Cutting steel sheet ( edit ) using a Nibbler ?

[CWBYUP]

Just looking at a way to cut steel sheet for the camper trailer.

I have seen some nibblers that cut up to 4 mm which would be good incase I need them for something else down the track.

Is there some thing else I should be looking at ?

Plasma would be nice but i want a cleaner edge on the cut.

Its mainly for 1 or 2 mm but i would be nice to be able to cut up to 3 or 4mm.

Thanks for any info.

Cheers Nick

[dieseldude]

I'm building a camper trailer at the moment and have been using the good old 9 inch angle grinder with a metal cut off wheel on it.

It's noisy as hell, hard work - but it gets the job done!

I suppose you have to make do with what you have......

Anthony

[CWBYUP]

yeah 9" is fine but i want a easyier more profesional finish to it.

no offence to your work but using a 9" its ever hard to get perfectly straight which i need for what i'm doing.

Any one else got any other ideas ?

Cheers Nick

[keencdk]

I just use a jigsaw and steel cutting blades, take it nice and slow and they are as acurate as your ability to follow a line

[shakes]

take the sheet to somewhere with a gilotine

[AdrianGQ]

take it to a fab shop and get it cut in a guilotine will cost you bugger all and be straighter than you could get it with any of the other methods mentioned

[Steve F]

I use a 4" grinder with 1mm disk and a piece of box section clamped on to the piece being cut as a guide, get a good straight line and easy to do. Those 9" ones are a bugger being so big and the small ones cut through the thin stuff easily.

Cheers
Steve

[Eddy]

'nuther vote for the 4" x1mm disc.

those things are great.

[rvh96]

I use a 4" grinder with 1mm disk and a piece of box section clamped on to the piece being cut as a guide, get a good straight line and easy to do. Those 9" ones are a bugger being so big and the small ones cut through the thin stuff easily.

Cheers
Steve

x3

[RockyF75]

I use a 4" grinder with 1mm disk and a piece of box section clamped on to the piece being cut as a guide, get a good straight line and easy to do. Those 9" ones are a bugger being so big and the small ones cut through the thin stuff easily.

Cheers
Steve

x3

yep

that or the guillotine at a sheety's place. Bring a beer and the sheet marked out and it will be done in no time

[Mad Cruiser]

I use a 4" grinder with 1mm disk and a piece of box section clamped on to the piece being cut as a guide, get a good straight line and easy to do. Those 9" ones are a bugger being so big and the small ones cut through the thin stuff easily.

Cheers
Steve

Yep that's what i do, easier and cheaper

[peeko22]

if your in brisbane i can cut it for you i am a sheety? a gilo is really the only way

[90Mav]

I use an air hammer(chisel) with a sheet metal cutter, works well for up to 1.2mm.
It is like a 3 prong fork with the middle leg bent down, cuts a 3mm or so strip out of the sheet, nice clean cut... but cant do corners(neatly).

[matthewK]

Gilo is one of a few ways not the only way , i can get a just as nicer cut using the Quickie on trackes set right, plasma cut it or if ya ruff as guts grinder and a cut off disc

[MY92SURF]

Just on a side note to the 1mm discs... head down to someone like Coventry's, Blackwoods, Bakers, BOC or any of your industrual suppliers and ask for a Flexovit 0.89mm wheel. They're even faster and neater cutting than a 1mm, and are depressed centre(raised hub) so they'll cut flush up against the bit of box clamped on.

They're available in 4.5" for handyman grinders, and 5"

[CWBYUP]

The general feelling i'm getting no one uses a nibbler.

Is there any reason for this ?

I have a fair bit of sheet to cut and would like to do it at home if possible but dont want to spend money on a nibbler and it be shit.

Any one help me ?

And thanks anyway champ but I'm down in Sydney.

Nick

[cloughy]

You need somewhere that has a profile cutter, your local sheety, so long as their a big enterprise , better than any plasma, grinder, guillotine, or tin snips

[vanbox]

im a builder and use a nibbler for roofing and some small sheet work. they are good and fast, however very messy and dangerous with a lot of waste (mine about 5mm). without a track very hard to keep straight, and the underside of the sheet you cut can have a semi-sharp edge on it. not worth the money if your after a quality straight cut. excellent for corners.

my 2c

PAUL

[chimpboy]

The general feelling i'm getting no one uses a nibbler.

Is there any reason for this ?

I have a fair bit of sheet to cut and would like to do it at home if possible but dont want to spend money on a nibbler and it be shit.

Any one help me ?

And thanks anyway champ but I'm down in Sydney.

Nick

I have a nibbler. I use it occasionally, it's way faster than a jigsaw or grinder and it cuts nice and cleanly. It has served me well in cutting holes in guards for snorkels and other situations where I've cut holes in panels in tricky spots.

Probably the negative is that it's harder to control than a jigsaw because it's faster. I've never actually tried to do a long straight cut with it, but if I did I would use a piece of 20x20 angle or so as a guide, and I would think that this would allow a 100% perfect straight cut. I can cut straight with it without a guide over a short distance. If you have a space where you can put what you're cutting up on a bench or stands, and fix a guide to it, I think a nibbler might work for you.

I agree with Vanbox ^^^ it is hard to keep straight without some kind of guide, and it spits out a huge amount of little )-shaped pieces. Mine doesn't waste 5mm in the cut, probably more like 3mm.

I understand why you don't want to fork for one without testing. Mine was about $100 and I've used it probably 10 times in three years. The thing is though that even with rare use, it's so useful on the rare occasions when you need it that it's worth the $$ imho. It'd be good if you could borrow one to experiment with. Maybe you could buy one at Supercheap, try it, and if it doesn't work break it and take it back for a refund

[Loanrangie]

Whatever you use i find it easier to clamp a nice straight length of timber or steel tube to the sheetmetal and use it as a guide, i do this using a jigsaw on steel and wood and it means you get a nice straight cut.