Surely the Best in Sheet Metal Shears

Shearing is one of the world’s oldest metalworking activities. Since basically the dawn of time man has been trying to concoct a good way to sever longer pieces of metal in twain. Once mankind figured out how to roll metal into thin sheets, the first question was, “Hey, how do I cut this thing?” Sheet metal cutting has been performed from earliest days by shears of some sort that make use of a set of parallel blades, not unlike scissors, where one is offset slightly from the other. In speaking of the history of shearing, we believe it would not serve any good purpose slogging through time following the development of the shear prior to, say, the last 50 years or so. (Let’s face it folks, shears are not terribly complicated machines.)

From the littlest bench shear of 18-24 inches wide, to the biggest industrial machines the likes of which would be found in shipyards, major erecting companies, or steel producers, these machines are basically found to be remarkably similar. In whatever configuration you make a shear in, it has to have three or four main major components to actually be able to shear metal sheet.

They can be arrayed in a number of different ways, shears can cut up, shears can cut down, some shears are designed to just take off a corner of a piece of sheet metal. The main point is every shear has to start with some kind of blade, every shear has to have some way of producing pressure to apply to the blade, and have a sturdy and substantial hold-down mechanism. Lastly you need some kind of sturdy surface, call it a table or base, to withstand the pressure of the shearing operation. From that point, shears vary widely in capability and size. For our information in this setting we are targeting specifically sheet metal shears. These shears will typically have a lighter gauge capability than their bigger brothers.

So, What Do the Good Folks at Bud's Have Going on in Sheet Metal Shears?

Bud's Machine Tools has sold sheet metal shears since we opened our doors. It’s a little-known fact outside Salt Lake City, Utah, that Bud's Machine is heavily active in the HVAC industry all across the Mountain Time Zone. Consequently, we apply and sell quite a substantial number of sheet metal shears every year. What does all this activity bring us? In one word: experience. We discuss specific applications with every potential customer we encounter, and follow the process of installing the shear and then producing production parts on the customers floor.

What can you expect to find in the way of available sheet metal shears from Bud's Machine Tools is a considerable spread of sizes and capabilities:

  • On the bottom side, size-wise, is probably our 24" bench style hand powered shear, which can shear a respectable 14-gauge mild steel.
  • Moving up the food chain, we come to foot-powered shears that typically start around 52" in shearing length and a cutting capacity of 16-gauge mild steel. These shears are solidly built with cast iron frames and leverage components; some of these shears are in excess of 1000 pounds of overall weight.
  • Continuing to move upward in capability, we come to the class of the class so to speak. Our heaviest-duty shears are motor-driven machines which have direct drive systems. A direct drive not only adds to the longevity of the machine, but it also cuts maintenance to a minimum. These motorized shears are extremely accurate and fast — full time everyday production is no sweat for these shears. The big side shear capability shears start at 4'6" in shearing length and go to 10'. Thickness abilities range from 1/8" to 10-gauge (or .135") cutting capacity in mild steel.

Where Do You Go to Get the Best Assortment of Sheet Metal Shears?

The place to go is Bud's Machine Tools in Salt Lake City, Utah. As was mentioned above, we have been in the business of applying, selling, installing and servicing sheet metal shears since we began. In addition, Bryan "Bud" Jorgenson learned the trade at the side of his father, Roger Jorgenson, who sold shears of all types for decades throughout the Intermountain West and beyond.

Please contact us and we can help you find solutions for your sheet metal projects. Come on out and see us, or call us up on the phone, or send us an email — we like them all — and we can show you several options to get the job done right, and for the right price.

Brands within Sheet Metal Shears

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