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Post subject:more advice on slitters
 Posted: May 08, 2008 - 09:06 PM #7541
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Joined: Jan 25, 2007
Posts: 47
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| i have a choice between a lockformer 16 ga and a wilder 16 ga slitter, does any one have an opinion on which one is better, my second question is we do from time to time fab 16 ga duct for hoods, will a slitter really cut this thick metal, or is it like my shear that says it can ,reality is two big guys need to stand on the pedal to do it? i would like a power shear but just cant afford it now, things are pretty slow. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 08, 2008 - 10:48 PM #7543
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Power User
Joined: Dec 14, 2004
Posts: 199
Location: Illinois
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I would check the guide on each then make the decision.
If my experience with 24/26 ga is an indication, you might have a hard time getting a cut edge free of distortion... but maybe there are some adjustments to address that.
I found it quite difficult to get a nice straight cut as the end of the sheet always managed to push out a bit.
If you are depending on this piece of equipment to fabricate parts ready to weld, I would run a test piece or two first... and not little strips, either. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 09, 2008 - 05:01 PM #7544
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Power User
Joined: Apr 17, 2004
Posts: 250
Location: Central Ohio
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| My experience is similar to yours danski. In fact I will use a slitter only as a last resort because of the very issues you cite. Wavy distorted edge, no straight cut, ragged edge not fit for finish work. |
_________________
Steve
Blissfully Ignorant Copperhead
www.copperthings.com
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 09, 2008 - 08:58 PM #7545
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Power User
Joined: Dec 14, 2004
Posts: 199
Location: Illinois
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drizz-
You might want to check the classifieds here and other places like ebay for a hydraulic conversion jump shear. There is a Whitney-Jensen listed on ebay at this time for $1k. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 10, 2008 - 11:13 AM #7548
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Joined: Jan 25, 2007
Posts: 47
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| thanks for the replies, i think a slitter would be a mistake for me, i going to go with the shear even if its only a 6 foot. looking back at all the shops and equipment i seen and used, no shop had a slitter and i would guess thats why. i was tempted by cost. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 10, 2008 - 02:36 PM #7549
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Power User
Joined: Dec 14, 2004
Posts: 199
Location: Illinois
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Slitters have their place.
A slitter is a good tool to have if you make your own ductwork and want more than a 48" width... or other items where absolute precision or a nice distortion free finished edge is not required. There is no other cost effective way to cut sheet stock down to size quickly.
I have made 1000's of feet of ductwork with a slitter... and you need at least 20' of linear space to run 8' sheets through one. Flipping the sheet end for end helps to even out the cut if multiple passes are required (ex: cutting 8" strips for flashing).
I have found slitters to be more common in my experience than large shears. Shops I have worked at do 16ga black iron 4' at a time using a 48" hydraulic shear to cut it. If needed, pieces are assembled at the shop before delivery to the site.
Even if you have a plasma table or a 10' shear, you still need the capacity to bend long lengths of material. I have not yet experienced a sheet metal shop with an apron brake or a press brake that bends 90* end to end (nor have they wanted to spend the time to fix the problem). It is much easier to correct deficiencies over a few joints of shorter ducting than dealing with a twisted 8' joint.
Other guys sub out the entire black iron portion of the job or just the fabrication end because the tooling to work the metal isn't cheap if that work isn't done often enough.
An Engel Shopmaster might be the ticket- never tried one with 16ga material though.
If you are looking for a low buck approach, consider a small plasma cutter and a nonconductive guide for the business end. You can get a small Miller with a built in compressor for short money. Sheet support for cutting needs to be considered. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 10, 2008 - 02:46 PM #7551
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Power User
Joined: May 16, 2005
Posts: 172
Location: Atlantic, Iowa
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It took awile to find but, look at this old post:
http://www.thesheetmetalshop.com/index. ... highlight=
It is very criticle to have your table height to the slitter. I can cut aluminum Rollex to 18 ga. galv. perfect and burr free on this old Wilder slitter. The worst part of this type of slitter is that you make one cut and have to drag the sheet back for the next cut. The cost factor and amount of work load is your deciding factor here. For me, (a small fab shop) the wilder has been great for me going strong for 27 years and only 1 blade change. Wilder model 1624.  |
_________________
Stickman,
The thin tinman.
www.martinsheetmetal.com
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 13, 2008 - 12:04 AM #7559
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Joined: Jan 25, 2007
Posts: 47
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| I quess there are pros and cons of using slitters, my biggest concern was the cut quality and i see that with the right table it may be ok, and second, will it cut 16ga?. Maybe a slitter can do the job, worst case sell it off if im not happy. It would be a lot cheaper than buying a 8 ft shear and rewiring my fuse panel thats already in bad shape. The 52' shear i have works great for all small cuts. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 13, 2008 - 02:39 PM #7560
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Joined: Feb 27, 2008
Posts: 8
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drizz1234,
I would like to respond to some of the comments above. You may not know, but RAMS offers a 16 Ga. Slitter with some unique features that no other manufacturer offers. Which has become RAMS number one selling machine.
16 Ga. mild steel is not an issue with our Slitter. Because of our THK slide rail we are able to hold width tolerances of
+/- .007". No one else in the industry is close to that.
Some of the comments about ragged and wavy edges is because the blade gap is too large. The blade gap should be no more than .002". If the material is wavy it is typically the blades are dull and they are having a hard time shearing through the metal causing the blades to walk on top of the material. One of the other features that RAMS offers is lapped blades. This is a stronger edge than having them ground. We also offer a blade exchange program, you send us your old blades and we send you a new set out for $100.00.
