The Best Way to Cut Metal Roofing

If you’re like most professional roofers, you’re on the lookout for the best and most convenient ways to cut metal roofing. Unfortunately, while there are a great many tools on the market, roofers are often at a loss to find the best tools to reduce their time and labor costs while producing metal roof panels of the highest possible quality.

• So, what is the best way to cut metal roofing? 
• Which tools, if any, will produce consistent factory-grade cuts while reducing burrs and unintended sharp edges? 
• Is there a metal roofing cutter that will save time without sacrificing quality?

Some roofing professionals rely heavily on hand tools believing these will give them the highest levels of control — but do they really improve accuracy? Are power tools a viable alternative?

In this article, we’ll walk through the common challenges of using hand tools and/or power tools for cutting and notching metal roof panels, and we’ll give an overview of the alternative: Swenson Shear’s line of cutting tools and ancillary tools for sheet metal panel roof projects, all designed to produce factory cuts, notches and hems while saving time and labor costs.

Hand Tools Are Not the Best Way to Cut Metal Roofing

Professional craftsmen roofers often resort to an array of roofing hand tools for the purposes of cutting and notching metal roof panels to size. These include tools like the following:

• Tin snips — These are effectively hand shears for cutting metal roofing. They come in various sizes and calibers, and can be used to cut tin, aluminum, steel and vinyl siding, as well. Variations of tin snips include aviation snips and compound snips, which may be used for heavier gauge metals.
• Hand nibbler — A tool designed to cut pre-shaped holes in sheet metal using any of a number of pre-cut dies.
• Notcher — Designed to cut “V”-shaped notches in metal roof panels.
• Hand seamer — Used for creating angled bends in metal panels. 

While some roofers like the use of hand tools for customizing metal roof panels for their projects, overall they are not the best way to cut metal roofing. Let’s look at some of these common disadvantages.

1. Hand tools are labor-intensive

The process of handcrafting metal sheets into metal roofing panels of accurate sizes, shapes and dimensions requires a team of skilled craftsmen, especially when you’re up against deadlines. Skilled labor costs money, and a team of skilled laborers cost even more. These costs can make some projects more cost-prohibitive. The greater your labor costs, the less profit you make on the job. 

2. Hand tools are time-intensive

When performed manually, the process of notching, cutting and hemming metal panels is a time-consuming proposition. With the roofing profession, in a very tangible sense, time is money. The more time it takes to prepare the panels, the more the project costs. It’s simply impractical and impossible to hand-cut panels quickly without sacrificing some level of quality.

3. Hand tools slow down the installation process

Manual preparation of metal roof panels is not as accurate as you may think–for the simple reason that even the most skilled professionals have physical limits as far as precision. During the installation process, roofers typically have to make adjustments in real time to accommodate inconsistencies and rough spots while installing manually prepared panel, thus slowing down installation times. 

What About Power Tools?

There’s a school of thought among some roofers that power tools can speed up the production process in prepping metal roofs. While the use of tools like circular saws, electric shears, angle grinders and electric nibblers can save time on one hand, they may also require additional eye protection, face shields and hearing protection, and there are limits on how/where you can use the tools. (For example, you may not be able to cut panels on the job site if no electricity is available.) In addition, with certain power tools, you sacrifice quality and accuracy for time saved, which in the end doesn’t save as much time if you’re making adjustments on the fly.

Here’s the good news: When it comes to the best ways to cut metal roofing, there are some excellent alternatives to both hand tools and power tools that can save you immensely on both time and labor costs–without the need for electricity. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular metal roofing tools offered by Swenson Shear.

Standing Seam Metal Roofing Cutting Tools

One of the most popular types of metal roofing nowadays, standing seam roofs consist of concealed fastener metal panels consisting of vertical legs with a broad, flat area between them. The “standing seam” refers to the raised seams that rise above the levels of the panels themselves. Common types of standing seam profiles include snap-lock, mechanical seam and batten panels.

If you’re looking for the best standing seam cutting tool on the market, our Panel Cutter makes cutting standing seam sheet metal roofing panels a breeze. Get consistent, factory-quality cuts in just seconds — all with minimal physical effort.

