Sheet Metal Shear
The hydraulic sheet metal shear are used for cutting pieces of sheet metal in straight lines. The shear can be used to cut either angled brackets or flat sheet metal, limited by the size and thickness (gauge) of the material. Your material should be aligned under the jaw of the shear before the machine is turned on, by cranking the handwheel on the side of the machine to move the aligning edge. Once the machine is turned on, the shear is operated by depressing the foot pedal.
Read more about the shears
Model & Manual
Model: Roper Whitney PEXTO PH52 Hydraulic Shear
Manual here.
Materials
The Hydraulic Shear can cut a maximum of 16 gauge in mild (low carbon) steel. Note that the larger the gauge number, the thinner the metal. The most common sheet metal in our shop is .024 cold-rolled steel which is used for the E4 toolbox.
Some of the physical properties of mild steel include high tensile and impact strength, good ductility and weldability, magnetism, and easy malleability for cold-forming processes. However, mild steel is nearly impossible to harden or strengthen through heating and quenching and is susceptible to oxidation (rust) if not properly coated.
