Thread: cutting colourbond fencing panels

I take it that the panels are already mounted on the fence. Its probably not much use to you, but the panel flat on the ground with a straight edge ( a wooden picket would do) the edge can be torn if started with a pair of snips first.
The idea is to align the points where you want the line with the straight edge under your boot.Just tear along the line,keeping your straight edge in place with your weight of the foot.

I know from doing it successfully this works on corrugated but have not tried it on trim deck.

However this week my shed was erected ( Trimdeck ) and the contractor doing the work assures me that the Trimdeck will tear as the corro does.

Failing the above, the 1mm cutter wheel will work on a small angle grinder with minimal heat build up and burning. I think it might be wise to dismount the individual panels and get them up on a trestle to have better control of your angle grinder. Working on a trestle will allow you to support the panel cut line with a board from underneath to avoid the panel moving down under the weight of the cutter wheel.

The burred edge is easily removed using a fine toothed flat file.

Grahame

Hire a cold saw, looks like a normal portable circular saw but with a fully enclosed guard that catches all the debris, from your favorite hire company, safer, neater, no burning from a friction wheel which is the first place rust will start and is 3 times quicker than any other method.

I used a blade similar to this a few years ago, it worked fine
http://www.prestonhardware.com/73_19..._p/6189054.htm
I think I got mine from bunnings.

shed

I have used a twin blade cutter to cut trim deck and it worked very well.
No heat problems, no sparks, and pretty quick with minimal burr. I would say if you can clamp a straight edge to the fence , the twin cutter would be the go.
The machine I have is only a cheap one from Mitre 10 and it works a treat for jobs like that.
Don't forget to wear ear and eye protection.

I've used a blade known as screamer in the past, a steel blade with U shape gullets. Very effective on profiled sheeting. Very loud too.

Originally Posted by straydog

I need to trim the top of a colorbond fence that is about 30 meters long and I'm wondering what the best method for cutting this would be. The profile has the deep triangle sections so it is impossible to use any type of tin snips etc. Nibbler would take too long. . . . .

You'd be surprised how fast a power nibbled can go even is something like 6mm plate so on something like trim deck its very fast but like snips it works better if the sheets can be flexed. Like wise with power shears. I'd go the cold saw myself.

Another method of cutting sheet is to get an old circular saw blade and put it in the saw BACKWARDS. It seems to cut sheet even better, makes enough noise to wake the dead, but does leave a bit of a burr. Wear earplugs and ear defenders, full face protection, etc.

i was in bunning on wednesday and they had the el-cheepo ozito twin blade cutters on for $70 i was almost going to buy one just to have it for the odd time i need to cut tin and such , but i resisted cos i am saving for a new mig welder . at 70 bucks it would do your little job easy and would still be handy to have in the workshop for other jobs , i would not mind buying it if i already had a job lined up for it like you have .

johno

ps i have an ozito 9" angle grinder that i have done quite a lot of work with and it is still going strong .

here ya go even found the add for it ,actualy kicking myself that i never grabbed one now ,

http://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-120...utter_p6290230

johno

I don't think there is anything special about the twin bladed tools, other than the blades themselves. Because the two blades counter-rotate they can be plunged down accurately without the saw wanting to pull in any particular direction.

I've used the metal cutting blades in grinders before and they work well. They have very large chip limiters in them to provide safety. If you could find one to suit a small saw, I think that's the way I'd be going (if I didn't have a nibbler) as it would be easy to secure a guide for the saw.

I agree with the above, I have a pneumatic nibbler and it's very fast. I've never used it on colourbond, but other sheet materials I'm guessing the cutting speed would be several metres per minute (????). The edge may not be quite as straight as a saw, even if guided, but if you're going to cap the fence that may not be an issue for you. The cut is completely cold and does not produce any nasty burr. The only real downside to them is the width of the kerf and the little waste things are super annoying as I find they tend to stick in to everything and can be a PIA to get rid of.

I have almost talked myself into buying a Twin Cutter Saw, after seeing the Bunnings listing. I have tried many things to cut sheet metal over the years. The nibbler does cut quick, but I found it hard to keep it set against a straight edge. I would not like to use one for 30m of fencing. I would run out out of air anyway. The chips they leave behind are indeed a problem. I would not want to leave them on the ground for the dogs to step on. Magnet pickup? I think nibblers may be difficult to use with the deep triangle sections mentioned by straydog.

A saw seems to be the best way to go, for my needs anyway. I cut quite a lot of corrugated iron. Nibblers are good for cutting curves, circles etc, but tiring for long straight cuts. I have a 10k gall rainwater tank that has been damaged at the base. The base join failed which prompted work to replace it. The bottom corrugation was then damaged a bit more from lifting with a fork lift to tip on the side for transport. It had quite a bit of sediment in the bottom. I was thinking of removing the bottom 2 corrugations, then rejoining the floor. The Twin Cutter Saw may be a great help with this project.

Dean

I reckon the nibbler could do at least a couple of metres per minute.

I'm a big fan of power nibblers and shears but in your case to cut the "up" side of the triangular section the whole sheet needs to be flexed away from the nibbler. Power shears work better if both side sides of the cut are flexed away from each other but they will still cut even if only one side of sheet is flexed away from the shear blade. The trick with using power shears on Trimdeck is to lay the blades over in the cut as they will still cut very nicely and leave a very safe edge.

I clad the old section of my shed with Trimdeck and there was a lot of cutting around doorways/windows/DC enclosures etc but it did a great job. if you practice a bit first you can operate the shears one handed which leaves the other hand free to bend the other part of the sheet away from the shears.

i was told years ago but have never tried it , that if you use an old style saw blade as in none tipped teeth and you mount it in a power saw bakwards so the teeth are pointing the wrong way for the rotation they will cut roofing iron no probs . i was told that was what some re-roofers used .

johno

Originally Posted by texx

i was told years ago but have never tried it , that if you use an old style saw blade as in none tipped teeth and you mount it in a power saw bakwards so the teeth are pointing the wrong way for the rotation they will cut roofing iron no probs . i was told that was what some re-roofers used .

johno

What brain dead idiot idea that is, a SAFETY disaster waiting to happen.

ANYONE who jerry rigs any tool to do something that its not supposed to do is a statistic waiting to happen.