More Ways to Cut Steel
When I owned M & W Building Supply in the 1980’s, for a plethora of reasons we would end up with extra sheets of steel roofing and siding. Sometimes it would just be a quantity error on a takeoff, other times clients would just plain change their minds.
As people expected their steel panels to be cut to length – we looked for a method to be able to effectively do so.
And the answer was – a Swenson Shear.
I was writing about Michael Yamamoto’s solution to cutting steel panels last Friday, when into my email box leapt a newsletter from, Swenson Shear. Obviously, I was thinking too hard about the entire subject.
Our Swenson Shear of the 80s was effective enough to efficiently square cut roll formed steel siding and roofing panels. It was the perfect solution to what we needed at the time.
Swenson has come a long way in three decades.
While the investment required for one of their shears is prohibitive for the average do-it-yourselfer, for a builder it could very well be a “must have” tool.
Swenson now offers what they title as a “Heavy Duty Pivot Shear”. This tool is ideal for shearing heavy gauge (up to 24 gauge) exposed fastener panels with the ability to shear straight at 90 degrees and up to a 9/12 gable angle. The shear has custom blades to match any panel profile, providing a clean cut, eliminating burred edges as well as flying metal. At 130 pounds, it is light weight enough to be transportable to any jobsite.
Check it out here: https://www.swensonshear.com/
If I was building pole buildings as a regular event, I’d be looking into a Swenson Shear as a must have investment – especially for being able to accurately and easily cut angles across gable ends.