The other feature feature that makes this machine unique is after you sharpen the blades there is no need for shims. We have an adjustble top blade that is easily set to your .002" gap in minutes. There is no need to find the perfect shim to take up the gap. RAMS is the only Slitter that has a table top to give added support to the work piece.
Also with all RAMS equipment we offer a 2 YEAR WARRANTY. See our web link above. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 14, 2008 - 01:24 AM #7566
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Power User
Joined: May 16, 2005
Posts: 172
Location: Atlantic, Iowa
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Quote:
I would like to respond to some of the comments above. You may not know, but RAMS offers a 16 Ga. Slitter with some unique features that no other manufacturer offers. Which has become RAMS number one selling machine.
Your'e right, I took a look at that Rams slitter and it has some nice features. The easy to read tape and support table looks great. If this old girl of mine ever acts up I will take a real good look at that slitter. |
_________________
Stickman,
The thin tinman.
www.martinsheetmetal.com
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 14, 2008 - 02:16 AM #7567
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Power User
Joined: Nov 13, 2007
Posts: 112
Location: Omaha, NE
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| We used a slitter for the first 10-12 years I was at the shop. We've used a shear the past 7-8 years. I can't even remember the year we got it to tell you the truth. But the slitter immediately became a relic. For the space and time involved it is very difficult to match the power shear. Slitters are a machine that requires some skill to use; its an art to get consistent and perfect cuts. The shear can be used by most anyone with very little training. Our shear handled 16 gauge this past winter without as much as a hiccup and I believe we can do 14 gauge in it. I really can't imagine going back to the slitter. What you spend over time and effort on the slitter will cost you that much less than if you opt for the power shear. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 19, 2008 - 02:13 PM #7595
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Joined: Feb 27, 2008
Posts: 8
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Matt,
Your are correct about the difficulty in operating most slitters, however, the way the RAMS Slitter is set up with the linear guide rail and back gauge is it effortless. As I stated above you will get a very accurate cut (+/- .007") on material up to 16 gauge mild steel with very little effort.
If shops are working on a tight budget and do not have the money to spend on a power shear, the Slitter is a very good option. It also takes up far less floor space than a shear. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 21, 2008 - 12:48 AM #7601
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Power User
Joined: Nov 13, 2007
Posts: 112
Location: Omaha, NE
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| It matters how your shop is setup then. A sheer takes up approximately 7 feet of depth by 12 feet width for a 10' sheer. The slitter requires a 24' x 4.5'+excess material in area to cut sheets. The sheer won't win in raw footprint for the tool, but it does win in space required to cut material. And the amount of time it saves labour-wise quickly eats up the price difference in just a few years of use. So if the shop intends to fold inside of a few years or has a lot of space to slit metal and doesn't handle much traffic then by all means the slitter may be the choice. But for a guy planning for the long term the sheer is the cost effective choice. |
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Go Huskers!
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 21, 2008 - 01:10 AM #7602
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Power User
Joined: May 16, 2005
Posts: 172
Location: Atlantic, Iowa
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Its been years since I ran a 10 squaring shear, but I haven't forgot the hassle it was to cut wide blanks and throw in a little curl in the stock and it was about a 4 man job to cut the stock. 2 guys in the back to hold up the stock to the back gauge and 2 out front throwing the sheet up on the shear. Then you had to stack the blanks as you cut them because of the curl or you would have a mess and the painted material damaged. YES slitters do have a big advantage over a squaring shear if you do a lot of painted flashing. The stock stays on the table ready to mark and then bend. I guess my point is...They both have their good points and bad. The last time I had to cut 50 2" wide strips for some angle I was thinking the whole time "Wished I had a 10' shear"  |
_________________
Stickman,
The thin tinman.
www.martinsheetmetal.com
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 21, 2008 - 03:26 AM #7603
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Power User
Joined: Nov 13, 2007
Posts: 112
Location: Omaha, NE
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| They make smaller shears than a 10' for the 2" clips and whatnot. Not sure what kind of shear you had that left a curl, a manual one perhaps? They make these nice modern shears that use a pneumatic drive and its a one man operation. And I know what you mean about marking material, it WAS a hassle back in the day it was required for every little project. But even the computerized brakes that run off servoes make it a one man job to churn out several thousand feet per day. The cost of labor over the course of even one year for several sets of hands makes these tools look cheap in comparison. |
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 21, 2008 - 03:43 AM #7604
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Power User
Joined: May 16, 2005
Posts: 172
Location: Atlantic, Iowa
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The curl is in the material from the coil line.....the material was not leveled like cut sheets. The shear was a Cincinnati shear. You have to realize Matt....some of us run small fab shops that don't crank out thousands of feet of flashing a day. I prefer the special flashing jobs that the big shops don't want to waste their valuable machine time to do small jobs.....this is where that old slitter and handbrake will always make someone a living.  |
_________________
Stickman,
The thin tinman.
www.martinsheetmetal.com
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Post subject:RE: more advice on slitters
Posted: May 31, 2008 - 06:24 AM #7617
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Joined: Apr 09, 2006
Posts: 24
Location: harrison , ohio
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| its hard agree or disagree with any of the advice givin here.ive worked in shops with slittrs and hand brakes. i now work in a shop with a 10 foot power shear and an auto brake.my home shop will probably never have any more than a slitter and hand brake. but i dont have much desire to bend miles of flashings at home. |
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