting flue pipe. You poke the tip through the pipe and it nibbles a 3/16" piece of metal that rolls away. The cut is fairly clean. Unfortunately these don't do a good job near the edge. I know there are hand shears out there that do a good job as I have seen roofers and HVAC guys using them with good results. The issue with hand shears is which one for which job.

I have thought about doing what you did using an air powered tool grinder. If the work is well supported it should work fine as long as it is kept under control.

Jocko

Jocko, can't comment specifically on the electric one since I use the air version...but the air ones work very well...you can cut a radius or straight line and maintain a fine line as you cut...we have been using the HF barrel bodied unit(I hear the pistol grip style has better control) for several years and it continues to cut just as well as it started out cutting...it cuts about a 1/4" slice, which curls out to the left side and does not interfere with the cut itself however, it can be handy to have an extra hand to give it a tug once(the "curl out") in a while to keep it heading in the right direction...like I said, this experience applies to the HF air powered units............
madjack

I have an electric cutter of the pistol-grip type built by Milwaukee. It is sweet to work with, removing a nice tight curl of metal and leaving both sides essentially flat and square (minus a tiny bit of rippling from the interrupted scissor-nature of the cut).

I use it a lot when doing sheet metal fabrication in lighter gauges - it certainly beats the bandsaw for lighter work (18 ga and down).

Having had mine apart once you can re-square the edges of the moving blade on a whetstone without too much trouble. I've done it more than once. the anvil (the bits that don't move) I have not done but I doubt they will show the wear that the moving shear does.

Alan

I use a hand held jig saw to do a lot of metal cutting. I've cut lots of 1/4" steel (slow for sure but I "get er done"). Cutting the .032 or .040 aluminum for the skins would be a piece of cake.

There are a couple of "tricks" that make it go much smoother. First buy good quality "bi metallic" blades. Second keep the cut cool with a continous flow from a hand mister/sprayer, wd40, the garden hose, or whatever (my saw is double insulated and on a GFI just for grins). Finally when cutting steel slow the blade/motor down.

You can get a lot done with the right technique and a jig saw.

Never used a hand shear but the comments seem positive. I ditto the remarks on tin snips. Pain in the posterior for marginal results.

Cheers,

Gus

ajricher wrote:Having had mine apart once you can re-square the edges of the moving blade on a whetstone without too much trouble. I've done it more than once. the anvil (the bits that don't move) I have not done but I doubt they will show the wear that the moving shear does.

Alan

One of the items that Harbor Freight sells that I really endorse are diamond hones. I keep them in the garage and kitchen drawer and give everything from knives, to sissors, to chisels a few quick swipes before each use. Really keeps things sharp. Try em, you'll like em.

Cheers,

Gus

I use a hand held jig saw to do a lot of metal cutting. I've cut lots of 1/4" steel (slow for sure but I "get er done"). Cutting the .032 or .040 aluminum for the skins would be a piece of cake.

I must confess that I've used a jigsaw extensively for cutting heavy sheet/light plate steel. All of the caveats above (good blades and such) I wholeheartedly agree with save the cooling -Ii've never felt the need and not had a problem.

I do think that cutting the .032 might be a real problem with a jigsaw, though, unless you can find a really fine blade. Either that or the blade speed needs to be high and the feed slower to keep from jamming the material and shearing teeth.

Do shield the shoe of the saw when cutting bare aluminum or you'll leave "tracks" on the surface - scratches. I usually stone/file off the sharp edges on the shoe of the saw, then cover it with a few layers of heavy electrical tape or the like to give a soft surface to the shoe. This way it doesn't scratch....

Alan

I used the HF electric version when I built my TD, and they worked and held up fine. I was at HF yesterday, and I saw replacement blades also.

I would have purchased the air version, but I've learned that my compressor is a bit underpowered to run many tools efficiently, and I'm just not patient enough to wait for my compressor to refill the tank.....

ajricher wrote:

I must confess that I've used a jigsaw extensively for cutting heavy sheet/light plate steel. All of the caveats above (good blades and such) I wholeheartedly agree with save the cooling -Ii've never felt the need and not had a problem.

I do think that cutting the .032 might be a real problem with a jigsaw, though, unless you can find a really fine blade. Either that or the blade speed needs to be high and the feed slower to keep from jamming the material and shearing teeth.

Do shield the shoe of the saw when cutting bare aluminum or you'll leave "tracks" on the surface - scratches. I usually stone/file off the sharp edges on the shoe of the saw, then cover it with a few layers of heavy electrical tape or the like to give a soft surface to the shoe. This way it doesn't scratch....

Alan

Alan and I agree on all points. As far as cooling goes: When cutting steel the blade can overheat and be toasted if you have the speed of the saw set too high but copious amouts of water realllly help. When cutting thicker aluminum (1/8" and thicker) the aluminum tends to soften and clog the teeth of the blade. Keeping things cool prevents this and you go faster and get a better cut. At least this has been my experience. Maybe I have something more to learn in life, ha.

Cheers,

Gus

From years working with thin aluminum; a nibbler works much better for thin aluminum. A bit more $$, but doesn't deform the edge.

I used a nibbler on some of the trimming on #1. The only complaint I had with it was that I ended up with a bunch of little aluminum crescents all over. I think about half of them stuck on the bottom of my shoes. For cutting the profile I used an air body saw(like a small version of a recip saw), but the blade broke and skipped across the aluminum, unfortunatley it was not on the scrap side.

Ageless, when you say nibbler are you speaking of the cutter that cuts a 3/16-1/4 strip as it cuts as opposed to the scissor type of electric snips HF sells? It looks to me that the HF air tool is not a scissors type but the electric is. I have some snips that cut the strip and I expermented with them today on some aluminium and they worked well. I am beginning to think that in the time it takes to drive to HF I could probably do the cuts needed with what I have.

I have had less than satisfactory experience cutting sheet metal with a jig saw in the past.

Jocko

...a NIBBLER cuts a kazillion cresent moon pieces and for that reason, I don't like 'em(they do work well)...the AIR SHEAR I have from HF will cut the 1/4" strip, which comes out as a curl to the left(usually)...................
madjack

As Madjack stated; the air powered nibblers I used created a continuous curl. We did have another type that made a million little rectangles, but tended to jam with the scrap