I have a fiber cement siding job coming up. I’ve talked to a few other local contractors and heard that a chop saw with a special blade for fiber cement works well, but its dusty. Has anyone out there used power shears? I see that Porter Cable makes one and so does Kett. I’m always looking for ways to decrease the amount of dust on the job site. We’ll be installing about 1600 s.f. of certainteed 5 1/4″ lap and also some fake shingles up in the gables.
Replies
I have the PC shears, but the advantage of the Kett is the ability to cut 1/2 " tilebacker. The PC shears are just fine for siding and 1/4" cement backer board, however.
how about the old asbestos siding knife. the replacement siding is concrete fiber and i clean it up with a diamond blade in my 4" grinder. but maybe the cement clap might be to thick
The Porter Cable shears leave you with no dust and cut great!
I have the Kett, and they work fine, have not used the PC, can offer no opinion. That dust in not supposed to be very good for you, so I recomend shears of some sort, for sure. I cut a little with circle saw, not a good thing. Have fun.
Dan
i used to use the shears. i found when cutting the siding for gables the long point ended up broken or crushed as often as not. now we use a 12 volt 3 3/8 makita with sears series 200 carbide blades. 2 or 3 blades are enough for a 2 story 3000 sq ft house. the saw turns at 1000 rpm and the blade makes a very little dust. the blade makes particles that are heavy enough they do not float in the air. good luck. paul.
Thanks everyone for all the replies regarding the shears. I think I'll get the Kett shears since the head is interchangeable. We do the occasional metal roof job and normally don't really have to cut sheets to length, but we have had to rip sheets up to 24' long with tin snips. It's a bloody workout, literally! If we have trouble with the rake cuts, I suppose we'll use some sort of saw.
I'll probably get crucified for suggesting this, but I've found a really slick way to make a long rip in hi-rib metal roofing is to strike a cut line, and have a helper pull the sheet as you hold steady to the line with a Sawzall. Unless your cut is on the slope of a rib, the cut will be easy and as smooth as anything you can do with shears...and it's quick.
I have the Kett 442 shears - they cut Hardi-plank easily and 1/2 Hardibacker as well. No more Wonderboard for me. One advantage the Kett shears have is that you can interchange different cutting heads. I also have the sheet metal cutting head. I consider the whole tool one of my best purchases.