January/February 2013
With their processing versatility, portability, and ease of operation, handheld shears have gained popularity in the scrap industry, and recyclers continue to explore their possibilities.
By Theodore Fischer
The story of handheld shears’ debut as scrap processing equipment goes like this: About two dozen years ago, a recycling worker who moonlighted as a volunteer firefighter faced a tricky processing problem. Then he had a “Eureka!” moment. “I’ve got a cutter in my firetruck that can handle this!” he reportedly said. What he had was a hydraulically powered, handheld shear that firefighters use to cut metal—usually automobile frames—to extricate crash victims. Whether or not that’s truly the origin of this tool’s use in the scrap industry, handheld shears are now common scrap processing equipment, used to cut catalytic converters off car hulks, chop long strands of thick wire down to manageable lengths, and more. Here’s an introduction to this versatile equipment, with advice on how to purchase, operate, and maintain it wisely.
The Shear Facts
Handheld scrap processing shears are virtually identical in design and basic function to rescue shears. Both have scissor-like jaws that open and close slowly, biting through metal with enough force to make a car’s doorpost break like a brittle twig. Though the traditional design features two moving, curved-blade jaws, some handheld shear models have two moving, straight-blade jaws or a single, spear-like blade that cuts material against a fixed jaw. The jaws’ cutting force comes from a hydraulically powered piston rod. When the piston rod extends, the jaws open; when the rod retracts, the jaws close. Depending on the model, a button or handle mechanism controls the jaws’ opening and closing.
The shears typically come with a portable hydraulic pump so the operator can wheel the unit wherever it is needed. The pump connects to the shear with a hose that comes in standard lengths of 16, 20, 32, 50, and 65 feet. Manufacturers recommend using reels for hose lengths of 32 feet or longer. Most shears require electricity—usually a 20-amp, 110- or 220-volt supply. Gasoline-powered pumps are available for a higher price, but they give the user the flexibility to work in remote areas where electricity is not available.
Though industrial handheld shears share those basic features with rescue shears, manufacturers have made industrial shears heftier and stronger to handle various recycling tasks that require heavy duty cycles. “The guts of the shears—from the blades and pins to the piston, cylinder, and seals—are beefier for industrial cutting,” one shear salesman says. Manufacturers design rescue tools to operate at a high peak pressure for short periods of time, but industrial handheld shears must cut at peak pressure continually throughout the workday, he notes. As the representative of another manufacturer explains, “A typical, busy firehouse will use its cutters anywhere from 40 to 60 times a year, but a recycling yard will blow through that in an hour.” To adapt its shears for scrap tasks, this manufacturer steadily replaced the aluminum parts in its shear jaws with steel components to increase their durability. Scrapyards’ harsh operating conditions and far-too-common incidents of tool abuse are other reasons why handheld recycling shears need heavier-duty construction, vendors say.
Assessing the Benefits
What handheld shears can do in a scrapÂyard depends largely on their size and power. Manufacturers have designed one type of small cutter, for instance, specifically to remove catalytic converters from end-of-life vehicles. The main alternative tools for that task are torches—which many car dismantlers and recyclers refuse to use to remove autocats due to the potential for fires and explosions, says one vendor of catalytic-converter shears—and reciprocating saws, which can go through blades quickly due to the hard metals now used in exhaust pipes. “Our shear does the job in about 30 seconds, and the blade lasts for 10,000 cuts—it’s economical and fast,” the autocat shear vendor says. His customers also use the shears to cut hollow fencing tubes and small wire, he adds. “The shear was designed to do one task, but customers will figure out what it can and cannot do as they use it.”
Larger, more powerful handheld shears can process everything from household appliances to heating systems to angle iron, quad pipe, and bar stock, even pitching in on demolition and remodeling projects. That said, “wire and cable is the big application today, especially heavily insulated, armored cable” such as aluminum conductor steel-reinforced cable, another shear representative says.
