Truthfully, I like all tools. I've always found the ingenuity that goes into creating or updating a tool fascinating. But today I want to talk a bit about snips.
The following is an excerpted from my own writings and is copyrighted, so please read it & share it, but do not reproduce it without asking first!
SNIPS
Snips are basically a scissor designed to cut sheet metal. There are as many varieties and styles as the years they’ve been in use; there have been examples of early sheet metal snips found in Roman ruins thousands of years old. Early snips didn’t have to be too strong; they were only cutting soft copper and lead. The industrial revolution saw the advent of better quality metals, thus better quality snips had to be made.
Why so many varieties? Specialization, modernization, competition.
Today there are a couple of main groups of snips readily available to the do-it-yourselfer:
- Pattern Snips
- Aviation Snips
- Traditional sheet metal snips.
Pattern snips have so many varieties that it would probably take a hundred pages to review all of them. Essentially a pattern snip is a tool designed to do layout cutting in flat sheets. They can cut long straight lines, wide sweeping curves and even some tighter curves.
Pattern snips are older traditional designs that are usually manufactured of forging steel. They are available in long straight broad blade designs, bend blade designs, duckbill designs, and now, using light-weight aluminum and magnesium for the handles, offset and replaceable blade designs.
Aviation Snips
As their name suggests, aviation snips were originally created to cut the aluminum used in the construction of aircraft. With the advantage of compound leverage mechanical linkage, aviation snips have a distinct advantage over traditional sheet metal snips. Less effort is required to cut materials and some designs feature offset blades that help flow material up and away from the hand.
Traditional Sheet Metal Snips
Are just that. Traditional designs, usually of forged steel, than are available in a wide variety of shapes that are used for a variety of tasks. Essentially anything you would use an aviation snip for, you can do with a sheet metal snip, but it will take a little more work and skill. The designs have remained relatively unchanged since the beginning of the industrial revolution, but with the application of modern steel alloys for durability and strength.
Too Many Choices? What is best for metal roofing?
This really a loaded question. Most snips have some purpose when used in metal roofing applications, however what works best is pretty subjective. In other words, it really depends on the skills, needs and pocketbook of the user.
For the average do-it-yourselfer, my recommendation would be a good set of offset blade aviation snips.
Why aviation snips and why offset blades?
- Aviation snips are generally less expensive than other options
- Aviation snips can cut any sheet metal product used in a metal roof
- Aviation snips feature a compound leverage action that requires less effort to cut
- Aviation snips usually feature color coded handles so you know which way they cut
- Offset blades angle the snip and place your hand above what you are cutting
- Offset blades push the cut metal away from your hand better than regular aviation snips
- Offset blades are great for cutting curves and circles. Offsets can even cut a small 6” diameter hole in sheet metal with just a little practice
Standard aviation snip on the left. Offset aviation snip on the right. Note how the offset aviation snip’s angled blades change raise the handles above the kerf angle and away from that raw, jagged edge you just cut. Another advantage of the offset aviation snip is that you can use it to comfortably cut from below and you can turn the tool around and cut back toward yourself.
What’s with the different colored handles?
Aviation snips manufactured for the North American market have color code handles that are indicative of the expected direction of cut. All aviation snips will cut straight, however green and red handled aviation snips will cut curves much better than a yellow handled snip.
RED – Cuts Straight and LEFT
YELLOW- Cuts Straight
GREEN – Cuts straight and RIGHT
I don’t see any need for yellow handle aviation snips. I’ve known plenty of professional metal roofers and most of them don’t even own a pair.
Buy a set of red (cuts left) and green (cuts right) offset aviation snips and you’ll have everything you need. Most likely you will develop a preference for which one you prefer to cut straight with, but remember, they will both cut straight just fine.
I hope that this has helped you understand which tool works best for your application. When in doubt, call or email me. I can always be reached at 770-405-1060, or by email at info@rapidmaterials.com
