The 3 Best Tools for Cutting Metal
Cutting metal is a routine part of even the smallest fabrication jobs. Whether a home improvement project, manufacturing job, or even auto work, an artisan will likely run into an occasion where they need to trim metal. At first it may seem like a dangerous task, far removed from simply sawing a piece of wood, but in reality there are several tools designed to make cutting metal very easy regardless of the size and the type of cut. With these tools, even an amateur builder will have the pieces he or she needs in no time, and with no danger.
Power Shears
Power shears are the quickest, most rudimentary way of trimming pieces of metal. They work like common tin snips, only larger and more powerful. While tin snips are great for manually cutting small, thin pieces of metal, power shears can be used for straight cuts on much thicker or stronger metal materials. The shears look like thick-bladed scissors mounted on the front of a drill. When turned on these blades open and close like handheld shears but in a much faster, more powerful fashion. The motor-driven cutting motion allows them to slice in a straight line through sheets of metal with no effort. However, because of the chomping motion used to make the cuts, power shears are not good for complex cuts like curves or very short lines. If you need an imprecise straight cut through sheet metal, power shears are the way to go. For other needs it is best to look at more easily controlled cutting tools.
Nibblers
A nibbler is a handheld metal cutting power tool that succeeds in the areas power shears do not. It allows you to make complex, curved, and small cuts through various types of metal with ease. The nibbler resembles a common rotary sander in size and shape, but where the sanding wheel would be is only a small cutting bit. These bits, which are typically interchangeable depending on the task, slice through sheet metal in any direction as you move the nibbler over the top. This allows for total control through curved cuts or in various directions, rather than in a straight line. Like power drills, nibblers come in both powerful corded versions for heavy-duty work and cordless rechargeable models for less intense home projects.
Specialized Circular Saws
Many higher-end standard circular saws marketed toward home workshops allow you to swap out the wood cutting blades for special metal saw blade, which are coated in chemicals that keep them sharper for slicing up metal. Do not be fooled by these budget metal cutting solutions, as they come with big danger. These table saws are still designed with woodcutting in mind, and will throw showers of hot metal shavings outward as you cut. Once you finish, the pieces of metal will be scalding hot to the touch along the cutting edge for quite some time. Finally, that expensive specialty saw blade may have special coatings on the teeth, but they will still wear down far too quickly to make economic sense.
Instead, if you have heavy-duty metal cutting to do, opt for a special circular saw built exclusively for cutting metal. These table saws will have a bevy of features to make the process easy, safe, and economical. Extra-strength thick blades will cut through thick metal with ease and last much longer. In addition, many newer models of metal cutting saws feature automatic cooling, which uses liquid to keep the metal cool as it is cut. This way you can handle it as soon as you are finished, moving on to the next step of your project that much quicker. If you are spending the money for one of these specialty tools, go ahead and be sure to get one that also includes spark-free cutting. This will keep red-hot metal shavings and sparks from flying outward, keeping the workshop cleaner and safer.
