Snips

Last updated February 07, 2024

Snips, also known as shears, are hand tools used to cut sheet metal and other tough webs. It is a cutting tool. Workers use various types of snips, with the cutting edges being straight or curved to various degrees. The style of edge employed will depend if a straight sheer or some type of shapes cut is necessary. There are two broad categories: tinner's snips, which are similar to common scissors, and compound-action snips, which use a compound leverage handle system to increase the mechanical advantage.^[1]

Types

Tinner snips

Tinner's snips, also known as tinner snips or tin snips, are one of the most popular type of snips. They are defined by their long handles and short blades. They usually have extra wide jaws and are made of drop forged carbon steel. Depending on the size of the blade, tin snips can cut between 24 and 16 gauge cold rolled low-carbon tin. They can be ranged in length from 7 to 14 in (180 to 360 mm) long. There are two main types: straight-pattern and duckbill-pattern. Straight-pattern is best for straight cuts, but can handle gentle curves. Duckbill-pattern snips, also known as trojan-pattern snips, have blades that taper down from the pivot to the tip of the blades. The blade edges are also bevelled to more easily cut curves and circles or shapes. They are a lighter duty snip that can only cut up to 25 gauge mild steel.

Other common blade patterns include the circle pattern or curved pattern and the hawk's-bill pattern. Circle pattern snips have a curved blade and are used to cut circles. Hawk's-bill snips are used to cut small radii on the inside and outside of a circle. The shape of the blades allow for sharp turns without buckling the sheet metal. A common use is cutting holes in pipes.

Compound-action snips

Compound-action snips, also known as aviation snips, maille snips or sheet snips, are the most popular type of snips as they are able to exert a higher force compared to other types of snip of the same size, because of the design of their linkage. They were first developed to cut aluminum in the construction of aircraft, hence they are often referred to as aviation snips. They can handle aluminium up to 18 gauge,^[2] mild steel up to 24 gauge or stainless steel up to 26 gauge.^[3]

There are three cutting styles for compound-action snips: straight cutting, left cutting, and right cutting. Straight cutting snips (generally have yellow colored soft grips) cut in a straight line and wide curves; left cutting snips (usually red) will cut straight and in a tight curve to the left; right cutting snips (usually green) will cut straight and in a tight curve to the right.^[4] These different cutting styles are necessary because metal is stiff and heavy and does not move out of the way readily when cutting around a curve. The respective styles move the material out of the way when cutting in the direction they are designed for. The blades are usually serrated to prevent material slippage.^[5]

In addition to the configurations outlined below, there are also upright and long cut configurations. The upright snip has the blades rotated 90° from the handles. This configuration is more ergonomic and commonly used in tight spaces. The long cut snip has long blades that make it easier to make long straight cuts. These snips are commonly used on vinyl or aluminium siding.^[6]

Standard compound-action snips are designed for cutting steel or softer materials, although the occasional use on stainless steel is not detrimental.^[5] For cutting through tougher materials, such as inconel and titanium, special hard snips are available. They are similar in design to standard or offset aviation snips, but have specially heat treated blades. These snips will have a different color handle to differentiate them from the other standard types.

Pipe and duct snips

Pipe and duct snips, also known as double cut snips, are a subtype of compound-action snip used to cut stove pipe and ducting lengthwise. The snips have a three-piece jaw that has two side blades that slide against a central blade. This creates a 11⁄64 in (4.4 mm) wide strip that curls up along the cut. A compound lever system is used to increase the mechanical advantage.

Configuration

The following types of snips are available in different configurations. The first is the angle of the blades to the handles. If the handles are inline with the blades then the combination is known as a straight snips; if the handles are at an angle then it is known as an offset configuration. This design allows for the material to flow away from the blades when making long cuts, which is easier and safer than straight cutting snips.

The bulldog-pattern is a blade pattern that has longer handles to increase the mechanical advantage of the snips. In tinner's snips this means the handles are extra long. The compound-action bulldog-pattern, also known as a notch snips, has the ability to cut up to 16 gauge cold rolled sheet metal or multiple layers of sheet metal up to 0.062 in (1.6 mm) thick.

Some snips have replaceable blades for when the blade becomes worn out. An added advantage to this is the ability to make the rest of the snips from a lightweight material, usually aluminum. This helps to reduce fatigue.

Related Research Articles

A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.

A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end; for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, struck with a mallet, or mechanical power. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.

A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws.

A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historically, humans have made blades from flaking stones such as flint or obsidian, and from various metal such as copper, bronze, and iron. Modern blades are often made of steel or ceramic. Blades are one of humanity's oldest tools, and continue to be used for combat, food preparation, and other purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table saw</span> Woodworking tool

A table saw is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor. The drive mechanism is mounted below a table that provides support for the material, usually wood, being cut, with the blade protruding up through the table into the material.

