Bevis
Well-known member
In the process of putting a metal roof on my 30 X 48 Pole barn, and need to cut some of the sheets. What to use to make the cuts??
Matal Roofing
- Thread starter Bevis
- Start date
well depending on your budget
abrasive wheel in circular saw
Tin snips
metal cutting blade in circular saw
Nibbler
hand held shear
Whole sheet shear
Now the first is nasty but will work ok and is fast
The snips are good too you will probably need a few types to cut across the profile or just one if your ripping but slow
the metal cutting blade is ok but you need to find one that allows THIN sheets to be cut
The hand shears ( electric or pneumatic ) work well. As do the nibblers ( have and use both) A Botch nibbler electric and a Snap-on shear pneumatic (both 18 gauge).
The sheet shears look great, They allow you to cut a fixed angle cut ( for end walls) on ONE sheet profile. If your doing a lot of buildings they look like a great too but too $$$ for small jobs and no one around here rents stuff like that.
abrasive wheel in circular saw
Tin snips
metal cutting blade in circular saw
Nibbler
hand held shear
Whole sheet shear
Now the first is nasty but will work ok and is fast
The snips are good too you will probably need a few types to cut across the profile or just one if your ripping but slow
the metal cutting blade is ok but you need to find one that allows THIN sheets to be cut
The hand shears ( electric or pneumatic ) work well. As do the nibblers ( have and use both) A Botch nibbler electric and a Snap-on shear pneumatic (both 18 gauge).
The sheet shears look great, They allow you to cut a fixed angle cut ( for end walls) on ONE sheet profile. If your doing a lot of buildings they look like a great too but too $$$ for small jobs and no one around here rents stuff like that.
PAToyota
Well-known member
Plasma cutter... 
PAToyota
Well-known member
I used the abrasive blade in a circular saw method and a Sawzall in the past - but having the plasma now makes it a no-brainer...
Bruce T
Active member
I'm putting it on my walls now and I was told to use a wood carbide wheel turned backwards in circular saw. It works well but is loud as hell. I'm using a bosch 24v and a regular blade backwards.
Falcon05Dad
Well-known member
Re: Metal Roofing
The guys that just did my metal roof had an attachment for a cordless drill that turned it into a set of cordless shears. I don't have clue who makes it but it was pretty neat.
The guys that just did my metal roof had an attachment for a cordless drill that turned it into a set of cordless shears. I don't have clue who makes it but it was pretty neat.