sheet steel nibbler

[andrew]

Could anyone recommend an electric nibbler for cutting box profile 0.7mm roofing sheets?

AJH

[Andrew Mawson]

I have a selection of nibblers ranging from 1mm air to 6mm electric steel capacity with several in between and none of them meet the bill. Going down the trapizoid and meeting the horizontal they all seem to get stuck . I've always reverted to using an angle grinder with a 1mm disk.

BTW the 6mm nibbler is an awsome beast, spitting out 6mm cubes of 'swarf'

AWEM

[AlanD]

Andrew,

What make / model is your 6mm one? I could do with one of those! I have an air one which can manage upto ~1.5mm, but if I need to cut anything bigger I currently have to resort to an angle grinder or plasma cutter, both are messy compared to a nibbler.

Alan.

[Andrew Mawson]

message

profile

electric

It's made by Duplex - iirc the motor is about 2hp and it's a beast to hold but work like a dream

AWEM

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got an Hitachi bought secondhand off Ebay - but they're a ferocious price new. Works very well, though. You can get add on ones for a mains drill - but they're rather unwieldy. Quite cheap, though. Dunno if they'd work with a cordless.

[Cicero]

==========================================

If you don't need clean cuts (e.g. under a capping) an arc welder on high power will cut roofing sheets quite easily.

Cic.

[Andy Dingley]

No, I couldn't recommend an electric nibbler for doing this.

Nibblers have their place (awkward internal cuts), but assuming that roofing sheets means "lots of straight cuts, maybe one stovepipe vent" then you'd be better off with a disk.

Then if you think you need a nibbler, look at a plasma cutter instead. Even for plastic coated steels, provided you don't need a perfect surface right to the edges.

[Peter Parry]

A farmer friend of mine did that once.

Replacing a roof panel. On a barn. Half full of hay.

Very exciting it was.

We awarded him maximum points for the swallow dive with two back flips a forward roll and a belly flop he performed into the nearby slurry bund after three runs up and down the roof (necessitated by dropping the welding torch as the flames came through the new opening which caught the top of the ladder and knocked it to the ground.).

[Cicero]

=========================================

All tools are potentially dangerous in some way, but most people would have the good sense to cut a new roof panel to size well away from flammable material.

I once suffered a broken toe when a heavy duty pipe bender fell on my foot, but I don't consider pipe benders to be intrinsically dangerous.

Cic.

[Peter Parry]

He did do it a long way from the material, about 30ft away. It wasn't the distance that was the problem :-).