Hand tools and nozzles for metal cutting. We cut metal with a drill. You didn't even dream of it! Special nozzle "Cricket" on a drill for cutting metal

Not always found in foliage finishing material required size and forms. During repair, installation of a fence made of profiled metal sheet, device roofing it is required to quickly cut this or that workpiece, adjust the standard element to the actual dimensions. For cutting, you can use an angle grinder, scissors, other cutting tool. If it is not at hand or you are limited in funds, then there is an alternative - a cricket drill attachment.

Short description

This is a removable mechanism that is mounted on a standard electric hand drill chuck. It is designed for cutting flat and corrugated metal sheets:

Composite aluminum sheet up to 2 mm thick
Galvanized profiled sheet up to 0.8 mm thick
Copper, brass up to 1.5 mm thick

In appearance, the nozzle on the drill cricket resembles a steel blank cylindrical shape, with "fingers" sticking out in both directions. A cylindrical blank is a body through which torque is transmitted from a drill to two cutting surfaces. "Fingers" are paired matrices that are in direct contact with the metal workpiece. The tool comes with a plastic threaded handle-holder, which is screwed onto one of the paired cutting surfaces.

In addition, a spare die and punch, as well as a hex wrench, are supplied with the nozzle.

Principle of operation

The cricket drill attachment does not cut metal like an angle grinder, but cuts it due to the frequent translational movements of the matrix. The working unit converts the torque from the drill rotor. The tool cannot run at low speeds. To obtain a quality cut, it must maintain a rotation speed of 2700-3000 rpm. If this parameter is not met, then the metal around the cut bends, the quality of the finished product deteriorates.

Application area

The nozzle is widely used for cutting thin sheet metal. Its design is specially designed to perform both straight and curved cuts. With a certain work skill, you can perform figured sawing along a complex path.

Unlike the corner grinder or shears for metal, the “cricket” is able to cut from the center of the workpiece without creating through cuts.

The cutting attachment is especially in demand for roofing works and installation of fences. It's all about the material. A profiled sheet is mainly used, which is perfectly cut with this tool.

Positive properties

The cricket drill attachment is widespread due to a number of positive properties. She wins on her own performance characteristics some power tools.

Mobility. She has small size, much less than that of the grinder. The nozzle is easy to install and remove from the drill, which facilitates the work
High autonomy. The "cricket" has two full-fledged cutting dies. If one fails, you can use the other. In addition, a third spare is included with the tool.
Maintainability. There are no complex mechanisms in its design, there is practically nothing to break. The cutting part is supplied ready block which is easily installed on site
Work speed. Numerous tests show that the cutting performance and sawing speed of the attachment is far superior to that of an angle grinder. Metal shears don't compare at all
Cutting quality. According to this indicator, the "dragonfly" has no competitors. Due to the translational movements of the matrix, the edge of the metal in the area of the cut remains flat. It has no burrs. Metal does not heat up, protective polymer coating profiled sheet does not burn. Zinc protection is not destroyed. While in the process of sawing with a grinder, the edges of the sheet are charred, burrs remain on them
No collateral damage. Working with a grinder is associated with the formation of sparks that scatter over a considerable distance. If a galvanized profiled sheet is processed, then sparks are burned out protective covering. During operation, the metal will be covered with brown dots of rust. Sawing with a dragonfly nozzle takes place in the complete absence of sparks. No rust issues
Ergonomics. Handle - holder makes working with the tool convenient and safe

Negative properties

There are not so many of them, they do not have a critical impact on the choice of tool:

Grip type limitation. He only has two hands. Therefore, it is impossible to carry out operations on inclined planes, where it is necessary to keep
metal thickness. Attachment designed for cutting thin metal

Rules for safe work

Practically do not differ from standard measures when working with a saw tool:

Do not cut while holding the tool with one hand. This may cause it to rebound;
Before starting work, the rigidity of the fastening of the handle-holder is checked. To do this, it rotates clockwise until it fails.
It is allowed to work only in protective glasses and gloves;
It is recommended to cut the sheet away from you, and not towards you;
It is forbidden to work with a defective tool. These include: a loose drill chuck, a worn sawing die, a loose handle holder

Firms - manufacturers

Products of different brands are similar to each other. The main difference is in the thickness of the sheet that a particular model can cut. The price directly depends on this.

