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Air Shears

1K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  cybergeek23851 
#1 ·
I am looking at a good set of air shears. Can these do a clean job of triming fenders, and making cuts for a set of half doors? I have not used them before but it looks like they are easy to make good clean cuts with. Who out there has used them?
 
#4 ·
Shears are a little difficult oh body lines but i would stay away from the nibbler because it is hard to but a straight line with them. Not to mention the nasty little melat remains they leave all over the floor. I have done body work for over 20 years and i think you can get along just fine with the shears. If not use an air reciprocating saw.
 
#6 ·
I got the Porter-Cable shears. They are good for straight cuts and large curves. Makes a difference which side you cut from as the shearing action pulls the metal to one side.

I bought them doing my kitchen backsplashes in stainless - they were great for cutting the pieces to size. But they sucked for cutting the holes for the counter plugs. Wish I had a nibbler for that.
 
#7 ·
Best "type" thing for fender cutting is something like this:



Ingersoll Rand 4429 Air Body Saw

or an electric sawsall if you already have one. Just take your time.
 
#8 ·
u2slow said:
I got the Porter-Cable shears. They are good for straight cuts and large curves. Makes a difference which side you cut from as the shearing action pulls the metal to one side.

I bought them doing my kitchen backsplashes in stainless - they were great for cutting the pieces to size. But they sucked for cutting the holes for the counter plugs. Wish I had a nibbler for that.
x2

I help out some friends of mine fabricate panels for their late model dirt track cars. Unless you need fast production, straight-line shearing, I would go with some electric shears. I have found that electric shears have more power at slower speeds than air shears as you can adjust trigger pressure with your finger.

As for air shears, you can't get a lot of power at a slow cutting cycle because the only way to slow it down is by regulating air pressure hence reducing its power.
 
#9 ·
I got the air body saw from HF on sale for $15. Worked great on trimming fenders. It is cheap and vibrates the crap out of your hands but is WAY better than a sawsall for that purpose.

the strokes per min is so much higher it cuts sheetmetal like butter and doesn't make thin pieces flop around like a sawsall does.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I agree with the nibbler comments: a nibbler is like free-handing w a plasma, hard to get a straight line, but also more dynamic, easier to turn corners and make odd shapes

I don't think you want shears for your projects (like half doors) because you've gotta be able to push the shear all the way out of the cut. With half doors you'll likely hit the inside end of the door, if that makes sense, and your cut will have to be finished with some other method
 
#11 ·
This is what I have.

This is the ticket for cuting straight lines, and having two cutters it keeps the panel flat. It can be hard to get a nice curve, though, because the jaws are so long.

I also have one of these

for my zip gun. I use it for rough work as it is a lot faster, but it is easier to do curves with. I have not tried either to do fenders.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the info. I tried to buy the air body saw at HF store today but they were sold out. I think that will be the ticket for the jobs I need it for. New compressor is on the way! :p
 
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