> What other good ways are there to cut sheet metal? I've seen nibbler
> type things, but never held one or used one. Do they work well? Do
> they make electric powered ones? (the plasma will be using the air...)
> How thick can they cut?
I used a sheet metal nibbler for the first time a few months ago, I was not
impressed. I suppose they come in various width sizes, but the one I used
was taking 5/16" bites out of the sheet metal... pretty big waste. The
chewed up sheet metal is discarded as metal "finger nail clippings" onto the
floor, and it is a REAL PAIN to clean up.
I was cutting 18GA sheet steel without a problem, and the nibbler moved as
fast as I wanted it too. It was difficult to control though, the faster you
go the more you end up deviating from the line you want to cut along.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the quality of the cut or the
difficulty controlling the unit for really long cuts. Cleanup was horrible
too, after cutting about twenty 3' sheets in half, there was such a huge
pile of crap and the little metal clippings even wedge themselves in the
soles of your shoe... so watch out dragging them into your house when you go
inside.
If I ever have to do a similar project again, I'll use a roll shear... where
two cutting wheels sheer the metal along your line as you push the metal
through. HF runs a cheap bead/shear/flange machine for $89 sometimes, it
looks a little flimsy though. Eastwood has a slightly nicer one for $200+.
http://tinyurl.com/wjjx
The Bead Rollers / Shears do limit you in the width of your cut however...
typically 18" for both the HF unit and the one from Eastwood.
Kai
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