Best cutters for cutting HC without much effort

[Ponte]

I am enclosing the chickens 24x9 ft lean-to so it won't be too bad if the snips are good.

That Chicago snipper has the same cutting mechanism as my drill snipper so it should do a very good job for you,
Let us know how it works out.

 

[aart]

I made sure to clean up well so no tires ever found them.

Same here......was more concerned with dog feet.

 

[Gertie Greenbriar]

I just bought a roll of 24inx100ft 1/2 inch hardware cloth today to apron my coop. I was thinking of using a cutoff wheel on my angle grinder to cut it. Have people had good results with this method? Thanks!

 

[West Bend]

Not surprised, it’s pretty old.
Most of my tools are at least 60 years old, I find that they are of better quality than today’s tools.

I did a quick google search and freight harbour sells an electric sheet metal snipper for $35.00
They claim that it cuts 18 gauge sheet metal. Cutting hc by hand is very tedious and tiring, Buying this electric cutter may be a good idea if you lack the strength to use a hand cutter.

I bought these at Menards when we installed my metal roof. They work great, but the only drawback is that it cuts about an 1/8th in strip out between the 2 pcs of metal (kind of like a pattern shears) which means an 1/8th in? of each piece of wire is cut off too, so you'll need a safe place to cut or sweep.

 

[perkolator]

I dunno why it hasn’t been suggested yet, but an angle grinder w/cutoff disk is perhaps one of the easiest ways to cut hardware cloth, diamond lathing, fencing, etc. I used this method on my hardware cloth and it was not only faster and easier to cut, but gave me the ability to cut off the protruding tines on my cut edge so I get a “smooth edge” like the factory top/bottom edge of the roll = less cuts on me and looks better. So yeah, use a grinder. If you don’t have one yet, get one, it’s a versatile tool.

 

[Gertie Greenbriar]

I dunno why it hasn’t been suggested yet, but an angle grinder w/cutoff disk is perhaps one of the easiest ways to cut hardware cloth, diamond lathing, fencing, etc. I used this method on my hardware cloth and it was not only faster and easier to cut, but gave me the ability to cut off the protruding tines on my cut edge so I get a “smooth edge” like the factory top/bottom edge of the roll = less cuts on me and looks better.

I was just asking about the cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. Nice!

 

[Ponte]

I have angle grinders and the other tools which have been mentioned, think I tried them all and found the electric snippers to be best for me. Am sure that others would prefer something else, you have to find what works best for you.

 

[olcarguy]

A reasonably prised set of aviation snips will get the job done, they have a mechanical advantage built into the handles the doubles the force that you apply. The come in left, right and straight. This applies the to how close you can cut to the edge you want. I have over about 3or 4 sets of left and right only one of the straight, if the pair 1 is not handy I just turn them over and cut from other side. Harbour freight has them for about $6 US

 

[aart]

I just bought a roll of 24inx100ft 1/2 inch hardware cloth today to apron my coop. I was thinking of using a cutoff wheel on my angle grinder to cut it. Have people had good results with this method? Thanks!

Maybe, if you have a thin cut off wheel and are very good at handling it.
Can be pretty easy to break the welds with such an aggressive high RPM's.
Depends if you want fast or smooth.
I've tried about all the options and the tin snips make the best cut.

 

[mowin]

As aart mentioned, a thin cutoff wheel is the best choice if using this method.

I personally used to snips. But the electric shears from harbor freight look like a good option if you need to purchase something.

I'm in the use what you got camp instead of buying something different. But I'm old... Lol