Customer Reviews

PacTool International SS404 SteelHead Fiber Cement Cutting Shear

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am building my own home and installing cement fiber siding. I had an eliptical and full circle transom around which I had to install 1/2" Hardi-trim, as well as lap siding and Hardi-shingles. I reluctantly paid the price for this single use tool because I was getting less than satisfactory results around an oval window using just a cement fiber blade in a circular saw, not to mention the cloud of choking dust which I'm sure will cause me cancer some day. One criticism is that the information for this tool does NOT SAY it will cut up to 1/2" fiber cement. It will do this handily. On straight cuts, it's clean and faster than a circular blade. On mild arcs, it works best if you cut from left to right (imagine the blade sweeping clockwise). On more aggressive arcs, it will cut but the end result may need a good bit of clean up with a utility knife. The aggressive arcs also require a good deal more force to make the turns. These comments all relate to 1/2". With standard 5/16" fiber cement siding, this machine cuts like a hot knife through butter. Another thing; I wish I had this tool when I was balanced on a scaffold last week instead of using the circular saw. It's solidly built. I dropped it several times from many feet. It feels competent and comfortable in my hand. I own many power tools and am sick of promised performance. In this case, I would recommend this to professionals as well as those who fear the amateur but very doable task of installing fiber cement siding. Now that I'm done with my project, you can buy mine!

I have two professional Carpenter crews installing Hardie Siding 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I have used the Porter Cable and the Kett siding shears and these are a full step ahead of those. They are solid professoinal grade shears with full steel heads that don't break after one or two houses.

I gave up on a circular saw some time ago becasuse of the cost (2-3 blades per house at a minimium cost of $30 per blade). Save your lungs and stay away from the light duty shears. Even if you are only doing one house these are the shears for you.

My clients also appreciate the quiet work since we gave up the circular saws.

One note - they cut a much wider piece out of the plank than a circular saw and can leave a bit of a rough end. If you are butting the siding to the trim then have a wood rasp handy to clean the end. If you are overlapping the trim this is not a problem.

Only wish they had a shear that would cut the 3/4 inch trim!

As a do it yourselfer , I was contemplating installing cement siding after receiving a quote for $3000 for installation only. I had read the reviews and decided to order the tool. The day after ordering, I was at the lumberyard, where this tool received a thorough bashing by people in the trade and those selling James Hardie siding. The main complaints were chipping and inability to make fine cuts --mostly that it was a good idea but highly overrated. After receiving the tool I left it unopened for several days contemplating its return while I awaited arrival of square drive stainless screws I had decided to use for fasteners. I finally decided to open it and give it aa try -- and was I glad I did. All of the reviews were true and it does cut cement siding like butter. Even my wife, who was reluctant for me to spend this much money was amazed and thought it was well worth the purchase. It truly makes the job fast and easy. I see no evidence of chipping and can do some fairly narrow cuts. This tool has saved me time, health and a lot of money. The stainless screws are about 10 times the expense of ringshanks -- but for the DIYer is more forgiving. When you make a mistake--you just back out the screws, fix the problem and go on. When I missed a stud on a butt joint, I was able to loosen the plank on one end, mark it with a trisquare and trim a little off with the shear while it was still on the house and cut a perfectly straight line. I highly recommend this tool!!

I started a project to re-side my entire house about thwo months ago. Since I'm only working on the weekends, it's going to take me some time. I had never done this type of work before and purhcased a Hardi-Blade for my circular saw. It created an enormous amount of dust (that according to Hardie is toxic). After doing some research (including Hardie's site) I found out the tool of choice for most professionals is a fiber-cement shear. I found out the best product for that job is this Snapper Shear SS404.

The circ saw I used before was difficult to control, slow and inaccurate. This shear from Pacific Tool is the best thing for slicing Hardi-plank. It cuts more accurately, faster and can be done without someone else holding the board for you. It's awesome. Well every penny of the price I paid here at Amazon. I'll never go back to the "dust cloud" hardi-blade.

