Thread: Electric Metal Shears Noob questions

Hi.

I brought cheap Ozito 500W shears to occasional cut 1mm stainless steel. I figured since I will be using them a couple of times a year they would be all I need. So far they cut reasonably well, but I have some questions.

How often do the blades need to be re sharpened? Is there a rough number in hours of use?

What would the typical cost be to re-sharpen? Just won't to know if it's worth it or not given the shears cheap price.

Would a better brand like Makita last much longer before needing the blades re sharpened?

Finally I can't seem to get a proper confirmation from anyone at bunnings or ozito on whether or not these are really for cutting stainless. If anyone can say. Although they cut my 1mm sheet easy I would hate to have the blades get dull quickly or be told you should have gotten the makita.

thanks.

Blade resharpening would be best done on condition - when it starts to labour in a cut or the sheet becomes distorted while being cut because the material is not being 'sheared'
Unless you would be able to do it yourself, I suspect it would not be worth sharpening them. I have not seen the cutter or blades but it would not surprise me if a sharpening firm wanted $50 to $100 to do that.
I would expect a brand name to have better metallurgy in the blades and a more robust structure so the blades or their mounting do not distort as readily. Cheap tools can last surprisingly long though. Whether the brand name version lasts 10% longer or 500% longer is really trying it and see.
There is stainless and there is stainless. Not knowing the grade of stainless and it's temper/ hardness will mean that no one can really answer that one. If you add in the complications because the steel for the blades had too many baked bean tins in it this week and it becomes next to impossible.

Michael

Michael is correct in what he's saying. After having a Bosch one in years gone by, I can tell you that the moment you start to get a burr on the bottom of the cut, IS the time to get them sharpened/ replaced. If you try to keep on cutting with them you could damage the machine. DAMHIKT, Bl***y useless workers.
If you find the blades aren't lasting long, find someone who's a tool maker and get them to make up a new set for you using good quality metal.
I used to regularly cut 1.6 black steel, with mine, till I got a Plasma cutter.
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

If you find the blades aren't lasting long, find someone who's a tool maker and get them to make up a new set for you using good quality metal.

Kryn

How much do you think that will cost! These are Ozito brand shears with, I believe, one piece blades. A toolmaker bills at around $100 per hour, give or take. I don't see spending $1-$2K worth of blades on a tool that retails for 200 bucks is even remotely viable.

These tools, like so many other things these days, are disposable. When they crap out you either take them back and the nice work experience girl at Bunnings will give you a new one. Alternatively you throw it away/repurpose the motor and decide whether to buy another the same or a better brand. A brand like Makita will likely sell the head unit so it can be repaired/replaced. If they do the chances are it will cost as much as the Ozito! The Makitas are expensive.

I use left and right hand shears, and also have a set of yellow straight shears but don't normally use them. My pneumatic shears are a different design so aren't handed. For those who use these electric shears I presume they're handed, so do you use them upside down when needing opposite shears?

FWIW I think stainless should be ok it terms of life. I believe it's wire that knocks shears around badly. I just did about 20-30 metres worth of cuts in 0.8 mm wire mesh and I can't see any damage to the shears. They are good quality Wiss however.

Well, cheap brand, so you get what you pay for.
However, they will work for a while - a couple of times a year is fine. Most sheet stainless is a bit soft.

Blade wear. I am not sure why the Ozito blades should be much worse than any other brand: small bits of steel are cheap. Bunnings don't want too many returns after all.

Resharpening. You may well be able to resharpen these a few times yourself. I am sure the instructions tell you how to remove or disconnect the blades for this. Do NOT touch the faces which rub together: you want that exact thickness. But you could try to touch up the other faces on a good oilstone by hand. You could try making an angled jig to hold the blade correctly on the stone. I would not try this on a grindstone; they tend to chew small bits of metal up too fast. And do NOT try to use a linisher: it will curve the faces.

Finally - have you checked at Bunnings whether they sell replacement blades? Dunno, but probably not.

Cheers
Roger

According to the on-line manual the cutters are one of 3 spare parts available for these shears and can be special ordered from Bunnings (Ozito part number SPMCS5000-01)
The whole cutter head is replaced and the manual provides instructions on how to replace the head using the supplied Hex key.
Sharpening is recommended to be done by a sharpening service - I had a Makita? set sharpened about 10 years ago and it cost me <$20,

Thanks everyone for your help.

These things sure are better than a hand saw I had. Only issue is they don't give a perfect cut & leave cutting scissor marks right on the edge of the steel, these marks are more larger spaced when going slow & small & fine when going fast with a lot of revs.

Edit: Also I find you want a straight cut following a marked line you have to go slow.

The grades are 304 & 316.

Originally Posted by Tegmark

These things sure are better than a hand saw I had. Only issue is they don't give a perfect cut & leave cutting scissor marks right on the edge of the steel, these marks are more larger spaced when going slow & small & fine when going fast with a lot of revs.

I found they won't leave jaggies if you keep constant pressure on them and just keep cutting but that of course is not that easy. Apart from the jaggies the cut is pretty good - or at least it was with the units I've used.

I've never used shears like that, but the trick with conventional aviation snips is to never cut right to the tip. You use from about a 1/4 way from the tip back to a 1/4 way to the hinge point )if that makes sense). Given these are just electric versions of them I'd think they would be the same in that regard. If you cut right to the tip you'll get "jaggies".