Metal Shears/Tin Snips

[Winander]

I don't love sawing and find my attention wandering, closely followed by the cut. That or boredom sets in and I saw too fast with too much pressure with the same consequence.

Recommendations to cut and file to the line have been taken on board, but I have seen advertisements for tin snips that will magically permit an accurate cut without dressing - assertions that I am deeply suspicious of and I accept that I will have to cut and file for best results.

Or is it worth investing in a shear? I imagine you get what you pay for and it would be slightly over the top for my requirements.

I haven't seen any evidence of their use in the forum, so my question is, do people use them, are they any good, are there any recommendations for makes?

I will be using them for brass and NS of the usual thicknesses and hope to be doing a lot of scratchbuilding, so they will be well used.

thanks in advance

Edited after I found out the difference between a tin snip and a shear

[Tor Giffard]

Hi Richard,

I use a beefy set of Irwin snips....

http://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk ... wgodDQ0LkQ

....they produce a slightly serrated cut but a little file & finish ensures a very neat job.

Rgds

Dave

[Winander]

Thanks Dave, I have a pair of Fax Max something similar, but had never even contemplated using them as they leave really bad serrations. Now that you have suggested it, I will give them a try since I will have to dress the edge anyway.

Perhaps the Irwin are not as 'industrial'.

[jon price]

Surely you don't need something this heavy. They are for cutting sheet more than 1.1mm thick. Aren't etched kits much much thinner?

[Winander]

Surely you don't need something this heavy. They are for cutting sheet more than 1.1mm thick. Aren't etched kits much much thinner?

Much much - 15thou = .381mm. Another reason why I hadn't contemplated using Fat Max, but if they do the job, and I already have them An engineer of this parish told me an engineer would use the biggest tool that will do the job....

What I am looking for is something that will give a decent edge and not distort the piece I am cutting, nor the stock I am cutting it from.

[Guy Rixon]

Looking at snips and shears in the Squires catalogue (http://www.squirestools.com/files/13-13.pdf) it seems that there's nothing ideal for our purposes. None of the snips are rated for cutting metal except the heavy, coarse ones with serrated blades. Tinman's snips would be appropriate; Squires don't sell them. There are mitre shears, but those seem to be rated only for soft materials.

I have occasionally cut thin brass with sharp scissors. Good scissors will easily cut 0.005"-0.006" (e.g. half-etch thickness) brass but struggle with 0.010" and anything thicker is right out. It probably ruins the scissors quite quickly (I didn't make enough cuts to work out the wear rate).

Any shearing device will tend to curl the metal unless the latter is supported. I suspect that this support is the added value in specialized shears, like notching shears.

[Tor Giffard]

Surely you don't need something this heavy. They are for cutting sheet more than 1.1mm thick. Aren't etched kits much much thinner?

....I was tipped off that they didn't curl the metal and I tend to need to accurately cut very flat metal sheet.....I have to agree that they make a very good job....

P1020078[1].JPG

....this is the thinnest flat brass sheet which Eileen's do...the Irwin snips cut it like paper without curling it.

Dave

[andrewnummelin]

Two possibilites for light and heavier duty
http://www.axminster.co.uk/jeweller-s-shears-502418
http://www.axminster.co.uk/305mm-sheet-metal-worker-900118

(My only connection with Axminster is as a satisfied customer.)

[allanferguson]

I have a pair of pretty large scissors which I inherited from my (very) late grandfather, who was a master tailor. They probably date from pre WW1. I last sharpened them about 12 -- 15 years ago. I use them almost exclusively for cutting sheet brass. They will always put a curl in the work, but the curl is mostly on the smaller piece being cut off. So I take off the waste in several slices, with the last piece being a very narrow slice, which takes nearly all of the curl.
I have occasionally used a modern pair of decent kitchen scissors, which work quite well, but I don't think would last as long.

