26 replies to this topic

[FVracer]

I would like some recommendations for a nibbler to be used on brass sheet.

Thanks

[MSwiss]

I think it's luck of the draw.

 

I've tried 4 different ones.

 

The best I ever had was a Radio Shack Chinese model.

 

The worst I ever had was a Radio Shack Chinese model.(same type, just a different one)

 

In the middle was the classic Adel, bought by Manta Ray, at the receptionists desk , at the plant, near Chicago.

 

And the Klein, which IIRC, was easily the most expensive.

 

A piece of advice, avoid the temptation to try to nibble .062" brass with one..

 

It will probably just effect it's ability to do a nice job on .047", and thinner, which it's more suited to do.

[tonyp]

None work really well. They bend up the brass and make more work. I tried them all. Dremel is easier to use. Always used them in the 60s but they seemed to cut better back then..

[MSwiss]

Tony is right.

They're really only good for roughing out material, without heat, or brass dust.

A good investment is one of these.

 

[MSwiss]

 Always used them in the 60s but they seemed to cut better back then..

 

If I used them a lot, I would check if this current.

 

https://www.etsy.com...CFY9ahgod-kEIDg

[tonyp]

That's the one I used to use.


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[MSwiss]

That's the one I used to use.
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Wow, I wonder how they wound up with it.

Scott Bader should buy it for the museum, to put next to Bob Emott's Ungar, and Joe Neumeister's empty Badger Propel can. Lol

[tonyp]

Lol.


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[Noose]

I wondered what happened to that can.


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[Bill from NH]

I've had an Adel since 1969. I paid $4,95 for it & it has always worked well. I got a Radio Shack nibbler ten years ago when I worked for them. It will cut sheet plastic, not much else. If I was going to do a lot of nibbling, I'd look at the pneumatic nibblers.

[gc4895]

I had one of these Adel nibblers I bought in 1967 or 68. It was great! I used it to shape all my 0.32 or 0.47 pans when I was learning how to copy chassis from grainy black and white photos in the Slot Car News. I wish I hadn't given all that gear away.

[Keith Tanaka]

The Adel Nibbler is still available. I used one back in the 60's and it worked very well for thin brass sheet (.032"). It can cut .062" but only in small pieces rather than the entire blade width. 

[Phil Smith]

The Etsy and Adel pretty much look identical to me.

 

Etsy:

 

 

Adel:

 

[MSwiss]

Etsy is just a marketplace, apparently similiar to Ebay.

The item for sale is clearly a vintage Adel.

[Bill from NH]

My Adel box from 1969 is identical to the above photo. Yes, I still have it.

[Phil Smith]

Etsy is just a marketplace, apparently similiar to Ebay.

The item for sale is clearly a vintage Adel.

 

Well duh.   It says Adel right on the box. I didn't look at that. I looked at the pic of the tool.

[FVracer]

Tony, your cuts are always so straight and smooth. What disc do you use on the Dremel and can you give a brief description of your process? How do you do inside cuts? Thanks

[Pablo]

(sorry - we posted at same time - wasn't trying to steal the show from Tony)

 

Virtually all the notched pans in my vintage builds were done with an Adel

 

 

A Dremel with a 409 disc cuts more precise than a nibbler so it's what I use for the first cuts into the pan.

Then I use the Adel to do the rough cutting. Then finish with files.

 

Unless someone has a magic technique or tool I'm unaware of, you can't make the inner cuts with a Dremel or a band saw.

[MSwiss]

Diana,

I'm guessing Tony has a steady hand, and also might do a little file work at the end.

If you don't feel your hand is that steady, to follow a Sharpie line, on that first Dremel "scribe" cut, you can buy a Dremel drill press stand and lock the tool in place, and use the bed to draw the piece across the spinning 409 disc, like some of us use to cut steel center sections in the '70s and '80s.

[FVracer]

Thanks, Mike and Pablo. I'll get to work.

[MSwiss]

Tony will probably still chime in.

Pablo and I are like the comedian that comes out and warms up the crowd before the star walks out and the show starts. LOL.

[Steve Deiters]

http://www.adelnibbler.com/

 

They now sell for $49.95 and replacement blades are $29.95!!!

[tonyp]

I use the big thin quick-lock Dremel disks. Save all the small worn-out ones to do small cuts. I have a tool Duffy made me that lets you file at 90 degrees. Basically I do it all old school.

Secret is to always buy new files, they wear out really fast.

[FVracer]

Thanks, Tony.

[Tim Neja]

I LOVE those big quick loc dremel discs!! Their much stronger and last a long time.  You can buy a "file acid" that helps sharpen files Tony-- it will help them last!!