nibbler.....

[Anonymous-0]

Thought they were those little short ears of corn til yesterday....

After the little episode of cutting steel roof with the miracle double bladed saw (not)... Kid brought one of these things... Nibble he!!... He couldn't move across the roof fast enough to slow it down and it made the prettiest cut.... Don't really see one in my future, but if anyone cuts a lot of sheet metal, they're sure worth a look...

Here's what he had...

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-JN1601...836885&sr=1-1&keywords=makita+nibbler

 

[Puddles]

In the 70s I worked out of the sheet metal union, used a lot of nibblers. The ones I liked cut 10-GA like a hot knife through butter.

 

[mozark1]

Thanks for the review, I had planned on installing a metal roof and have heard all the hoopla about the double bladed saw. I used a nibbler years ago and they worked great as long as blade wasn't worn out, we always free handed them and it was hard to cut a straight line, so hopefully there is a guide or something. The only other thing I remember was the "nibbles" were very sharp and stuck in the soles of your shoes. Not very hardwood floor friendly.

 

[Anonymous-0]

That double bladed saw zipped right into it like a champ and went almost 10 ft... Screamin like a banshee... Used the little lube sticks like the book said and all... Just stopped working (only one blade would turn)... Haven't looked to see the problem yet, probably won't, all boxed up to take back to the store... Even have a few lube sticks left in case someone gets smart with me at the store.... This kid did real well freehanding, but a strip of wood would be the ticketfor someone wobbly...

Just saw harbor freight has air powered ones for 30 bucks... Maybe I'll rethink whether I "need" one or not :roll:

 

[timcasbolt]

I've had this one for many years: http://www.harborfreight.com/inline-air-shears-98833.html

Comes in very handy once in a while. Especially on thin stuff.

 

[big fred]

Yeah, them nibblin's can be a real pain to pick up, too. You'd think a magnet would work, and it does for steel nibblin's, but it don't get 'em all. Seems like the nibbler generates approximately half a million nibbles per minute of use...

 

[big fred]

Dave, that's where I got mine. Only problem I had is the cutter wears out relatively quickly. I was cutting 18 to 20 gage steel.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Or, just use a regular carbide tipped blade, backwards. The finer
the teeth, the better!

 

[Nebraska Kirk]

No, do NOT run the blade backwards! Put the blade on the right way. I have put on many square feet of metal roofing and had to do a lot of custom cutting. I have tried it both ways, running the blade backwards just breaks off all the teeth and makes it wear out faster, whereas it will cut much better running the blade in the correct direction and the blade will last longer.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Back when I worked on a crew putting up steel buildings, a Bosch nibbler is all we used. Much quieter and safer than a Skil saw. No flying metal and no sharp edges.