Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
What tool should I use to cut metal roofing? want a only power tool.
many tools have steel cutting blades available for them, but i think i would stick with a good old grinder. more importantly, don’t forget hearing protection, and safety glasses. good luck
Shear?
We use a circular saw with metal cutting blade its loud but it works great
tomdog22 wrote:
1 hour ago, tomdog22 said:many tools have steel cutting blades available for them, but i think i would stick with a good old grinder. more importantly, don’t forget hearing protection, and safety glasses. good luck
Thank you so much!
Jscott wrote:
13 minutes ago, Jscott said:We use a circular saw with metal cutting blade its loud but it works great
thank you so much!
How much are you needing to cut? I think volume might determine what the best tool to get. A grinder with a cut off wheel would be fine for a few cuts, but if you have a lot, definitely a circular saw(more expensive).
BMack37 wrote:
15 minutes ago, BMack37 said:How much are you needing to cut? I think volume might determine what the best tool to get. A grinder with a cut off wheel would be fine for a few cuts, but if you have a lot, definitely a circular saw(more expensive).
100 roofs…
Google metal cutting circular saw, there are a lot of options out there from cordless to corded these days.
ann stella wrote:
2 hours ago, ann stella said:thank you so much!
No problem. Oh and watch your face when cutting it hurts a bit when the hot metal hits you because it will happen.. and that saw you listed might be under powered I would go 18/20 volt if going cordless. I could be wrong on that since I haven’t used it but that’s the path I would take.
Nothing beats a Nibbler IMO. Quiet, no projectiles, and easy control with the ability to do tight scrolls with ease.
Here’s an example:
Hugh Jass wrote:
2 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:Nothing beats a Nibbler IMO. Quiet, no projectiles, and easy control with the ability to do tight scrolls with ease.
Here’s an example:
Wow that looks like it would be better but they are pretty pricey. If you use it a lot it would be worth the price but I don’t do enough metal roofs to justify that price tag maybe Ann will tho
Hugh Jass wrote:
3 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:Nothing beats a Nibbler IMO. Quiet, no projectiles, and easy control with the ability to do tight scrolls with ease.
Here’s an example:
Exactly.
Metal cutting circ saw is a bad idea, it can potentially chip or throw hot sparks on the metal and the manufacturer could refuse warranty on the metal.
Use a nibbler and rest easy knowing you went the proper route
Grinder can cause rust on panel edge.
If you’re doing mostly straight cuts, get a shear cutter.
framer wrote:
On 7/31/2017 at 9:13 AM, framer said:Grinder can cause rust on panel edge.
If you’re doing mostly straight cuts, get a shear cutter.
This is correct, and the roof manufactures agree and may choose to not warranty the roof if cut with a grinder or saw, read the fine print. Manufactures recommend using their color matched paint on all cut edges to reduce the risk of rust. That said I’ve done a few metal roofs recently and these are the cutting tools I used:
needed something like 85 charged 4.0 batteries per cut lol
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BUTTA CUTA
(dont hate on the B&D it was $20 and it works like a champ)
for the quick trim to fit cuts in place.
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most resent roof
I would get a circular saw specifically for metal. I have a millwakee brand one an it works great.
Few months ago I did several animal shelters an modified some horse stalls. Straight cuts were all metal circular saw. I had a few curved cuts I used my plasma cutter for.
WeldfabNeil wrote:
I would get a circular saw specifically for metal. I have a millwakee brand one an it works great.
Few months ago I did several animal shelters an modified some horse stalls. Straight cuts were all metal circular saw. I had a few curved cuts I used my plasma cutter for.
This.
Backwards blade is loud and doesn’t cut as well as a proper metal saw. There are tons of ways to hack something, but in the end, it always better to use the right tool for the job!
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Grinders LOOK impressive because they throw a ton of sparks but the fact is they don’t really cut, they melt and abrade material away. That is why reciprocating saws, cold saws, shears, and nibblers are MUCH faster. Recips are ok for rough/demo work and saber saws are a little better but pretty much straight cuts only. Shears are much faster on flat areas but very hard to use on seams and ribs. Even the cheap Harbor Freight ones aren’t bad. But the speed kings by far are nibblers and cold metal cutting saws. Unlike an abrasive saw cold saws transfer most of the heat to the chips and throw chips big time, and scream like a banshee but are straight cuts only. Nibblers can do anything BUT cordless have very limited thickness like 16 gauge or thinner. Pneumatic is very affordable but well there is the darned hose and high CFM. Corded is very good but powerful ones are outrageously high price to the point that pneumatic is attractive. If you are doing roofing you really need pneumatic nailers anyway so the compressor and hose are already on the roof.
I do a lot of panel (industrial electrical) work where we use the same tools all the time. I own all of them except an electric nibbler.
Use snips in the event that you have to make alternate routes. tin snips are also good for metal roofing.