Cheap Alternative to Beverly Shears?

--For straight cuts of maybe 20-ga or thinner you can get by with a paper cutter. Wouldn't try it on 16 ga. though.. Just a thought..

Spend $40 for a Harbor Freight sheet metal shear, rated for 18 ga steel, should work for 16 ga copper. This is electric powered, throatless style like a Beverly, will cut straight or curved, a reciprocating blade. It pushes one side of the cut up, the other down, like a Beverly, so a little hard to use for cutting large panels in half, have to fight the panel a bit. I had to shim the blades to get them lined up right, but it works fine.

The Kett shears, and others with three blades instead of two, will not cut a tight curve, but are good for cutting more or less straight lines in large panels.

The rotary shears tend to leave a somewhat serrated edge, at least the one that I have seen does.

Richard

Jimbo wrote:

I have had luck with the big import bench shears. I got the biggest one I could and then added a pneumatic cylinder to it. It cuts very well, but is best at straight cuts.

I tried a import knock-off of the beverley shear and the blades were just crap. I managed to hardface the edges and regrind so it works, but it does not even compare to the Beverly #2 we have at school.

I wonder if it is a close enough knock-off, that genuine beverly blades will fit it.

Paul K. Dickman

I haven't tried it on copper, but an air-powered nibbler cuts thru aluminum like butter. mike

That would be nice. I might give that a try.