
I chose this nibbler over electric tin snips mainly because I already have too many tools. I think a person can never have "too many tools". but most of all i hate the power tool which i will only use a few times a year. if this. They take up space and are at their worst when you buy a tool that has only one purpose. so true! The fact that a pair of tin snips work flawlessly and that there is only one thing that can go wrong makes me think twice about spending the extra money. replacement heads. one of which is on the opposite side of the instrument. it's a function outside of me. Doesn't cut as fast as electric scissors. it only ever gnaws tiny crescent-shaped shavings. but it does the job and isn't terribly slow. One of the advantages over electric shears is that you can easily make cuts with very small radii. for example the corners of a square cut. Attention! The chips are very sharp and can hardly be seen on the ground. I pulled these little metal crescents out of the soles of my boots and got kicked a few times as I knelt on the ground. They hurt terribly and can get stuck inside you, so be careful. I ended up finishing the job by placing my piece in a large plastic tub to collect the shavings. Did the cleaning in one go but somehow still managed to scatter a few pieces around. I can't see this chewing on 16 gauge metal for too long. You'll likely wear down a tiny edge on the cutting blade very quickly, or maybe break something in the gears. I haven't opened it, but I can't imagine that like everything else, it's made out of anything other than a pot. After I cut 3 squares of approximately 12" x 12" from 20 gauge metal, the gear itself was visibly warm. to touch. Maybe it's worth disassembling and lubricating. Anyway, he got the job done for me and I'll probably do this thing 2, maybe 3 more times this year. I bet it will last a long time for my use. If you are planning extensive metal work. Maybe just get a good pair of electric scissors, they'll cut many times faster than these and will likely last a lot longer with continuous use.