I just pulled in a huge order of steal siding today that I’ll be installing on the sides of a four story structure that I just framed. The main guy at the steel roofing/siding place recommended that I NOT use the standard steel-cutting blade — those ones that look/feel like a grinder blade — and that, instead, I use a plywood cutting circ-saw blade. This sounded crazy to me, but he insisted that that is what ‘they always use for installations now’ and that the fine steel teeth of the ply-cutting blade cut through the metal more simply and that the blade lasts much longer and is cheaper to use in the long run.
Has anyone else heard of this or tried this?
Thanks –
Teri
Replies
new'
I've cut metal siding with just about every blade you can think of. The wood cutting blades seem to work just as well as the metal blades if not better.
I used to turn the blades around backwards, but now I just use what ever is on the saw without flipping it.Usually its a framing blade.
Be sure to wear eye protection because metal goes everywhere and the carbide teeth of the blade will fly off too.
The thickest I have cut was 26ga. though.
dug
that word ,HUGE kinda throws me off.if you will have a lot of this to cut buy some shears,about 250.00. if you have just moderate amounts to cut i use the plywood blade backwards,and cut on the back side of the sheet so i'm not bouncing up and down on the ribs.
i'm the kinda guy that doesn't wear saftey glasses very often,i know i'm bad,but this job you will need some good googles and i like a face shield over that. ear protection is a must also. have fun watch out for the sharp edges.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Ha! Amazing.
I woulda had no idea that this was really possible. Well .. I'll give the plywood blade a try then. The guy told me it makes a MUCH cleaner cut and that's what I'm after. And I proly shouldn't a said "huge" load .. it's quite managable I think. I'm hoping that I can clean up any cuts that need it with hand shears ... but I've only worked with them with 26 gauge ... never tried cutting effectively through 24 .. hope it's do-able!
And I'm DEFINITELY a mask and ear-protection guy. I wouldn't work without them present and handy at all times.
Thanks for the feedback!
new-b
If you go to a roofing supplier you can probably buy the blades that roofers use to cut metal roofing. Don't know exactly what they are but they don't sell them at the lumberyard here and the roofers who put on my 24-gauge shop roof used them. Definitely get the full-face shield and earplugs--it makes a wicked screaming sound when you cut the stuff. Shears might be a good idea too.
I have cut it with plywood blades before and the noise is deafening.
I switched to 6" grinder blades and it's alot quieter.
I can cut up to 9 sheets at a time and it goes fairly easily. THe more sheets you cut at a time the slower it goes.
One $2 wheel lasts for 20-25 cross cuts.
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After you cut all the sheets to length stack them all up on top of each other and predrill for your screws or nails. Transfer your purlin layout to the face of the top sheet.
Be sure that the cut end is going to be pointing up once its stood into place. You don't want to see the cut edge resting on your rat guard or in J-channel.
Matt
Lenox makes a Titanium steel cutting blade that cuts the steel siding like butter. I tried everything else and this was by far the best that I found.
They are not cheap, $59.00 at Lowes, but if you have alot of siding to cut
it will be worth it with the cleaner cuts and the time saved.
The carbide blades seemed to tear the siding, the plywood blades cut slow and last about 10 minutes and go dull. The grinder type blades tend to heat up and burn the siding and didnt last long either.
One other thing that helps for straight cuts is a saw guide called the Bench dog, that I found at Rockler woodworking. Also be sure to wear safety glasses or goggles. I like to wear goggles that keep the eyes completely protected.
Very noisy too, so ear protection is needed.
Edited 9/22/2007 10:06 am ET by wood4rd
hey ... thanks again for further input.
again .. much appreciated.
this is what i'm siding:
oops!
sorry!
i really don't know how to shrink that down to a reasonable size. just followed the step-by-step to download it and there it is.
n
smaller
cool . . . . thanks.
FineHBLDG should have a few words on how to do that when you attach-pic.
nb
bump 94895.11
Edited 9/27/2007 3:50 pm ET by rez
24 ga.? What is the profile?
The only 24 ga. steel I ever worked with was on commercial warehouse type structures. We used circular saw blades in both the correct and backward method. We got somewhat less burring in the backward setup. Cutting from the back side of the sheet also kept the hot metal fragment from leaving tiny scorch marks the face of the panel. Cleaning up cuts with hand shears is real tough on 24 ga. steel. an angle grinder is easier on the forearms. Everyone carried a mil bastard file to knock off burrs left or missed by the cut man.