Cutting 1/2 inch backer board with a saw is a noisy mess; scoring and snapping is a tedious pain (and not always accurate.) So, these shears are a great improvement on both. The edge left isn't smooth, but so what. Because it removes about a 1/4" of material, you won't be cutting over carpet, but it sure doesn't shoot dust everywhere. And, despite the specs listed, it cuts 1/2" just fine. Using an edge guide on long cut is a bit tricky.

Issues: after I placed my order, a visit to the vendor site showed another model that's made to cut 1/2". Seems to be same "gun" with a different head. Amazon carries it, but my searches didn't find it. This one's fine, but here's the problem: why can't they sell this expensive device with interchangeable shear heads? It would be great to have one tool that could cut backer board, siding, and various gages of metal. The company that sell such a device will get lots of my money.

I'm building my own house, by my self and siding it with "Hardy Plank". It required 435 12' planks and about 85% had to be cut or trimmed. I pre-painted each of the planks before cutting and then touched up the "scars" after installation. All of the preparation work was done inside a garage.

This shear was very fast and quiet. I was able to cut a 1-1/4" x 12' Starter Strip in about 60 seconds, following a pencil line, with a ¼" kerf, generating only a small amount of dust, which fell to the floor, and a curl of siding material, easily deposited in a waste basket. While the cut edge is not as smooth as a saw would make (it gets covered with caulk anyway), the speed and elimination of airborne dust more than makes up for this visual issue. After making each cut, I sealed the fresh edge with a 3" paint roller.

There are only two things I don't like about this tool:
1 - The power cord is located on the bottom of the handle which causes it to catch in the fresh kerf when ripping more than about 10". (Cross cuts are no problem.)
2 - The curl of material from the kerf rolls forward and blocks the view of the cutting head, making it difficult to follow a line without manually removing the material.

Other than these two issues, I'm very happy with this tool and recommend it highly.

These shears are the best, fast, quiet, clean cutting and NO DUST! I've done half my house and it cuts like I just took it out of the box. Be sure to cut the material from the back because the clean cuting edge is on the bottom of the shear. I would never use a blade after using these. My only complaint is that angle of the shear is just enough that the cord is a little tight and rubs on the material when ripping but it works fine, just wish there was a little more room for the cord. The portal cable shear does not have the angle and there's no room for the cord when ripping.

I use a wood rasp to clean up and edge that need it which is rare.

You won't be disapointed with these shears, and don't buy a saw unless you want to spend all your money on replacing blades all the time, not to mention dust masks, ear plugs and saftey glasses.

excellent tool.easy to use,no dust,cuts a straight clean line.i put up sheets of vertical siding.did not have to cut on backside in order to get a clean cut.difficult to cut less than a 1/4 of an inch off an edge,you must kind of nibble it away,so cut it right the first time. also bought a hardi-blade,lots of dust and left a rough edge when cutting in vent squares. a carbide drillbit and a jigsaw blade and the ss404 worked just fine

Wow, I heard so many horror stories about cutting hardiplank. This handy little device, though a little pricey, proved to be worth every penny. It makes cutting hardiplank downrigh boring and predictable. Yes there are some curled cuttings to pick up, but the ease of cutting is worth the small inconvenience. Then it occured to me that I can use this for hard board cement backing for tile work. I wish I had this when I tiled the bathroom. Great product.

This tool is an absolute necessity when siding with fiber cement siding. I just did two jobs with James Hardie siding, and these shears are fabulous. As advertised, they produce no dust and the ribbon of cut siding is easily removed and disposed of. Hardie recommends "score and snap" cutting, but it is virtually impossible to cut long lengths using score and snap. The Pacific International cutting shear rips thru the siding like butter. Remember to mark and cut the unfinished side to get a really clean cut on the finished side. This is one fantastic product that performs better than promised.