Rheal St. Germain, a manager at Harding Metals (Northwood, N.H.), says his facility uses handheld shears to process cable. “We mainly use them to handle transmission wires from telephone cable,” he says. When telecommunications firms install fiber-optic lines, they remove the old copper cable. “It comes in big spools, and the phone company wants its spools back, so we use the shears to cut the cable into manageable sizes,” he says.
The need to size-reduce wire also motivated Don Shank of A Recycling America (South Chicago Heights, Ill.) to start using handheld industrial shears several years ago. “We were buying a lot of insulated wire that would come in big bundles, all intertwined like a spaghetti mess,” he says. “To sort it properly, I just stick the jaws in there and shear it up, and I’m able to pull out sections I can handle. That was the main purpose for buying the shear; it does an excellent job on big wire.”
Though some recyclers use alligator shears for such wire-cutting tasks, handheld shears have the advantage of portability. “You can take this tool to the material—it’s very easy to get into where you need to go,” one shear sales representative says. Recyclers also increasingly use handheld shears for miscellaneous “cleaning” tasks for which they previously used alligator shears, such as “cutting the copper off of a transmitter, or getting extrusions off to clean up,” the representative says. The more you clean and upgrade material, the more it can fetch in the marketplace. As the sales rep explains, “If you’ve got an aluminum ladder, it’s worth X, but if you cut off the little plastic pieces, the value of that soars because now it’s pure aluminum.” Handheld shears also can cut that ladder into smaller pieces, which can make more efficient use of shipping space.
Handheld shears also are “pretty straightforward” to operate, which means recycling workers can put them to work quickly, one vendor says. “The operator just needs to connect it to a standard plug or start it if it’s a gas motor—pretty easy stuff.” Some manufacturers provide on-site training with each shear purchase to ensure the safe operation of their equipment. “There are cutting techniques to know, safety precautions to take,” says one salesman whose company provides such training. “Most of them are simple concepts, such as knowing to stop the tool when you’re cutting and it turns on its side.” When that occurs, material could bind between the blades, or the tool could trap the operator’s hand.
For optimal safety, operators must have two hands on the cutter at all times and should wear personal protective equipment such as a hard hat, gloves, and goggles. The challenge, another manufacturer adds, is that manufacturers “can’t teach common sense. If used properly, the machine’s going to do its job, and you’re not going to get hurt. If used or carried improperly, or if the machine is allowed to deteriorate to the point where it’s unsafe, then there’s always the chance of injury.”
Maintenance Matters
To get the best performance and longest life from handheld shears, recyclers should follow a strict maintenance regimen, manufacturers say. Improper or insufficient maintenance can lead to costly repairs and broken blades, which can run $800 or more a pair for jaw-type handheld shears. (Blades for specialized catalytic converter shears cost much less, with one vendor noting that his company’s autocat shear blades are only $71.50.) It’s also essential, St. Germain says, to keep handheld shears well lubricated. “Basically they have a grease fitting for the hinge point [at the base of the two blades], and you need to keep the center nut torqued twice a day,” he says. Further, “keep your hydraulic oil changed in the pump. It gets used a lot, and you have to swap out the oil fairly often. We do it once a month now, which is probably a little more frequently than necessary, but it’s worth
it for what these shears cost.”
Operators also can prevent damage to their shears by using the equipment correctly. “One important point is to hold the shear at a 90-degree angle to the cut,” Shank says. “If you cut at [a different] angle, the blades want to separate, so you need to keep [the shear] vertical when shearing.” Jukka Blom, who handles maintenance for Attar Metals (Mississauga, Ontario), also points out the damage that can result from pushing handheld shears beyond their capabilities. “Our workers sometimes get overzealous with what they think the shear can cut, and that’s what causes our problems,” he says. “The biggest point is not to put it into an application that’s too hard for it. If you’re cutting easy material, then you’re probably OK. Once you start taking on the heavier stuff or trying to overuse the tool, then you’re going to run into some maintenance issues.”