A file is a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. It is common in woodworking, metalworking, and other similar trade and hobby tasks. Most are hand tools, made of a case hardened steel bar of rectangular, square, triangular, or round cross-section, with one or more surfaces cut with sharp, generally parallel teeth. A narrow, pointed tang is common at one end, to which a handle may be fitted.

A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies and casting dies which are not. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create.

A bandsaw is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumbering, but may cut a variety of materials. Advantages include uniform cutting action as a result of an evenly distributed tooth load, and the ability to cut irregular or curved shapes like a jigsaw. The minimum radius of a curve is determined by the width of the band and its kerf. Most bandsaws have two wheels rotating in the same plane, one of which is powered, although some may have three or four to distribute the load. The blade itself can come in a variety of sizes and tooth pitches, which enables the machine to be highly versatile and able to cut a wide variety of materials including wood, metal and plastic.

A hacksaw is a fine-toothed saw, originally and mainly made for cutting metal. The equivalent saw for cutting wood is usually called a bow saw.

A miter saw or mitre saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto a board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a back saw in a miter box, but in modern implementation consists of a powered circular saw that can be positioned at a variety of angles and lowered onto a board positioned against a backstop called the fence.

Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process.

A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives – notably a large chef's knife, a tough cleaver, a small paring knife and some sort of serrated blade – there are also many specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks. Kitchen knives can be made from several different materials.

A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors. The predecessors of the modern straight razors include bronze razors, with cutting edges and fixed handles, produced by craftsmen from Ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom. Solid gold and copper razors were also found in Ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to the 4th millennium BC.

Diagonal pliers are pliers intended for the cutting of wire. The plane defined by the cutting edges of the jaws intersects the joint rivet at an angle or "on a diagonal", hence the name.

Metalworking hand tools are hand tools that are used in the metalworking field. Hand tools are powered solely by the operator.

A paper cutter, also known as a paper guillotine or simply a guillotine, is a tool often found in offices and classrooms. It is designed to administer straight cuts to single sheets or large stacks of paper at once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loppers</span> Tool for pruning twigs and branches

Loppers are a type of scissors used for pruning twigs and small branches, like pruning shears with very long handles. They are the largest type of manual garden cutting tool.

A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require different knives, according primarily to hardness. There are also a number of other kitchen tools designed for cutting or slicing cheese, especially the harder types. These include the cheese cutter, cheese slicer, cheese plane, cheese scoop for soft cheese and others, collectively known as cheese servers.

Shearing, also known as die cutting, is a process that cuts stock without the formation of chips or the use of burning or melting. Strictly speaking, if the cutting blades are straight the process is called shearing; if the cutting blades are curved then they are shearing-type operations. The most commonly sheared materials are in the form of sheet metal or plates. However, rods can also be sheared. Shearing-type operations include blanking, piercing, roll slitting, and trimming. It is used for metal, fabric, paper and plastics.

There are many types of shears used to shear or cut sheet metal.

References

↑ Herren, Ray V.; Cooper, Elmer L. (2002), Agricultural mechanics: fundamentals & applications (4th ed.), Cengage Learning, p. 144, ISBN 978-0-7668-1410-3.
↑ Finegold, Rupert; Seitz, William (1983), Silversmithing, KP Craft, p. 120, ISBN 978-0-8019-7232-4.
↑ Benford, Tom (2006), Garage and Workshop Gear Guide, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing, p. 61, ISBN 978-0-7603-2312-0.
↑ Klenck, Thomas (May 1991), "Snips", Popular Mechanics , 168 (5): 39–41, ISSN 0032-4558.
1 2 Fournier, Sue (1990), Metal fabricator's handbook, HPBooks, p. 10, ISBN 978-0-89586-870-1.
↑ Hand Tools Institute (HTI), Metal Cutting Snips & Cutters Guide to Handtools (PDF), retrieved 2009-11-14.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Herren, Ray V.; Cooper, Elmer L. (2002), Agricultural mechanics: fundamentals & applications (4th ed.), Cengage Learning, p. 144, ISBN 978-0-7668-1410-3.

[2] Finegold, Rupert; Seitz, William (1983), Silversmithing, KP Craft, p. 120, ISBN 978-0-8019-7232-4.

[benford-3] Benford, Tom (2006), Garage and Workshop Gear Guide, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing, p. 61, ISBN 978-0-7603-2312-0.

[klenck-4] Klenck, Thomas (May 1991), "Snips", Popular Mechanics , 168 (5): 39–41, ISSN 0032-4558.

[fournier-5] 1 2 Fournier, Sue (1990), Metal fabricator's handbook, HPBooks, p. 10, ISBN 978-0-89586-870-1.

[hti-6] Hand Tools Institute (HTI), Metal Cutting Snips & Cutters Guide to Handtools (PDF), retrieved 2009-11-14.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]