Cutting The Metal Roofing (various Types Of Metal Cutting Tools)

Cutting metal roofing with manual cutting snips (aviation snips)

If you are doing just one-time job or if you cut rarely (you plan to cut only few pieces of metal roofing shingles or dozen of steel sheets) it is not necessary to buy expensive equipment for that purpose.

Good aviation snip features:

- Quality steel cutting blade (try the extremely durable HSS/Tin steel, it´s little more expensive but the tool will look new forever and you can try to sell it on eBay);
- Blades can be plain or finely serrated. If possible, choose the serrated ones. Though they do the same job as the plain ones, serrated cutting blades also prevent materials from slipping during use (it improves the work safety and decreases the time);
- Drop forged, fully heat treated cutting head shaped so that it cuts angles, curves, circles and of course straight;
- Soft touch plastic handles;

The manual aviation snips prices vary from $12 to $90.

Cutting steel sheet roofing with power shears

Steel isn´t paper and everyone who tried it will confirm that manual sheet metal cutting is a hard work so why not to use some handy power tool?

Good metal cutting power shears feature:

- Rotating swivel head for optimum cutting convenience;
- Adjustable cutting speed (for various materials or sheet gauges);
- Provides good visibility to the cutting line;
- Shaped so that it cuts angles, curves, circles, etc;

Power shears are more expensive than the hand tools, their prices start at $30 but the top quality tools can cost up to $300.

You can also try to bid in a tool auction below and buy the shears for a fraction of their original price.

Cutting steel sheet roofing with bandsaw or circular saw

The abrasive blades have long been used to cut sheet metal.
They do it quickly and the only problem with them is that the cut surface is little jagged and is more likely to start rust. If you want to use an abrasive wheel saw to cut the sheet metal, do so but treat the burrs with protective metal coating as soon as possible after finishing the cutting.

These days, also the carbide-tipped metal-cutting blades are recommended as they cut metal much faster and almost without any burrs.

Good carbide-tipped blades feature:

- Quality tungsten carbide that stays sharper longer;
- Anti stick coating that reduces friction;
- Thin kerf for smooth cuts;
- Heat vents (holes) that reduce blade´s temperature and also its flexing and binding.

Remember that working with circular saws may be dangerous and only experienced adult persons should do it. In any case, work with circular saw requires you use some standard protection means (hardhat, protection glasses, leather work gloves, etc...).