Allan F

[grovenor-2685]

These seem cheap enough for a test without much risk
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p33685?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=shF5jhR3U_dc&pcrid=66162905543&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CLau7IrTpMkCFQ-3GwodzUkJSQ
I have some similar to these, http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-gilbow-tin-snips-203mm-8-/31996?kpid=31996&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&cm_mmc=Google-_-Shopping%20-%20Mixed-_-Shopping%20-%20Mixed&gclid=CNj18LnTpMkCFSQYwwod1vYJBQ I use them for cutting lead flashing for weights, I just tested them on a bit of kit brass, they cut nice and cleanly, the workpiece stays flat but the waste tends to curl.
Regards

[David Thorpe]

Looking at snips and shears in the Squires catalogue (http://www.squirestools.com/files/13-13.pdf) it seems that there's nothing ideal for our purposes. None of the snips are rated for cutting metal except the heavy, coarse ones with serrated blades. Tinman's snips would be appropriate; Squires don't sell them. There are mitre shears, but those seem to be rated only for soft materials.

Squires do have tinmans shears - if you look at their catalogue, then open No. 3 (Pliers and cutters etc), then gp to pagers 50 and 51 you'll find them. I've got a set of the Jewellers Snips (67531) which do a perfectly good job of cutting thin sheet brass although, like others, they put a curl in the smaller piece of sheet that is being cut off. Not very good at cutting intricate shapes and tight curves, however.

DT

[DougN]

One thing that is missing which I will replace when mine give up the ghost is the Xuron etch shears. http://xuron.com/index.php/main/consumer

They are the one tool I am using the most of. I have cut off thicker brass (12thou) which does take some effort and I don't think they will last all that long doing that too them!

Should cut fairly straight for about 30mm until the material needs to be curved away.

[Terry Bendall]

Allan is quite right and using scissors or snips, which work in the same shearing principle, will leave a curl. His idea of cutting in several stages is useful. I use a pair of 8 inch tin snips which I have had for 53 years and they will cut copper or brass up to 1.2mm thick down to 5 thou sheet.

The important thing is to keep the blades sharp. It is only the top edge that needs to be touched and this should angle down slightly from the rubbing surface of the blade. You can use a flat file, I have done this, but don't use your best one. The alternative is to use a bench grinding machine. After sharpening use an oilstone to remove the burrs.

The moving blades need to be in close contact for the whole of the movement. If there is a gap thin sheet will slip down the gap and you will get a bend rather than a cut. The rivet can be tightened by some light hammering with the head supported on a steel surface - vice jaws would be sufficient. The last point is never use snips to cut wire. Ding this will put a nick in the blade and it will take a long time to remove it.

Terry Bendall

[dal-t]

HI Richard,

Just a slight warning that snips may not be a cure-all for wandering lines, because using them accurately does require either a lot of practice (or an innate skill). In my 'other' hobby of silversmithing I'm obliged (getting it all right!) to use snips for cutting sheet (bearing in mind the cost of the material is significantly higher than brass, copper, or nickel-silver, so minimising waste is particularly important). But when I look at the wavy edge I produce I invariably wish I'd reached for the piercing saw. Although use of that is again very much a 'knack', fortunately it cuts like butter for me, even in the softer material which is more inclined to 'snag'. A good test of your ability to use shears is how accurately you cut paper with scissors. I was always awful at that, and in my schooldays began using a scapel and steel edge before most of my classmates knew such things existed. If you paper edge wanders off-line I'm afraid it's highly likely your metal one will continue to also. Either way, it is good that you recognise you'll have to end up with a file to true the edge, and for that you definitely do want the biggest tool that will do the job.

[billbedford]

One way of increasing the accuracy of cutting out with tin snips is to hold one arm of the snips in a bench vise. This not only gives more purchase on the cutting action, but also makes controlling the position of the sheet being cut easier.

[mickeym]

you mean to make them more like a guillotine in action there?

[Martin Wynne]

Rather than snips or shears, try to find an Eclipse Goscut nibbler:



http://uk.ebid.net/for-sale/vintage-gos ... 268925.htm

Ideal for modelling -- cuts not only sheet metal without curling, but also for square edges on copper-clad, thick plasticard, thin plywood, etc. The width of the blade slot is adjustable, closed up for clean sheared edges on thin materials, wider for easier use on thicker materials.

Martin.