On the Russian market Here are a few noteworthy companies:

Encore
Corvette
Sparky

The use of scissor attachments on a drill greatly facilitates roofing, installation of a metal fence, and other manipulations with sheet material. Convenient combination with hand drill reduces the cost of purchasing expensive specialized tool. The finished product is neat and high quality.

How to cut metal at home? In 90% of cases, with hand scissors (we are talking about thin metal sheet). The method is simple, inexpensive, but not without drawbacks.

At a minimum, it is quite difficult to make a long cut without burrs.
Since the scissors are located along the sheet, the cut planes need to be spread up and down. This makes it difficult to work, not to mention the fact that the edges subsequently need to be aligned.
If the workpiece is not flat, but with stiffeners (for example, corrugated board, or a figured “under the tile” roof covering), it is almost impossible to cut with ordinary metal scissors.

It takes a lot of physical effort. If you need to cut several meters at a time, then you get a good workout, like in a gym. Often, a grinder with a cutting disc is used for such work.

It turns out quickly, relatively evenly and not at all hard physically. However, the edges require post-treatment and the metal at the edge is exposed to undesirable thermal stress.

If you are working with sheets of profiled metal-plastic "tiles", then protective layer in the place of the cut, it burns out and loses its aesthetic appeal.

progressive way- electric scissors for metal with a vertical arrangement of blades. However, this is an expensive tool that is rarely used (how often do you re-roof?). Therefore, there are more practical devices on sale: a nozzle for a drill for cutting metal.

In fact, this is a reducer that converts rotary motion spindle into oscillatory. Of course, in terms of its characteristics, the device is inferior to full-fledged electric scissors.

However, the drill attachment is inexpensive, and besides, you do not buy a ready-made tool (scissors with a motor), which most of the time gathers dust on the shelf. There is a drill in almost every home, if necessary, it can be easily turned into a progressive cutter.

Varieties of nozzles

The classic nozzle on the drill - scissors for metal. Second name: "beaver".

Or a hacksaw is not available, then you can use it for this purpose electric drill with a special nozzle. Such devices allow you to separate a piece of sheet steel, and some models allow you to work with a metal profile.

These devices are not only a large number of advantages, but also limitations, the main of which is the thickness of the material with which you can work.

The use of such equipment can be not only in the absence of alternative way process the material, but also in the case when heating the metal sheet is undesirable.

Among the main advantages of using a nozzle on a drill, before using a grinder, the following can be distinguished:

Better cut surface quality.
The device allows you to make a hole in the metal of any shape.
Significant savings Money, due to the lack of spending on consumables.
The tool is very easy to use.
Many nozzles allow you to work with both metals and plastic sheets of appropriate thickness.
When using a drill equipped with battery, can be performed in places where it is not possible to connect to the home electrical network voltage 220 V.
The ability to combine several functions in one device at once. If there is no need to cut thicker metal, then a drill can be used to drill holes and to cut the metal sheet.
Light weight fixture.

The main advantages of this product over other types of metal cutting are listed. Models of such nozzles can differ significantly in many respects, including cost.

Scissors

The scissors attachment for a metal cutting drill is a device that converts the rotation of the drill chuck into reciprocating movements, which, thanks to a special matrix, knock out a 3.1 mm thick strip in the metal.

With this method of separation, the cut is even and of high quality, which allows you to almost completely abandon the additional processing of the material in the future.

With a kind of scissors, you can cut metal, the thickness of which is not more than:

2 mm - when processing aluminum.
0.8 mm - if you need to cut stainless steel.
1.5 mm - for processing copper and brass.

This attachment for a drill for cutting metal will allow you to separate the material only if the electric motor of the tool develops at least 2700 rpm.

"Cricket"

The nozzle "Cricket" is universal fixture, with which you can perform the separation of not only metal, but also various plastics. The advantage of this tool is the ability to cut both sheet and profile material.

Thanks to the use of two cutting heads, the cut is perfectly even and does not require additional processing after cutting is completed.

With this type of device, it is possible to process material of the following thickness:

Aluminum - up to 2 mm.
Steel - up to 1.5 mm.
Plastic - up to 2 mm.
Stainless steel - up to 1.2 mm.

In order for the structure to last as long as possible, and the cut of metal or other material to be as even as possible, the manufacturer recommends using this device with a drill engine speed of 1500 to 3000 rpm.

"Beaver"

The nozzle "Beaver" works on the same principle as the above models. With it, you can perform both straight cuts and curved cuts with a minimum radius of 1.2 cm.

