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Old 06-04-2020, 01:53 PM
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Default Preferred Panel Cutting Tool

What are you using as your go-to panel cutting tool.

I had planned on using an air cut-off tool with as thin a wheel as possible, however I just purchased an pneumatic reciprocating saw .... one of those little guys that goes like 10,000 strokes a minute, not much larger than your hand.

I usually rough things out with a plasma cutter but that usually leaves kind of a nasty edge that needs to be ground down.

Also have Kett shears, aviation snips, jig saw, sawzall, nibbler etc.

What's the best?

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Old 06-04-2020, 03:39 PM
TAKerry TAKerry is offline
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I have built and skinned more steel buildings than cars, and we use what ever works best at the time. Sometimes all of the above. Working on a car a thin cutting wheel in a electric grinder was my go to, until a spark burnt my barn (and car) to the ground. Needless to say I'm a bit gun shy now when I see sparks flying everywhere. I need to do a bit of cutting and was thinking about getting a small air saw. Never used a plasma, snips have their limitations depending on the gauge of steel. Sawzall is too wild, though I have used one on occasion if it was just making a quit, rough cut.

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Old 06-04-2020, 04:56 PM
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I like a Nibbler alot.

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Old 06-04-2020, 08:49 PM
tjs72lemans tjs72lemans is offline
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I usually go with the thin cutoff wheel in air tool.

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Old 06-05-2020, 01:41 AM
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I use a variety of tools depending on the shape of the panel, the line I want to cut, straight or curved, etc.
The one I use the most is the variable speed 4.5" angle grinder (electric) with a 1/16" cutoff wheel.
The sawzall, air nibbler and pneumatic shears work pretty well also and I use all of those on occasion. I even use the air chisel with a cutting bit if it's something that's really going to get trashed and I just want a rough cut to get the panel that's going to be disposed of out of the way. Then do the finer cutting with something else. Think, trunk floor, etc.

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Old 06-05-2020, 08:21 AM
TAKerry TAKerry is offline
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Air chisel is an excellent tool for removal of bad metal.

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Old 06-05-2020, 08:47 AM
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Angle grinder with a Diablo diamond coated steel wheel for long straight cuts. I have a 5 inch and a 7 inch wheel. The diamond coated wheel lasts lots longer than the aluminum oxide abrasive wheels do. Diablo claims up to 100 times longer than abrasive wheels. Probably not, but I still am on my original wheels that I purchased 2-3 years ago.

I also use a 3 inch air grinder with the aluminum oxide wheels for finer work.

I have a set of electric shears too, and manual shears, right, left, and straight.

I have a carbide tipped Diablo Steel Demon, 7 1/4 inch blade for the circular saw too. The problem is the hot shards of steel it throws off, hit your arms and burn like hell.

I also have a recently acquired plasma cutter, and the old standby oxy acetylene torch.

For cutting structural steel, I have a 14 inch chop saw with aluminum oxide blade.

Of course I have air chisels with sheet metal bits too, sometimes it's the right tool for the job.

On occasion I have used a saber saw with a metal cutting blade, but the blades don't last very long.

It all depends upon the job, the gauge of metal I'm cutting, what tools, or combination of tools, I choose.

Years ago when I was helping a few electrician friends build a dirt track car, their go to tools for body surgery, and installing roll cage were portable band saws, and reciprocating saws, I guess that's what they used on a daily basis, and were comfortable with. I'm not a fan of either for automotive work.

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Old 06-05-2020, 01:22 PM
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What I'll be doing primarily right now is floor pans. In my case I'm discarding probably 60% of the pan patches and just using the very bottoms. My floor pan rust is from moisture sitting IN the pan, not from exterior rust, so just the very lowest areas are pin-holed.

Anyway ... I'll be clamping the roughed out pan patch to the floor and cutting both at the same time for a very close fit .... so I'll have to use a through cut method like a saw or cut-off wheel. Probably the air-reciprocating saw for the curves and the cut-off wheel for the straight sections.

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Old 06-05-2020, 02:04 PM
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It's pretty easy to pinch an aluminum oxide disc and explode it, especially cutting through 2 layers of metal, been there done that. The diamond edged cutting discs are made out of tempered steel and you're not going to be picking any shrapnel out of you skin because they don't shatter, or explode. Add to that they don't wear down to a smaller diameter as they're used. They are probably a little thicker than an aluminum oxide disc is. Entirely your call.

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Old 06-05-2020, 07:08 PM
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Do you know if the arbor hole on that Daiblo would fit an air cutoff tool? Or would an air cutoff tool not have the nads for it? My angle grinder is pretty big to be using for delicate work.

I'm a big Diablo fan, been using their stuff in my wood saws for years. Nice Italian made product.

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Old 06-06-2020, 01:53 AM
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Where do you get the diamond coated steel wheels? The regular abrasives do wear kind of quickly and it's always a pain as they decrease in diameter.

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Old 06-06-2020, 02:17 AM
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https://www.homedepot.com/s/diablo%2...0wheels?NCNI-5

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Old 06-06-2020, 02:31 AM
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Where it can be used, my pneumatic nibbler works great- neat edges, no panel distortion. It can turn quite a small-radius corner (about 3/8"). It's a cheap one but cuts up to 16 gauge steel.

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Old 06-06-2020, 02:38 AM
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One thing about that nibbler...don't walk barefoot in the work area anytime soon! Those little crescent moon slivers are sharp!

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Old 06-06-2020, 03:53 AM
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One of the reasons I don't use a nibbler much is my dog ... he hangs out in the shop with me. I don't think I've ever used it without later finding one of those shards someplace it shouldn't be.

I bet someone makes a bag or something to attach to the lower opening where they come out.

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