Example of some good Patch Panel cutting tools....

I know that there is a "Tool" forum, but it doesn't usually get viewed unless the person is THINKING about tools. This is to GET you thinking. :)

I was using my offset snips yesterday to trim a little metal off a part and it hit me on just how valuable they are to me. There was a time when I thought these particular “tin snips” were for left or right hand cutting, like if you had a curved line to cut, if it went to the left you used the left, etc. But that is NOT at all the only thing they can do for you.

First off, these tools run about $20.00-$25.00. So a pair will set you back fifty bucks. Not chump change I understand. But man-o-man are they worth it. There is NO WAY a guy should be doing patch panels or other metal fab without them. They are just that valuable. Look at the cuts they show in these pictures. And the one from my sectioning of my cab. These snips can and do cut without any distortion what so ever. You can scribe a straight line down the center of a four foot wide piece of sheet metal and cut it by hand without so any damaging distortion. You can cut off a tiny 32nd of an inch sliver off the edge of a sheet of metal. We are talking snipping off a little high spot, not starting from the edge. It will do this without the metal rolling over under the snips like what you are used to with “straight cut” snips or poor quality snips. You can scribe a line with a sharp scribe and then cut it perfectly for a near flawless butt weld without a touch from a grinder or file.

The “Left” and “Right” do mean that they are for left or right hand cutting, but it also means that they cut ON the “left” of a sheet or “Right” of a sheet. So, you can snip off that 32nd of an inch on the left side of a sheet or right. You can see in the photo of me cab how one works on the top cut and one on the bottom so the metal being trimmed off flows right over the snip instead of being all distorted and pushed out of the way like a “straight” snip. I honestly don’t even know what a straight snip is for! If it can’t cut a straight line, why is it called a “straight” snip?

These snips are available from a number of companies (just Google the names to find where to buy them) and a quality hardware store will have them right there on the shelf. Ace carries Wiss for instance. Just buy a QUALITY set, they should be around twenty bucks. DON’T buy the six dollar Harbor Frieght ones, you will be short changing yourself big time.

Brian



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http://www.harryepstein.com/pics/snipsM6R.jpg

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