Purchasing Power
Before buying a handheld shear, recyclers should do their homework, including research on the types of shears available. They need to assess how they plan to use the tool and the materials they wish to process, which will determine the size and type of shear they need. The unit’s maximum cutting force is another consideration. Industrial handheld shears range in cutting force from about 11,000 pounds on the smaller end to roughly 200,000 pounds for the largest models, though shears in recycling operations commonly run from 40,000 to 70,000 pounds at a hydraulic cylinder pressure of 7,500 to 10,000 psi, one vendor notes.
Other factors to consider include the shears’ jaw opening—openings of 3 to 4 inches for autocat shears and 4 to 8 inches for jaw-type shears are common—and blade type, with some designed for general use and others designed specifically for processing catalytic converters, cable, pipe, rebar, radiators, small extrusions, and transmitters. Straight blades, for instance, are designed to cut flat items; curved blades are better for processing round cable and tubes; blades with a pointed “parrot” tip pierce material while cutting it. Most blade configurations can come with or without serrations, depending on the specific cutting task. Some jaw-type shears can accommodate various blade types and sizes, one shear salesman notes.
Handheld shear packages usually include the cutting unit, one specific type of blades, the hydraulic power unit, a hose, and a maintenance kit. Some manufacturers offer unique blade styles and types to meet the requirements of specific applications. Prices run from $4,000 to $8,500 for a specialized catalytic converter cutter and from $8,500 to $15,000 or more for a larger shear, depending on its configuration and power source. Recyclers considering an autocat shear must decide if their business volume justifies the purchase. As one shear salesman says, “If you call up and say you’re interested in an autocat shear, the first question I’m going to ask is, ‘How many cars do you process?’ If you process 100 a year—roughly two a week—it will take 10 years for this machine to pay for itself.”
Points to Ponder
Though handheld shears offer many benefits in scrap processing operations, they also have their limitations. Most notably, they can only process material that can fit within their jaw opening. “There’s a maximum size of materials our shears can cut,” one shear salesman says.
To some recyclers, such as St. Germain, “the downside of handheld shears is that they’re a little expensive.” His company’s jaw-type shears cost about $14,000 each, he says. Aside from the regular maintenance costs to change out blades, shears can require unexpected—and potentially expensive—repairs. According to Blom, Attar Metals pays “$8,000 to $10,000 per shear, and every time one goes in for a repair it’s $2,500 to $3,000. We have one shear that’s gone a year without a repair, but the previous one we were repairing at least once, and sometimes twice, a year,” he says, though he admits that some of the problems might have stemmed from the shear’s heavy duty cycles. (Repairs for specialized catalytic converter shears generally will be less than repairs for jaw-type shears, says one autocat shear vendor, who notes that his firm can “repair a whole machine to brand-new condition for $2,500.”)
The shear’s weight is another consideration, mainly related to operator fatigue. “Tools vary in weight, so from the operator’s standpoint, he or she may not want to hold that tool all day long,” one shear representative says. Another manufacturer concurs that the size and weight of a handheld shear matters. “They can be heavy, and they can’t get into every nook and cranny—there are vehicles where the catalytic converter is buried so deep you can’t even see it—so they do have some disadvantages,” he says. Though Shank is satisfied with the various handheld shears he has purchased, he does find them somewhat cumbersome, calling them “heavy” and “a little slow,” though he adds that “you don’t want it to be too fast, to the point where people are going to lose fingers when it gets out of control.”
For the most part, recyclers say they find handheld shears an essential tool in their scrap processing equipment lineup. “We’re a fairly good-sized scrapyard, and the shears are very beneficial,” St. Germain says. “There are a lot of uses for them.” Shear manufacturers couldn’t agree more, with one asserting that “a portÂable hand shear is probably the most productive tool in a scrapyard because it can do so many things, process so many different types of material. Every scrapyard needs one.”
Theodore Fischer is a writer based in Silver Spring, Md.