Thread: Cutting Sheet Roofing Material

Are we talking corrugated iron/custom orb?

If so, you can rip it.

Put a cut in it with the tin snips where you want to start, lay a bit of timber along the 'good' of the line you want to 'cut' to & put your foot on it, grab the waste side of the nick your cut & pull upwards.

It rips like cardboard.

I use nibblers for the detail work, IE scribing.

Here ya go.

For a one off job there are very cheap nibblers,one place that have them are Super Cheap Auto.
Would be far cheaper than cuting wheels even if it only lasted one job.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Are we talking corrugated iron/custom orb?

If so, you can rip it.

Put a cut in it with the tin snips where you want to start, lay a bit of timber along the 'good' of the line you want to 'cut' to & put your foot on it, grab the waste side of the nick your cut & pull upwards.

It rips like cardboard.

I use nibblers for the detail work, IE scribing.

Cliff

It's trimdeck style. I have seen a similar technique using the back of a handsaw, but more for ripping along the length. I could probably go with your idea for trimming off the damaged edges, but I'm also looking at getting two 4.5/5.0m lengths from a single sheet. The sheets are 10 to 12 metres long.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by nrb

For a one off job there are very cheap nibblers,one place that have them are Super Cheap Auto.
Would be far cheaper than cuting wheels even if it only lasted one job.

nrb

Yes this was what I was thinking. In fact there is an even cheaper option with nibblers which I forgot to mention. Air nibblers. I don't think I have seen one for more than $80 and the majority seem to be around $50. Another possibility as I have an air compressor.

Regards
Paul

Paul,

If you can afford it or can find one second hand then I recommend metal shears over all the other methods you mention.
eg: Kwik Snip - Worlds Fastest Cordless Sheet Metal Shears or Excalibur Sheet Metal Shears EXmm6408 | Get Tools Direct

They're very fast, leave a safe edge like hand shears, and it may not seem like it but you can even use them very easily one handed.

It may look like it would be hard to rip long lengths of stiff sheeting like Colorbond as you can't exactly bend the sheeting being cut out of the way, but they still cut well while laying over on their side so there no need to bend the sheet out of the way and ripping is a breeze.

I re-clad the old part of my shed in colour bond using a borrowed set of the excalibur type shears and it made the job a real pleasure.

Cheers
Bob

Can't suggest the shears as I have never tried them but I do have the nibbler which works well and no burr - only thing[s] - the cut is 3mm wide and you get a "shipload" of tiny cut bits [they look like cut finger nail clippings] on the floor or ground - I dealt with them by using my strong telescoping magnet and just "swish" above the ground. Take a tip for what it is worth - wrap your magnet in a ziplock bag or clad in heavy Gladwrap otherwise you'll be picking the bits off your magnet for a week.


TradeTools - Air Nibblers & Shears

Originally Posted by BobL

Paul,

If you can afford it or can find one second hand then I recommend metal shears over all the other methods you mention.
eg: Kwik Snip - Worlds Fastest Cordless Sheet Metal Shears or Excalibur Sheet Metal Shears EXmm6408 | Get Tools Direct

They're very fast, leave a safe edge like hand shears, and it may not seem like it but you can even use them very easily one handed.

It may look like it would be hard to rip long lengths of stiff sheeting like Colorbond as you can't exactly bend the sheeting being cut out of the way, but they still cut well while laying over on their side so there no need to bend the sheet out of the way and ripping is a breeze.

I re-clad the old part of my shed in colour bond using a borrowed set of the excalibur type shears and it made the job a real pleasure.

Cheers
Bob

Bob

In a way I wish I hadn't seen that as it is impressive. But... a bit expensive. A quick look on ebay only showed kiddies' stuff with that name.

I can see why you borrowed the Excalibur. The Kwik Snip is twice the price.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bob38S

Can't suggest the shears as I have never tried them but I do have the nibbler which works well and no burr - only thing[s] - the cut is 3mm wide and you get a "shipload" of tiny cut bits [they look like cut finger nail clippings] on the floor or ground - I dealt with them by using my strong telescoping magnet and just "swish" above the ground. Take a tip for what it is worth - wrap your magnet in a ziplock bag or clad in heavy Gladwrap otherwise you'll be picking the bits off your magnet for a week.


TradeTools - Air Nibblers & Shears

Bob

Some of them, so I have read, cut a 6mm path. I will remember the tip with the magnet and plastic.

Regards
Paul

The shears are probably better for straight cuts but I have a nibbler attachment for a drill if that's any help. It works pretty well. I can lend you a retractable magnet too. Great for picking up swarf.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Bob

In a way I wish I hadn't seen that as it is impressive. But... a bit expensive. A quick look on ebay only showed kiddies' stuff with that name.

I can see why you borrowed the Excalibur. The Kwik Snip is twice the price.

Regards
Paul

I agree it is expensive.

Originally Posted by NCArcher

The shears are probably better for straight cuts but I have a nibbler attachment for a drill if that's any help. It works pretty well. I can lend you a retractable magnet too. Great for picking up swarf.

Thanks Tony

I am considering all the options at the moment. It's having a bad effect on my head. I can solve that problem with a stiff drink, but cutting the roofing steel is quite a dilemma. I thought it was relatively clear cut (ooops sorry) until BobL put his twopennyworth in .

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Thanks Tony

I am considering all the options at the moment. It's having a bad effect on my head. I can solve that problem with a stiff drink, but cutting the roofing steel is quite a dilemma. I thought it was relatively clear cut (ooops sorry) until BobL put his sixtyninethousandfivehundredpennyworth in .

Regards
Paul

There, I fixed it for you. The Kwik Snip looks great but you'd want to be doing a lot of cutting.

Try your local hire shop they may have the Kwicsnip or similar available. If you could hire one for a day or so would be your cheapest and best option.

Geoff.