Customer Reviews

Hitachi CN16SA 16 Gauge Nibbler

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Hitachi Nibbler is one of the two best purchases I have ever made. Cutting corrugated 26 gauge steel roofing is not fun! The Nibbler makes it easy. A little difficult in the beginning due to figuring out how to make it move up and down on an angle cut, but once that is done it's terrific. I am a contractor and love purchasing tools that save time and turn out a good product.

If you have ever had to cross cut corrugated or high rib roofing or siding, the type most commonly found on metal buildings, it doesn't take long for you to discover that there is only one tool that does the job smoothly and near effortlessly. Hand shears?..forget it, they just mess up the cut, a Uni-shear?...works OK for straight or curved cuts on a flat panel but it is near useless on the hills and valleys of a corrugated or high rib panel.
The right tool for the job is a 16 gauge nibbler and one of the best on the market is the Hitachi CN16SA. The first time I used this tool I couldn't believe how fast and smoothly it cut through the 26 gauge metal.
Two features to look for of when purchasing a nibbler, the most important one is the length of the neck, the longer the neck the easier it is to get over the hills and valleys. I found out how important the length of the neck is the hard way. I first bought a Dewalt nibbler, a quality tool with ample power but the neck was too short and it was darn near impossible to get the tool up and over the high crown of the corrugations.
The second feature is power, and I discovered this Hitachi CN 16SA is more than adequate when I later cut out some patterns from a 16 gauge sheet of mild steel.
I have no problem giving this tool a five star rating.

I have rented different types of these nibblers several times over the years, never this particular model though. This Hitachi is by far the best I have ever used. It cut our trim and install time by nearly half.

I needed to do a small metal roof. The hitachi 16gauge nibbler worked great. Now I have a great to for metal work. Burke construction

This product works amazingly well on sheet metal roofing. I recently placed a sheet metal roof on my house that has a gable roof with additions on both ends. That meant almost every sheet needed cut on at least one end and about half needed to be cut on both ends. I planned on cutting the sheets with an electric sheet metal sheer. The sheer cuts the sheets fine end to end, but will not go over the ridges to cut the sheets at the required diagonal. After one day of not accomplishing much due to the time required cutting the sheets by hand, I ordered the nibbler, and waited a few days for it's arrival. I was extremely pleased with it's operation. Cutting the sheets was almost fun.

Just got the tool today. I ordered it online and so I was hoping that I would not pay alot for a tool only to have the sign of made in China on it. I love when my tools are made in the USA, Europe, and Japan. If a company is concerned about quality then the tools will be made in a country that has a reputation on quality. So far I know that I am going to love this tool and now I want to buy a Hitachi shear!