Metal Roofing Tools: How to Use Your Swenson Shear

Swenson Shear’s collection of high quality metal roofing tools are designed for ease of use and consistent results, saving you on time and labor costs so you can stay competitive and give your customers quality service. The following how-to videos are intended to cover some of the most common maintenance and adjustment tasks for how to use your Swenson Shear.

How to Change the Blade Set on your Swenson Shear

All Swenson Shears are designed so the blades can be replaced and interchanged in the same way. Follow these steps to remove or replace the blades safely.

1. Use a 1/2″ socket wrench for this task, preferably with an impact drive.
2. Begin removing the nuts holding the upper blade. Start from the pivot side and work your way up to prevent the loose blade from falling on you. Carefully remove the blade. Repeat the process with the lower blade.
3. To replace the lower blade, start by replacing the nuts on the end to hold the blade in place, then work your way down.
4. To replace the upper blade, start by replacing the nut at the far end of the mechanism, then replace the nut on the pivot side to hold blade in place and work your way up.

How to Adjust Your Swenson Shear

Your Swenson Shear blades may need to be adjusted both for safety and optimal performance.

1. Check the tightness between your top and bottom blade. There should never be a gap between them. To tighten the gap, use a 1 1/2″ wrench or socket wrench to tighten the main nut on the pivot side. The blades should have no space between them but should not be so tight that the top blade cannot move easily.
2. Check the alignment between your top and bottom blade. The starting corner of the profile on your top blade should perfectly match with the starting corner of your bottom blade.
3. If the blades are not in perfect alignment, adjust the position of the top blade using the front and back set screws on the positioning block. You can adjust these screws manually using a wrench and an Allen wrench.
4. Continue to make fine-tune adjustments to the set screws until the blades are in perfect alignment.

Learn More About Swenson Shear’s Metal Roofing Tools

Swenson Shear’s entire product line of metal roofing tools can greatly reduce your time and labor costs without compromising quality. To request a quote for any of our metal roofing tools, including our signature SnapTable PRO, contact [email protected] or call (877) 588-8748.