Guillotine or bench shears

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi - I am looking for some advice from people with experience working
with (at least) 18 gauge and thicker non-ferrrous metals.

I’m want to purchase of a guillotine shear that will have
versatility and performance longevity. I know I need a 12" shear,
the manufacturer is what is presently eluding me.

Can anyone tell me which is the better shear out of Precision, Pepe
and Shor?

I have used the Pepe before, but it had been abused and the blades
needed to be sharpened and realigned. It wasn’t able to make clean
cuts and chewed up the last three inches of every eight inch piece
we cut. I am told that the Pepe can cut up to 10 gauge in soft
metals. I won’t need to be going that high, but I do want a machine
that can regularly handle 16 and 18 gauge with ease.

What is the best model for cutting 12" brass, copper or bronze?

I ordered a Durston 12" Guillotine from Rio. I had to refuse the
first one as it arrived damaged.

The second one I received also arrived in deplorable condition, but
I decided to assemble it anyway.

The blade guard was bent up in shipping and the support plate had
gouges in it from clanking around loose in the thin plywood box with
the other parts. and consequently the other parts are marred and
scraped up from improper packaging.

It would be a fairly basic and simple assembly if there were clearer
instructions on the website.

There are no enclosed surface requirements, but I am quickly
learning that the work surface you bolt the Durston to cannot be
longer than 2" in either cutting direction or the lever comes into
contact with your work surface.

Furthermore, if one were to pull the lever towards the blade guard,
no larger than a 6"x 12" piece of metal can be cut as the lever will
come into contact with the metal, thus preventing a complete cut.

If the lever is pulled in the other direction - towards the stop
bar, it then comes into contact with the knob that tightens the stop
bar. As far as I can tell there are no controls set to measure the
straightness of your desired cut. they are all moveable parts with
no levels and it all basically needs to be eyeballed.

Has anyone ever set up a Durston 12" guillotine shear before? I
might just be doing it completely incorrectly.

If not, which 12" shear would be the best purchase for consistently
cutting 8" lengths of bronze, brass & copper?

Thank you!

2

You need to go to a car body repair shop or sheet metal works. and
ask to see their bench shears.

They would im sure be happy to demonstrate it to you on a sample of
the metal you want to cut to a line.

IE someone that has the experience in doing what you want to do.

ask where they bought it and how much? You dont have to go a
jewellery tool supplier for metal working tools.

Where you put the shear depends on your space and workshop layout.

I bolted mine to a block of wood that gets clamped in my 3rd hand. a
proper smiths leg vice bolted to a big bench.

So that Its up at the right height and has all the clearance around
it for cutting long lines in most metals.

Re the Durston shear, I find it hard to understand that they would
make a poor product.

Id send the second one back as well for a full refund. I suspect its
the distributors fault.

3

Hi Hillary

My first choice on a 12" shear would be an old DeAcro. Built like
tanks. Mine’s ?40? years old and will still cut tissue paper.

Finding one requires patience, but they do float by from time to
time. They tend to run about $1K for the 12" versions.

As far as the Durston shear goes, I think you may have it put
together wrong. I looked at the assembly instructions on Durston’s
website, and they seem reasonably complete. The shear itself looks
to be pretty bullet proof, in terms of assembly. The only reason I
can think of that your handle would be hitting the table or the end
of your sheet of metal before the blade gets completely down is if
the knuckle that attaches to the main cam axle had rotated on the
axle somehow. In the pictures I’m seeing on the website, it looks
like it’s welded, so that shouldn’t be possible, but Demon Murphy
is an inventive sort, so maybe it found a way to get out of synch
somehow. Without seeing it, it’s hard to be sure. Call Rio, their
tech guys are good, and they really do want to help, so they should
be able to help you troubleshoot it.

I’ve never used/seen a Shor, but if given a choice between a Durston
and a Pepe, I’d take the Durston in a heartbeat, sight unseen.

(The Durstons are built very much like the old DeAcro shears, with a
few improvements (like the four way bottom blade). Not quite as
massive, which is why I still prefer the old ones, but still very
well done.)

It would be a fairly basic and simple assembly if there were
clearer instructions on the website.

Try these:
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep80k9
I found them after a bit of digging around.

If the lever is pulled in the other direction - towards the stop
bar, it then comes into contact with the knob that tightens the
stop bar. As far as I can tell there are no controls set to measure
the straightness of your desired cut. they are all moveable parts
with no levels and it all basically needs to be eyeballed.

From what I can see from the Durston instructions, it looks like the
side fence has its own fence that butts up against the front face of
the table, to register the fence to 90 degrees relative to the
blade. Should work just fine. Most shears don’t have an adjustable
side fence at all. Just a ruler bolted to the side. In use, you true
it up with a machinist’s square when you first put the shear
together, then bolt it down and leave it forever. The Durston model
is adjustable. Not entirely sure why you’d want an adjustable fence
in that axis, but theirs is, and seems (from the pictures) to be
reasonably well thought out, for such a thing.