Of course, preparing standing seam panels requires more than just cutting. That’s why we also offer a Standing Seam Notcher and an Eave and Valley Hemmer. And if you’re really looking to level up your standing seam roofing game, consider the SnapTable PRO, which speeds up the preparation and installation of sheet metal roofing panels by bundling our three core standing seam tools into a single, all-in-one panel preparation system.

Another standing seam tool we offer is the Eave Master.

This lightweight, easily transportable machine produces roofers with consistent notches and hems on straight runs for metal sheet roofing panels in mere seconds — making it perfect for any commercial standing seam job that does not require angle cuts.

Roofing Cutting Tools: Exposed Fastener Metal Shears

Another popular type of metal roofing is the exposed fastener metal roof. As the name suggests, exposed fastener is a roofing system in which the panels are directly fastened to the structure (and one another) by placing the fastener through the top of the panel into the roof deck, leaving the head of the fastener exposed (as opposed to standing seams where the fasteners are hidden). The roofing panels overlap, and the fastener goes through both layers. Exposed fastener roofing is a more economical alternative to other types of metal roofs, and it provides an industrial-chic type of look to the roof.

With our user-friendly Heavy Duty Pivot Shear, it’s quick and easy for roofers to cut corrugated metal roofing panels for heavy gauge exposed fastener projects — all while eliminating burred edges and flying metal and getting the consistent clean cuts that customers expect. Ideal for 90° straight line cuts and gable cuts up to 8/12, this metal shear roofing tool includes a custom cutting blade set designed to accommodate a specific profile and pitch of your choice. Additional cutting blade sets are available for cutting angles or accommodating multiple panel profiles or to use as replacement blades.

For cutting hips and valleys in exposed fastener roof panels, we recommend our Hip/Valley Roofing Shear. This ergonomic sheet metal shear provides 90° straight cuts and up to 9/12 valley cuts for corrugated metal panels. This metal roofing cutter comes with one blade set customized to accommodate your specific profile and pitch needs, and additional blade sets are available for different profiles.

Stone Coat Metal Roofing Cutter

Stone-coated metal roofing combines the benefits and durability of metal roof panels with the aesthetics of more traditional roofing materials. After the metal panels are placed, the metal is coated with stone chips resembling tile, slate, shake or other materials and attached with acrylic film.

With its 34-inch carbon steel blade, our Stone Coat Cutter has the ability to cut cleanly through a wide variety of roofing materials — from heavy gauge stainless flat sheets to stone coated metal shake and shingles. This reputation for efficiency and versatility is why the tool is often referred to as Swenson Shear’s “utility knife.”

While we’re on the subject of stone coat cutting tools, we’d be remiss not to mention our Base and Ridge Bender tool, which is the perfect complement to our Stone Coat Cutter shear. As all professional roofers know, anticipating and controlling the movement of water is crucial for the integrity of any roof system. This tool bends stone coated steel panels for rakes, side walls, hips, and valleys to ensure optimal protection for roofs against water intrusion.

No Need for Manual Snips or Nibblers! Ready to Level Up Your Sheet Metal Cutting Game?

When searching for the metal roofing cutter on the market, smart roofing contractors are not only looking for the safest, most efficient, and cost-effective option. They’re also looking for a brand that will go the extra mile to ensure their customers succeed. That’s why the best sheet metal roof cutting tools for contractors are the ones designed and manufactured by Swenson Shear.

Swenson Shear is the #1 international provider of metal roof cutting tools for standing seam roofs, exposed fastener roofs, and stone coat roofs. Our goal is to build lasting partnerships with our customers. We accomplish that simply by doing what we do best — developing high-quality, reliable, and safe metal roof cutting tools that make metal roofing jobs faster and easier — no more manual DIY hand tools like aviation snips. So, let us show you the best way to cut metal roofing.

Contact us to learn more or to request a quote for any of Swenson Shear’s top-quality metal shears or related products for sheet metal panel preparation, contact [email protected] or call (877) 588-8748.