Snips are hand shears varying in length from 200mm to 600mm. The 250 mm length is

the commonly used one.

Types of Snips

Straight snip

It has a straight blade and is used for cutting along straight lines and for trimming the edges. The straight snip and its usage is shown in figure below:

Bent or Curved Snip

It is having curved blade and is used for cutting circles and irregular shapes. It is also used for

trimming the cylindrical edges. The curved snip and its usage is shown in figure below:

Double Snip

Double shears are used for cutting thin cylinders, stove pipes and for cutting holes and light gauge metals. The double cut snip is shown in figure below:

Bench Shear

In this type of hand cutting machine, the sheet is cut by shearing action. The force is applied through compound lever. The machine is able to cut the sheet metal upto 2 mm thick.

The bench shear also consists of chopping hole in the chopping blade which can shear a mild steel rod upto 10 mm diameter. The below figure represents the schematic diagram of bench shear.