Hi Mary,
In my other life, I help make the Knew Concepts saws, so I was in
Rio’s booth demoing saws, and helping out. As for what I know. Enough
to make a truly conclusive mess.
I expect to be doing 18 to 20 gauge copper and silver, and
probably 20 gauge brass, for about half my cutting at this point
(no steel!). I have three pieces of 18 ga sterling just waiting to
be cut for cuffs. The ability to create my own bezel wire would
also be very good - I have a sheet of 24 ga fine silver bought
expressly for this purpose.
It might be a little light for that. When I’m serious, for me, I
have a 6" DiAcro plate shear, and have access to a 12". So I don’t
use the lightweight ones except occasionally these days. I didn’t
look at it and immediately see problems, for whatever that’s worth.
What I can tell you is that the studio where I used to teach had a
DiAcro knockoff shear that was a constant struggle to keep cutting
properly.
Glad you got to play with Rio's shear at SNAG. It's good to hear
that Rio's shear handled 18 gauge copper with no problems. I
really like this price point for the table shear - this is the type
I'd rather have because the table provides more stability. But
every one I've looked at, even much more expensive ones, seems to
recommend cutting 20 gauge and thinner material. One cut on 18
gauge copper might not be a problem for a new shear but if it's not
rated for 18 gauge, I wouldn't want to tempt fate by cutting a lot
of 18 gauge with it.
Indeed. See above. 18ga is about where life starts to get serious.
(and expensive.)
So, even though this shear has the wonderful table and metal drop
support to catch cut metal, it might be aimed at cutting lighter
material than I'm thinking about working with right now.
The Dayton shear looks promising because it claims to cut heavier
gauges more easily. Have you tried cutting 18 gauge copper or 20
gauge brass with your new Dayton shear? Also, how well does that
little round drop-down steady hold the metal? (Heavier gauges
might be more likely to move during a cut.... is it possible to
hold them steady with extra hand pressure?)
The Dayton I picked up because it was on Craigslist at a price too
low for me to pass up. Haven’t used it beyond the day I dragged it
home, to make sure it was working. It’s currently sitting under my
tablesaw. For jewelry metals, the hold down is largely irrelevant,
and may get in the way. I expect I’d probably remove it if I were to
use the shear seriously. Polishing the blades by hand probably isn’t
something you want to do by yourself. Dar’s right about the plate
shears (like the Dayton): they’re big bruisers, and the lack of a
table makes accurate, repetitive cutting difficult. If that’s all you
can afford, then go for it, but it isn’t the optimum answer for
precision cutting. It’s more of a chopper. (Definitely not what I’d
use to try to cut bezel strip with, for example.) (Or, it’d be my
last stop before trying to cut the strip with hand shears, if that
gives a sense of where I’d rate it.)
For 18-24 ga non-ferris metals, once you dial the blade gap in for
the thinner stuff, you should be fine for 18 too. It’s just that the
Dayton’s set up for cutting +1/8" steel. That really does need a
wider gap, but the jewelry metals are so soft (in comparison) that a
tighter gap will be just fine. Haven’t looked at the Dayton with that
in mind yet, but I expect it to be both possible, and annoyingly
complex
I've been given links to several websites which sell this type of
shear. Many thanks to other forum members for their pointers and
help in locating these shears. What factors made you choose the
Dayton shear rather than another brand? (frame construction, length
of blade, availability of replacement blades, cost...etc). I love
the price on this Dayton shear - it's $50 to $150 lower than prices
for similarly constructed shears that I've seen on other sites.
See above about the wonders of Craigslist. Scroungers unite! As far
as cost, there’s a reason: it’s not a precision tool, it’s a metal
chopper, subcontracted out to China. As such, it’s worth about what
you’re paying.
Hope that helps,
Brian