Kett shear; not quite a welding Q?

[MrXtreme]

Does anyone have experience with Kett electric shears? Specifically I was interested in any thoughts on the KE440 vs. K442. What's the difference, other than the rated guage of metal? And why would one buy the 442 (16 ga) rather than the 440 (14 ga)?

And if there are any other options/ideas, I'd sure appreciate the info.

Thanks!

James

[HAWK]

MrXtreme,

No experience here, but have been looking myself. Take a look at the Bosch shears. They make on for up to 8 gauge. My guess is you want to buy on closest to the material sheared most often. The heavier gauge shears probably give a rougher cut on thinner material. Just a guess.

[H80N]

MrXtreme
to the best of my knowledge Kett was the originator of the center strip type shear.. the advantage was that both cut edges remained flat and nearly undistorted..and is excellent for straight cuts and GENTLE curves... disadvantage was the 3/16 kerf that was cut and curled out of the center... which was fine for most uses but made it much more difficult to do layout for butt joints.. and tight curves leave a ragged distorted edge.. (tight curves and right angles are nibbler territory)
in the past Kett always built a first class product with a price to match... and believe they still do............
This style of shear has been around for at least 30 years that I know about... so the patent has long since run out.. and many manufacturerers are making the same style... regardless of the manufacturer you chose I would go with the tool that cuts the thicker material if you can afford it... Whether it be Kett , Bosch or whoever.....
All of that said.... these days .. many guys are using a Plasma cutter to make the types of cuts that both Kett Shears and Nibblers were used for in the past....the plasma will not take out a wide kerf and will allow easy cutting for butt joints provided that you turn the power down to match your material to minimize distortion and take the time to grind off the dross from cutting...................... If you price high quality shears and nibbler you may find that you are near the price catagory of a sheet metal capable plasma cutter...
Just some food for thought....
Hope this helps
Heiti

[MrXtreme]

Hawk and Heiti,

Thanks for the replies. Heiti, I don't have a plasma cutter just yet, but I'm looking at the Spectrum 625. Interesting idea to cut it with plasma. I was figuring that a Kett (or clone) would be a quick and easy way to quickly cut sheet metal panels for things like car interiors. Did not realize that they don't cut curves well.

Thanks for the info,

James

[H80N]

MrXtreme
the Kett type shear is an excellent tool.. and will make excellent gentle curves.. but you will notice as you cut that as the curve tightens that the burr on the edge and deformation will increase too...(especially inside edge) Did notice that their price has dropped radically down to the $170 range for the 14ga version... but was troubled by a "New Feature" ... Kett advertises that the blades are designed to BREAK if they are used on material thicker than they are rated... sposed to be some type of safety feature... but I wonder if it would turn out to be nothing more than an expensive nuisance....
hope this helps
Heiti

BTW.. an awful lot of good work has been done on aluminum interior panels with just a set of Left, Right and Center cut Wiss aircraft shears.... for lots less money.. (plasma would be the wrong tool for that application would leave a messy edge and is prone to distortion on thin aluminum.. mechanical cut on those panels would be best)

[cnslmva]

MrXtreme,
The Spectrum 625 is a great machine for the price! Just got mine last week and don't know how I ever got along without it! I'd say get one as soon as the wallet allows. Being employed with several mechanical contractors over the years has allowed me the opportunity to use various shears and nibblers. They are great tools as long as you use them for there intended cutting ranges. Like everyone else said, shears are not good for tight radius turns, but they are great for quick straight cuts if the kerf loss doesn't matter. Nibblers make great turns no matter how tight, they are a bit slower on the straight cuts than shears, though.
Go with the Spectrum, you don't know what you're missing!