MAKE | Maker to Maker

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By Make: television
Posted 2008/12/31 @ 11:50 am
Category General

This ‘Toolbox’ segment finds William Gurstelle showcasing “The Nibbler,” a handy, compact, toothy device perfect for cutting and shaping sheet metal. Do you have any cool tools that do the same job, or can you suggest other uses for The Nibbler? Makers want to know; post your thoughts.

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11 Responses to Maker to Maker – Nibbler

Anonymous on January 3rd, 2009 at 8:49 am said:

Is it so hard to put an image instead of a video? Some of us would like to get an idea of the content BEFORE starting a video player!

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Phillip Torrone on January 3rd, 2009 at 9:35 am said:

“This ‘Toolbox’ segment finds William Gurstelle showcasing “The Nibbler,” a handy, compact, toothy device perfect for cutting and shaping sheet metal. Do you have any cool tools that do the same job, or can you suggest other uses for The Nibbler? Makers want to know; post your thoughts.”

that text has quite a bit, the picture has bill and the tool he is talking about, what else could we provide?

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Josh Kopel on January 3rd, 2009 at 10:24 am said:

Combined with the text, the poster frame seems sufficient.
Although the handle of that nibbler looks awfully close to his nose…

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Josh Kopel on January 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 am said:

the text along with the poster frame seem fine to describe the content (although the handle of that nibbler is awfully close to his nose).

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Ronnie on January 3rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm said:

I wish I had one of those, cutoff discs and a Dremil sure take longer.

Does anyone else find it odd that Geek Squad is a major funder of Make? I don’t think that the maker crowd is really their target audience.

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Phillip Torrone on January 3rd, 2009 at 1:22 pm said:

@Ronnie – odd? not at all, public television and MAKE has a huge reach, we’re not a small community any longer, it’s a global movement. “regular folks” are getting more interesting in the DIY world every single day.

here’s a bit about why/how from the sponsor page…

Geek Squad and Make magazine have a history of supporting one another, beginning with Geek Squad sponsorship and participation in the first ever Maker Faire in April 2006. Geek Squad realized early on that the motley crew of “Makers” who created the “steampunk” aesthetic and built full-size versions of iconic board games had the same love of technology and innovation that inspired Geek Squad.

“From my perspective, it’s no accident that the moon landing and Star Wars were followed by the first Apple Macintosh. When you make science and technology interesting, you spark innovation.” said Geek Squad Founder and Chief Inspector Robert Stephens. “Geek Squad’s support of Make: is our way of encouraging people to play, discover and create.”

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Jack on January 3rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm said:

Thanks for posting that info about GeekSquad Phillip. It’s good info!

I’m glad you guys made this litle video. I didn’t even know there were pneumatic and electronic nibblers out there. Been using hand operated one, and like the video says, it’s SLOOOOW.

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RJ on January 3rd, 2009 at 6:32 pm said:

That was a fun little video! I never knew about nibblers before. If I had to suggest another way to accurately cut a circular hole in that paint can lid, I’d say a metal-cutting bit in a scroll saw would do the job nicely.

Another way to do it would be to find dead-center on the paint can lid and mark it. Then, using your drill press, a couple of clamps and an appropriately-sized metal hole saw, you can cut a clean and symmetrical hole in very short order. If you do this, remember to back your work piece with a chunk of 2×4 or something similar.

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drspectro on January 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 pm said:

I use a jewlers saw for a lot of things like this. Its not fast for long cuts in tin, but it is better for plastic and precise holes in metal. For hobby type uses, buy the coarser blades which jewlers seldom use. Also avoid the cheapest blades, they are too fragile.

However a jewlers saw takes some practice and broken blades to get the hang of. You can pretty much pick up a nibbler and start punching. Also you can use the nibbler in a blind hole that the saw frame wont fit in.

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jsoverson on January 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm said:

Was a very informative video, but is there another video that shows me how to make home remedies for motion sickness?

I think the camera man needs a tripod, or at least decaf coffee.

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nibbler on January 4th, 2009 at 3:51 pm said:

My brother had one of these back in the day. I recall it was handy for shaping the edges of circuit boards, like if you had to cut out notch to make it fit into a hobby box.

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