Regards,
Brian

4

I love my 7" Precision Guillotine cutter. It’s true, you are limited
to 6x12 lengths, but I use 12" sq plate brass for rolling plates and
you simply cut a 6" line with saw then you can cut the rest. A bonus
is that it has a measuring plate so you can cut multiples in the
same size. Its so heavy, I haven’t had to mount it, but I seldom use
below 16ga.

Good luck to you
Helen

5 
I ordered a Durston 12" Guillotine from Rio. I had to refuse the
first one as it arrived damaged. The second one I received also
arrived in deplorable condition, but I decided to assemble it
anyway.

The blade guard was bent up in shipping and the support plate had
gouges in it from clanking around loose in the thin plywood box
with the other parts and consequently the other parts are marred
and scraped up from improper packaging.

I too purchased a Durston 12" Guillotine Shear from Rio about a year
ago.

The first one never arrived, lost in UPS land until I got a call
from someone at the local hub telling me there was a busted up crate
sitting there with my name on it.

Of course I never saw that one, and the next one arrived with the
120 lb.

shear upside down in the box, having torn loose from the crate. It
was sitting on top of parts that were now bent in several places, and
not useable.

After pleading with Rio to open the 3rd one up and try to secure it
better I received it fairly intact.

Some comments on the packaging of these shears:

. The shears are crated by Durston, and Rio doesn’t open them before
shipping them to the consumer.

. The shear weighs over 100 lbs., and they screw the machine into
soft wood using screws that extend into the wood no more than 3/4".

. Seriously, how can Durston think this is adequate? The cost of this
poor packaging was fairly significant for myself, Rio, and
ultimately Durston.

I haven’t used the shear that much yet, but so far it cuts
effectively. I would probably buy it again, but I’m not sure how I
would deal with the ridiculous packaging of it.

James

6 
If not, which 12" shear would be the best purchase for
consistently cutting 8" lengths of bronze, brass & copper?

I have a wonderful 12" guillotine shear that I bought from Allcraft.
The name of it is Accu Cutter. I have cut up to 18 gauge silver and
brass with it and it does a great job. It came so well packed that
it was in perfect condition. When I talked to Tevel at Allcraft, I
was asking him which one he thought was best and he recommended the
Accu Cutter. He said the company has been making them for 50 years.
He ordered it for me and then they made it and shipped it to me. I
have been more that happy and satisfied with it and would recommend
it to anybody.

I hope this helps as I didn’t see your post until just now.

Lona

7

This doesnt look like Durston at all.

It smells of Indian or Chinese packaging.

Can Durston please clarify?

1 Like
8

I also bought a Durston, 12 inch shear from Rio and ran into the very
same problem a year ago.

My suggestion is to go to Durston directly, and they will replace all
defective parts that were damaged in shipping. Truthfully, for the
amount of money paid for this piece of equipment, I am not 100% happy
with it and would not recommend it.

Lesley

9 
This doesnt look like Durston at all. It smells of Indian or
Chinese packaging. Can Durston please clarify?

Hello Ted,

Happy to clarify. We manufacture and pack ourselves. We have packed
like this for many years for a reason. I think it was that if we
packed in a heavy duty box with bearers on it was very expensive to
ship around US.

Going from memory it was also a weight issue for either UPS or fedex
(or both) so we packed in 2 separate boxes. (with cardboard around
the wooden box).

However, we have reviewed the packing and from now on they will be
packed a lot more substantially.

Matthew Durston

10

We are now changing the way we pack the guillotines. We will be
using thicker wooded base and the guillotine will be bolted down in
all 4 corners with large washers so bolts don’t push through.

There will be more packing inside to stop any movement.

Finally, the box will have steel strapping to prevent the box
falling apart.

Matthew Durston

11

Hi Matthew,

Good to get your update on this, and that you make all the kit you
sell.

One of the hats I wear is to do engineering troubleshooting for a
big electronics co here in Poole Dorset.

We had just such an issue a few yrs back where the carriers/
couriers would mishandle the item being shipped to the point that
over 10% were being returned as unserviceable. I was contracted to
true up lots of bent metal. Quick and easy for me impossible for
them.

We revised the packagaging and I devised a “roll the packed item
down some stairs” test a few times to see if we could break the
packaging and damage the contents…

After revision it passed this test.

Fork lift drivers tend to be in a hurry, ive seen stuff fall off the
forks when they turn too quickly.

The worst item was a ?70,000 box of electronic kit bent beyond
repair! If you want a good laugh, Utube fork lift accidents!.

I had to pack and ship some dies some yrs ago.

Solid wooden crate steel banded, the reciever complained that it
took him over an hour to open the packaging! The dies? arrived
perfect!.

Ted.