Steel/tin snips advice please..

[slim_boy_fat]

Spoiled for choice here

http://www.frost.co.uk/auto-bodywork-welding-metalworking-machine/cutting-tools.html

 

[Kent]

Gilbow all the way straight left hand and right hand
With years of use its surprising how far they can be pushed on thicker stuff
I don't use mine much but when they come in they come in

 

[AndersK]

I have used Wiss tin snips for many years now. I have a Red handled (right hand) and a Green handled (left hand) pair and have used these on the building site mainly for cutting zinc alum roofing sheets and associated flashings. As far as how thick they will cut ............... it depends on how many muscles you have !! I have never broken a pair yet. As optima21 says, get the off set ones like these below.

Wiss M1 and M2 aren't offset snips. M6 and M7 are.

 

[pedrobedro]

Offset aviation snips are my go to tool. Either of the curves will also cut reasonably straight lines as well. I work right handed and find the ones that curve to the left easiest to operate and that's all I have so if I want a right hand curve I turn the metal over after cutting I have cut 16g with them without too much difficulty.

 

[cliff366]

If having to do by hand and need a clean edge don't think you will get better than these

 

[hotrodder]

'Real' Gilbow ≠ Irwin Gilbow. The later are overpriced cheapnese tat IMO, both are the dictionary definition of un-ergonomic and 'real' Gilbows have only been available as ancient used examples for eons now. Irwin are also responsible for cheapnesing what was my favorite brand of aviation snips (Prosnip) when they bought Vise-Grip
Wiss snips are cast these days leaving Midwest as about the only sensibly priced top quality forged examples that are easily found? Klenk stuff is great but harder to find and a chunk more spendy

Pretty much all aviation snips are rated for ~18swg/1.2mm carbon steel for the 'regular' models; yellow/red/green traditional & offset. Decent brands will handle 16swg/1.5mm. Willy measuring contests/strength jibes aside (Gilbows come in various sizes, including massive things...) there are 'bulldog' versions of aviation snips for cutting thicker metal and other 'special hardness' models designed for a steady diet of stainless or exotics like Ti, inconel

Noods, aviation snips are designed more for trimming accurately than cutting shapes out of a larger sheet. The left/right/straight thing is about what they do to the 'waste' side of the cut and where they position your hand while cutting i.e. which direction they bend/distort the waste side of the cut. They usually have serrated blades to help them 'grip' while making intricate cuts and these serrations mar the work piece which may or may not be an issue. The serrations can be sanded out (Klenk do versions without serrations) but then, like Gilbows, they're more prone to slipping back out of the cut not that it's a big deal

The type pictured in post #25 are commonly known as monodex cutters and are a three bladed design that cuts a thin strip out rather than being like scissors. Very clean cuts with no distortion to the waste side but they don't handle small radii as well and are harder work/slower to use as you're cutting twice as much metal with each bite

A bench shear while a bit more spendy will handle far thicker material with less effort as well as being capable of accurate cuts in thin sheet. The common type that look like

are designed more around straight cuts but will do curves too once the workpiece is rough cut. Throatless versions also exist which are waaaaaaaay better at cutting curves (especially tight radii and inside curves) but won't handle material as thick as the straight versions. Biggest drawback to the throatless versions is finding a decent one... pretty much all of them are a cheapnese knockoff of a Beverley shear (very spendy but built to last several lifetimes) and likely to need fettling due to sloppy pivots/badly set up blade clearance etc. Like hand snips both types distort the waste side of the cut

 

[Woody.v8]

@Noods If you have a few to do maybe a lazer cutting place would be your best bet? There shouldn't be a drawing charge for simple shapes.

 

[AndersK]

One option is to use an electric shear.
Comes ik different quality=price levels.
The one pictured is about 50£ and it fly thru 2,5 mm steel. If used to trim of smaller widths it can do quite tight arcs. Not so good for curves if used in the middle of a sheet. Then you need a much better like the Bosch.
I place it upside down in a bench vise, then its quite easy to cut circles.

A tip for good small aviation offset snips is the ones from Claes Ohlsson (was surprised to find them in Newcastle). At 10£ and 10 year warranty it cant go wrong. Trims very accurate and tiny strips can be cut.

 

[Keith 66]

There's worse things to pinch...

Yep there sure are, i once had a large black mans pinch on the old bell end from those handles. Made me squeal i can tell you!

 

[Screwdriver]

I swear by my old Gabro notcher. Takes up a fair bit of room but will cut an infinitely long sheet, in a straight line. Best part is it cuts a 3mm wide slot to perfection without distorting the sheet. Not brilliant for curves but just about doable.

To allow me to save space, it's just clamped to the side of a workbench. No table, no base, just the unit itself so I can put it away when not in use. It's been there for about a year now!

 

[graffian]

I prefer the even more offset ones. red and green.
I haven't consciously ever used the yellow one, though my yellow ones are really worn.
I haven't used gilbows since the 70's, i never liked them.

I had a Mondex[as in a pic above] cut's great, but when you sling them in your toolbox that blades snap.

 

[keithski122]

I only use red handle aviation shears as the yellow or green ones feel really odd to use.Sometimes it can help if you hold them upside down to cut, seems odd but somehow works.