Brian,
Thanks so much for digging around to find these two bench shears.
Your background and knowledge must be fairly extensive, especially if
you were helping Rio at SNAG last month.
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.
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.
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?)
I really appreciate your observations about the possible need to
tighten the blade gap for cutting thinner gauges (how silly of me to
think I could use a shear alternately for 18 gauge and 24-28 gauge
with no adjustments…) Do you think the blade gap could be changed
fairly easily so that I could alternate between cutting thinner
gauges and thicker gauges? or is this type of adjustment difficult to
do without messing up the shear?
You also commented that cut pieces would curl a little without a
table. That’s fine… I can un-curl them. I don’t want shredded
edges, though. Can I polish the blade’s cutting edge without removing
the blade from the shear (by hand, with very fine sandpaper or
polishing compound?) are you going to polish the cutting edge on
yours?
If this type of cutter will work on heavier metals without damaging
the cut edge, this might be better for my needs.
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.
Thanks again for your recommendations, Brian. I really appreciate your
help.
Mary