The beaver has little the best performance for cutting sheet metal, for example:

Steel - up to 1.8 mm.
Stainless steel - up to 1.3 mm.
Aluminum - up to 2 mm.

Price of popular devices

Quality tools are not cheap. For cutting metal, fixtures must be made of a material that is subjected to constant loads not deformed. Among the variety of both domestic and foreign manufacturers products of the following brands should be distinguished:

1. Nozzle - NP 1.8 SPARKY 181874 - the device is made in Bulgaria and is of high quality and reasonable price.

The device allows both linear and radial cuts, while the quality of the edge will be the highest regardless of the type of material to be separated. SPARKY 181874 can be used as a drill attachment for cutting metal tiles, which will significantly speed up the process of roofing.

The price on the Russian market is about 2,000 rubles, but this cost is fully justified, since the attachment for the SPARKY drill is a high-quality product that will last a long time.

2. ENKOR 14209 - Cricket-type stray, Russian production.

The device allows you to perform high-quality cutting of sheet aluminum up to 2 mm thick. Indispensable when working with roofing metal materials, since, unlike grinders, it does not heat the metal.

The thing can be purchased for 1900 rubles in any specialized store.

3. "Steel beaver" - made in Russia and allows you to work with various metals.

With the help of the Steel Beaver, you can easily cut a piece of aluminum, while the edges will be completely intact. Restriction on maximum thickness metal, in this case is 2 mm.

The device can also be used for cutting stainless steel. In this case, in order not to overload the tool, it is not recommended to use a sheet with a thickness of more than 1.2 mm. The cost of the stray is about 1600 rubles.

4. EDMA NIBBLEX - perfectly copes with the separation of sheet and profile material up to 1.2 mm thick. Aluminum sheet can be processed up to 1.5mm thick.

For effective work nozzles, the manufacturer recommends the optimal drill speed of 3,000 rpm.

The estimated cost of EDMA NIBBLEX in the Russian market is 5,000 rubles. The high quality of the device is confirmed by numerous tests both by professional craftsmen and ordinary people who purchase the device for home use.

5. Malco turboShear TS1 - can be used with a drill and for installation on a screwdriver.

The device is the most expensive of professional devices and will cost the Russian buyer 7,000 rubles. The nozzle is worth that kind of money, as it is made in the USA, where product quality control is much higher than in China.

If it is used for cutting for the first time, it is recommended that before starting the main work, make several cuts on unnecessary metal fragments in order to understand the basic principle of the device and avoid mistakes in the future.
When working with a metal cutting device, in order to obtain an even cut of the desired shape, it is recommended to hold the drill with both hands during operation.
Nozzles for Russian-made drills are practically not inferior in quality to foreign counterparts, while the price may differ significantly downwards.
It is not recommended to purchase devices from your hands, you can buy defective goods for a lot of money.
Tools should be stored in rooms where the possibility of metal oxidation due to high humidity will be excluded.

5,00

To date, there is a great variety of various tools, the tasks of which include cutting and cutting thin-sheet material. One way or another, they cope with their tasks, but they have one feature - universal scissors metal does not exist. Some fixtures are easy to cut with flat sheet steel, others are great for stationary work, and the third, being household tool, barely cope with the task of cutting drywall profile. The only exception is one device - cutting scissors, one of the options for which is the attachment for the cricket drill, which will be discussed in this article ..

Nozzle on a drill nibbling scissors “cricket” photo

How nibblers work

Submit your work nibblers quite simple - in fact, it can be compared with a chisel that makes breakdowns in metal with high frequency. Another comparison is the modern electric jigsaw, in which the standard saw blade with teeth is replaced by a punch rod (chisel). This principle of robots, combining a punch tool and a jigsaw, reveals wide opportunities and allows you to use the tool of this type even for figured cutting of sheet iron. It is for this reason that modern builders use a "cricket" for cutting:

profiled flooring;
any smooth steel when it comes to large volumes of work.

These are not the only reasons why the cleaver drill attachment has become widespread in the field of construction and repair.

Nozzle on a drill “cricket” photo

Benefits of this tool

Another significant advantage of the cricket is its careful attitude to the protective and decorative coating or metal tiles. Punching through the material, it not only does not injure it along the edges of the cut, but, on the contrary, rolls it, thus protecting the end of the cut from corrosion. As a result, the metal lasts much longer.

Additionally as an advantage cutting metal nozzles for a drill, the following points can be distinguished.

