Stakesy's electric nibbler

[gaz_moose]

i was thinking of buying an electric nibbler as i don't have room for a bandsaw and get fed up of jig saws snagging.ive never seen one in the flesh but have had a mooch on youtube.so i figured id gain some real world advice from you guys. like how noisy are these things?

im only going to be using it on car type stuff so 1.6mm steel and 2mm alloy would be plenty.i was looking at this one http://www.stakesys.co.uk/product/sta160_sheet_metal_nibbler/

i wondered if anyone on here had one? looking around i cant seem to find any reviews only of the blue bosch ones but they are double the price.

i am half tempted to just be a cheapskate and get an air powered one but know if i need to use it at home the neighbours go mental when i switch my compressor on.

 

[BigBossMan]

I have this, runs fast, quite noisy and can get stuck sometimes.
Hard to judge exactly where you're cutting as there is no pointer at the front, but that's probably just me.
Turning circle is quite good for cutting and as long as you're going from one edge to the other it's fine. ie you can't stop mid panel and lift it out, you have to get to an 'exit'.

Not sure 2mm ally will fit in the jaws though, it'll be a tight fit if it does.

Leaves a good cut edge on your shape too. So for the money go for it, just my opinion.

If you're near Leicester you can go in and try one before you buy.

 

[the snooper]

i would go for the electric shears if you can they are not noisy and dont waste any steel whatsoever but they are a bit more cash then those you posted

 

[gaz_moose]

i was more inclined towards the nibblers as they let you cut out intricate shapes.

ive used the hand held monodex cutters where it fold a nice curl out the centre but i always found they left the edge of the work piece a bit wobbly and i know im going to end up tigging stuff that i cut out so nice flat edges are kind of a must. i figured the shears would be the same?

good to know i can pop over to their showroom and have a look. can have a nosey at the 3 in one folder/bender/roller.

 

[the snooper]

the electric shears leave a perfrectly flat edge

 

[Glyn]

I've got both shears and nibbler. Personally Ifind the shears quite hard to use. I mark the cut, start the tool and the damn thing rattles the sheet. 9 times out of 10 I miss where I wanted to cut. I now make sure I have more steel than I need and mark extra just so I can get back on track further down. The nibbler on the other hand is easy. Yeah, you waste some metal but you can cut nice tight curves. The shears also curl one side of the metal where it runs up the foot. Not a problem if you remember to run the right way. The shears also cut much thicker sheet. But DON'T BUY a nibbler if you have children, pets, wooden floors or carpets! The little half moon bits they eject are deadly to all the above! Thousands of the sodding things, fly all over the place. The pointed little shards stick in the soles of boots and distroy anything you walk on. They stick in your clothes and fall out then stick in all of the above. I last used the nibbler about 12 months ago (on stainless sheet) and I still find the things.

 

[gaz_moose]

what nibbler do you have glyn? and would you recomend it?

 

[chunkolini]

Glyn says
'The little half moon bits they eject are deadly to all the above! Thousands of the sodding things, fly all over the place. The pointed little shards stick in the soles of boots and distroy anything you walk on. They stick in your clothes and fall out then stick in all of the above. I last used the nibbler about 12 months ago (on stainless sheet) and I still find the things. '
Note if they get found in the bed you can get in serious trouble.
A perfect description, I had a drill powered nibbler and used it once. Then spent £200 on a set of Bosch shears to avoid thiese problems. Love them to bits.
Note be wary of cheapo versions on Fleabay, I tried them they lasted about 16 seconds.

 

[BigBossMan]

good to know i can pop over to their showroom and have a look. can have a nosey at the 3 in one folder/bender/roller.

Not really a showroom, last time I was there I found he shares unit space with this guy..

http://www.iandavieswelding.co.uk/

he will be happy to let you try out the two nibblers though.

 

[Glyn]

Nibbler

I have the bosch 1530.1. Would I recommend it? Hmm, for clean distorsion free cuts, sharp radius cuts, for removing small amounts, for starting a cut from the middle of a panel, YES! But unless you have a totally clear, easy to clean area and are prepared to sit for ages with a pair of pliers, pulling little half moon shapes out of your boot soles, I wouldn't recommend it.
The shear is good for gentle radiuses? radius's but weighs a ton and I find it hard to control at the start of a cut.
But for total control, limited mess and ease of use is good old plasma. You say you have a compressor, half way there already.

 

[gaz_moose]

now your just showing off.

id get a plasma but dont think id get the use out of it.

 

[Fintray]

Just been using the larger Stakesys nibbler today to cut some aluminium checker plate, most of the noise comes from the material being cut if you allow it to vibrate. The large version has a 30mm or so bottom die holder that you could fit with a suitably sized container to catch the cuttings. Much quieter than a grinder with a cutting disc.

 

[gaz_moose]

i was going to pop over to see one in action but then i saw they did free shipping so just ordered one blind. will arrive tomorrow so let you guys know if its good or bad.

 

[gaz_moose]

ive used these a few times now on 1mm and 2mm ally and 1.6mm steel and they cut beautifully. they leave the edge slightly serrated but a quick de burr sorts that out.

the thickness of the 'cut' is about as thick as a line drew with a sharpe marker pen so its not to bad. trying to cut straight lines free hand is not a good idea as they are a bit hard to keep straight. but its an awesome bit of kit and id recommend them to anyone.