I currently use Kett shears and nipplers on 26 and 28 ga steel siding. They work well on the standard profile shown in someone elses post, but don't handle the deeper profile of commercial siding very well. Turning the nippler head sidways and upside down gives more swing room for the drill body to go in and out of the rib profile, but it is tricky to stay on line at that point. The one advantage of shears or nipplers is that the siding paint warrenty is not voided. Cutting with a circular saw may void tthe paint warrenty.
Five or six years down the road it is difficult enough to get the siding manufacturer to stand behind thier warrenty. Those little hot fragments of steel that fly off a circular saw or grinder cut get embedded in the paint film. They show up as rust freckles years later. Your customer complains and the factory rep just smiles and says "read the exclusion in the warrenty." Then he gets out his pen and waits for you to place an order for the replacement material :)
Dave
the pattern is a common 'wave' pattern but in a slightly bolder wave that does look sharp. I had to go to a 24 gauge to get the final paint that I wanted but now i'm thinking 'Damn! this stuff is heavy .. and heavy duty!' I'm going to be putting it up on the sides at forty feet up working off of a ladder and it does make me nervous. working primarily alone. the largest sheets i'm working with are 8 feet .. weight something in the range of 30 - 33 lbs. each.
Maybe i'll look into renting a nibbler. I will need something to clean up the main cuts. the guys at the factory said 'cut it with a plywood blade and then trim up the details with a hand shear. piece of cake!' But hey .. they were trying to sell me something.
We'll see.
n
Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com) has cheap versions of nibblers and sheet metal shears. Probably would last through a number of projects and might be about the same as costs for rentals. There is also available a hand nibbler for $26.00 - you could build up your forearms to rival Popeye's by the time your project was finished...
thanks casey!
n
Buy a set of duckbill snips. Rights, lefts and straight. They have over the standard aviation snips IMO. I bought a set last spring and could not believe the differance.
I also figure out that my ols Wies avaiation snips were dull to the point of being useless. Maybe SeeYou or Sphere can sharpen them, but I have ruined ever pair I 've tried to tune up. I just tossed them in my grandsons tool box and bought nes straight cuts.
Dave
nb, don't forget to detail the flashing on your windows b/4 you install your siding. Caulking doesn't last forever and ribbed siding creates a whole different drain plane. You don't want to have to climb up there very often. Best of luck.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
where's the best place to post pics of the project when i'm closer to done?
in the 'photos' section? doesn't look like much goes on there.
n
It would be nice if you could take the pics you already posted and run a photo thread (in that folder) of your project. I remember seeing a couple of your posts. I think you can access photo's you've already loaded somewhere in the attach files portion of a post. You re-link to them..........I guess.
Consolidate.
Quite a bit of quality "goes on" in the photo folder.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I don't think old attachments is there any more..remember the pie slice doo-hicky? it is gone as well.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
yep, we's was robbed in the prime of life.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
I worked for 10 months on a job in Atlanta that involved cutting lots of 1/8" aluminum. We used 60 tooth carbide-tipped saw blades in chop saws. Never had any chipping fly or lost any teeth off the blade. ALWAYS wore safety glasses, though.
I would try that with your steel.
George Patterson
Edited 9/24/2007 11:32 pm ET by grpphoto
yes you can use the ply blade with very good results... any wood cutting blade will cut light steel...
harbor freight sells a killer blade that i swear by thats a 7.25 cir saw blade made for steel... it cuts 1/4" steel like you would cut wood... maybe a bit slower bit it cuts 1/8" just like you were cutting a 2x4 with a wood blade... i cut all the stringers 10" jr channel and all the 5" std channel and all the rails, rods & pans for a 6 landing 56 riser steel stairway with one harbor freight blade.... i and everyone who saw was amazed...
you do not want to use a grinding whell type blade... dirty nasty... dangerous...
i have a full metal fab shop... and try to never cut with an abrasive type blade
p
Man I haven't done siding in twenty years, but did it steady for two or three. We always used a leverage type cutter,like this-
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Aren't they used anymore? Nice cut and very quiet. Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
and thanks again, guys.
(would love to see pics of that 56 riser stairway!)
n
I have never done or seen any steel siding, but have cut tons of steel roofing. We used to get 24 ga then they startd aking it 26 ga, then 29 ga ...I won't use 29 - too flimsy!
Anyway, I cut most with a plywood blade turned backwards in the saw, cutting from theback side. But I am thinking for a building that big, and with siding requiring neater cuts than roofing, I would be buying a nibbler
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If you're talking steel lap siding, I use a shear kinda like the one ruffmike posted. Works pretty slick. The lumberyard here has one they loan out. For rip cuts, an electric snips is pretty handy too.
Mike