High productivity – a 1 m long cut can be completed in less than a minute. Yes, the grinder cuts faster, but unlike the nozzle, it burns the protective and decorative coating.
What is the ability to overcome almost any obstacle. The wave and various bends are not a problem at all - you can direct the movement of the cutter not only left and right, but also up and down.
According to the manufacturers, this tool is able to easily handle metal up to 2 mm thick, which is quite enough to work with roofing materials.
The cost of the instrument can be called purely symbolic. It is at least five times lower than the price of professional cutting shears with built-in electric drive.

As for the shortcomings, the most significant is only one - it is almost impossible to achieve a perfectly even cut. In principle, it is not needed, since the edges in most cases are covered either by another sheet of metal or by special elements. If you try hard and come up with some kind of guide, then this problem can be solved.

Safety precautions when working with a "cricket"

In addition to the risks of cutting yourself on the edges of sheet iron, there are a couple more points that you need to beware of when working with a perforated drill bit. These are shavings - small and, most importantly, sharp fragments of metal in the form of a crescent. They can cause very serious trouble.

First of all, the shavings easily pierce into the legs, and this may not even be felt on hardened feet. Then suppuration begins and all the ensuing consequences. It is best to work with the tool in closed shoes.
The second point is, or rather, its impeller, which serves to cool the electric motor. Penetrating into the air intake hole, small metal crescents quickly disable the power tool. There is only one way to protect the drill - to pack it in a mesh material (for example, nylon tights).

In addition, we should not forget that small chips scattered around the yard quickly corrode, and if it remains, for example, on paving slabs, then rust eats into it and spoils appearance coatings. Timely cleaning of the workplace solves almost all issues.

Nozzle on a drill for cutting metal photo

What to look for when buying a "cricket"

Almost all tools of this type have the same design and work on the same principle - no additional options they are not supplied, and additional devices are not provided for them. Everything is simple - including the choice, approaching which you need to pay attention to just a couple of points.

In principle, decide for yourself what is best for you - cheap and cheerful or expensive, but for a long time. From practice, I can only say one thing - my first nozzle from Sparky worked in intensive operation without repairs and Maintenance within five years. By and large, we are not talking about such big money - a professional nozzle can be purchased for about 30-50 dollars.

In conclusion of the topic, the attachment for the “cricket” drill, it remains to add only one thing - to remind you that it is possible to extend the life of any tool through proper care of it. Clean your "breadwinners" at the end of work and control them technical condition every self-respecting master should. Naturally, you should not forget about the careful attitude to the tool - hammering nails with a nozzle and generally using it for other purposes is simply wrong.

The compact nozzle "Cricket" is installed on various powerful electrical appliances - in particular, screwdrivers, drills and rotary hammers. Thanks to the ability to cut sheet metal, it significantly expands their functionality, allowing you to perform large quantity operations with one unit. The use of tool steel for its production makes it possible to ensure maximum strength, and also allows you to work with a wide range of materials. In addition, the carefully crafted design results in low noise and mechanical losses.

Performance characteristics

The power of the main device on which this device is installed should not be less than 0.4 kW - with this value, effective cutting is achieved without a strong bend in the metal edge. This indicator corresponds to the parameters of most household power tools - both drills and rotary hammers, and screwdrivers. The length of the device is 180 mm - due to this, it is possible to work not only in ideal conditions workshop, but also in a limited space. The power take-off is based on a hexagonal shaft, which has good traction and is stronger than traditional round shafts.

Due High Quality of the tool steel used, the "Cricket" nozzle can cut rather thick metal sheets. For stainless steel, this figure is 1 mm, and for softer alloys - 1.6 mm. When using aluminum, the thickness can reach 2 mm. With the help of the nozzle, you can create and round holes, whose diameter is 11 mm or more. A feature of the device is also the small width of the cut track - it is only 1.6 mm. This provides good level metal savings that cannot be achieved using hand tools.

Peculiarities

The nozzle does not increase the mass of the appliance, since its own weight is only 400 grams. To the number additional benefits includes the presence in the delivery set of a punch and a replaceable handle, with which you can increase the accuracy of the work.

Scissor attachment "Cricket" is designed for cutting sheet steel in a straight or curved line, for cutting holes of arbitrary shape from a pre-drilled hole with a diameter of 11 mm. The nozzle is powered by an electric or pneumatic drill.

Cutting is carried out according to the principle of nibbling scissors. The nozzle does not require adjustment, is easy to use and maintain.