SS424 Backerboard Snapper Shear

I was a bit leery at first, not sure it would work properly on a 18v plus drill. Boy was I wrong. This tool is a must have for Fiber cement siding. It is quiet, smooth, and quick. No Dust, and no flying particles. I was amazed at the tools performance. It cuts curves perfectly, as long as you can keep a straight line, and it makes cutting the boards a breeze. I cannot say enough great things about this tool. This was our first attempt at installing fiber cement siding on our new house, and the tool help take a bit of the stress away. I love it. The dual sided handle makes it great for stability.

I have come across hundreds of tools in my 28 years as a residential contractor. Some tools serve their purpose better than others. Some tools disappoint you while others go above and beyond their functions making a hard job turn into a pleasant surprise. The Snapper Shear Pro surprised me. I was hesitant at first. But, after attaching it and sticking the first cut I realized that you can’t go wrong with this easy to use tool. Does works as described. Straight cuts every time, fancy shapes cuts. Just amazing, I was able to cut hundreds of fiber cement boards and the tool is still going strong. Easy to attach to most drills…. Look at pictures showing the Snapper Shear Pro attached to a 18v Bosch Cordless Drill.

I bought this tool after starting a bathroom remodeling project in which I removed old sheetrock and tile and installed concrete backer board. Man oh man I really wish I would have known about this tool before I started cutting my Hardie Backer...I started off using the score and snap method to break my Hardie Backer board, but as one other reviewer said the score and snap method is only for bigger pieces of board; once you start having to measure and cut smaller pieces of concrete board then scoring and snapping just doesn't work unless you possess the strength of three Lou Ferrignos. Further, scoring and snapping leaves sort of a rough, jagged edge that doesn't lend itself well to clean corners. So, after searching for a better way to cut backer board, I bought the SS424. This tool absolutely makes easy work of cutting backer board; I used it to cut half-inch thick board and it worked beautifully. As others have said, it does take practice to learn how to cut along a straight line, but once you get good with it you will never want to use anything else. Some people will say to use a table saw with a special concrete fiber cutting blade, but that way of cutting board creates SO much dust; the SS424 creates almost no dust thus lowering your silica exposure risk. Also, once again as others have said, a little backer board will curl up between the cutting blades and this can get in the way of following your cutting line, but after a few cuts you sort of learn to deal with it. If you have tried scoring and snapping do yourself a favor and buy this tool. I'm pretty sure that if they made backer board back in the 14th century then Dante would have listed scoring and snapping this stuff all day as the tenth circle of Hell. I like this tool so much that I considered buying a second one just so I can sleep next to it at night. Thanks, I hope this review helped someone.

I'm doing a job where I have to cut a lot of fiber cement backer boards. I came across this tool and after watching many videos on YouTube showing how clean and easy the PacTool SS724 Snapper Shear Pro cuts through up to 1/2" thick Hardie board and other fiber cement boards. There were no videos showing it being used specifically on Durock fiber cement backer board. But since it said it works on fiber cement board I decided to purchase it. The tool is well built and feels of good quality in your hand. All the YouTube videos I watched showed the tool easily and cleanly cutting through Hardie and other cement boards ( but not Durock ) leaving just a clean strip of cement board ribbon behind. This is not true for Durock fiber cement board. I used the tool to cut through 1/2" Durock fiber cement board. The tool does easily go through the Durock but it is not cutting the Durock fiber cement board. It is crushing the cement board leaving a lot of crumbled pieces of cement board and debris all over the floor and the work piece. Knowing that I was cutting through fiber cement board I wasn't expecting a nice smooth clean cut to begin with. But I wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it was. The cut or more like crushed edge of the durock was jagged and had broken pieces and fiber mesh hanging off it. I had to removed the broken pieces and clean up the fiber mesh strands with a scissors. I can't see cutting anything but a straight line on Durock. Trying to cut a circle, curved or radius cuts will result in breaking chunks of it off. There was no nice clean 1/2" strip of ribbon coming off the tool like all the video showed. That being said the cut edge of the Durock will be good for the majority of the jobs where the backer board seams will be taped over with fiber mesh tape and a water proofing coating or thin set for tiles will be applied. I am satisfied with the quality of the tool and the tool did do what it was supposed to do but just a not as good a job on the Durock as I was expecting. The most important thing to mention is that it makes almost no dust when compared to using a circular saw or grinder. It does leave a lot of debris on the work surface and the floor. You should still wear a mask but no cement dust will be flying around the room getting on everything.

This product is unbelievable! We used it on our Hardy siding installation and it is so easy to use. Highly recommend this to anyone how likes to be safe and efficient.

Had been wondering if there was A tool that cut Hardie board without the crazy dust when using circular saw. Well this is It. What an absolute awesome tool. It cuts/shears concrete board literally like butter. With an minimal mess. So glad I purchased. It works like a dream.

I bought this tool to cut Hardie Plank because I didn't want to deal with the nasty, dangerous dust you get with a saw, and I'm glad I did. A saw might give a perfectly clean cut, but the need to use a vacuum, SERIOUS dust mask, and tight goggles would have negated that advantage. (note: Some will say that you don't need to go all space-suit when using a saw, but you'll be sorry if you don't) This shear/nibbler takes a little practice, but after a couple of cuts, you're getting very nice results. It's not difficult to produce cuts to within 1/8th inch, and often to within 1/16th inch accuracy. You can also do respectable curve cuts if needed, and the amount of dust produced is minimal. The slightly furry edge of the cuts can be smoothed, if needed, with a small sure-form rasp. Remember to prime all cuts before installation - Cement Fiber absorbs water, and caulking, where used, will adhere much better to primed material. The Pac Tool shear won't be as durable as a $400-$500 dedicated nibbler, but it's held up very well during my one-off siding project, still cutting like new after about 100 planks, including several long rip cuts. If you're only doing one small-to-medium sized siding project, rather than an entire LARGE house, this tool should do the job to your satisfaction. I'm glad I bought it.

The shears worked very well for cutting HardiPlank cement board siding. I used it to crosscut for lengths, as well as ripping lengthwise for width of starter and top course. It is much faster than a jig saw with diamond grit blade. The jigsaw cut super smooth edge but was very slow. These shears cut a slightly rough edge but totally acceptable for the hidden areas. Remember to paint with primer all cut edges. The shears cut about a 1/4” wide strip. Each edge of the cut is 1.5” from the edge of the corresponding sole plate edge guide. I clamped a 7” rafting Square 1.5” shy of the cut line and ran the edge of the shear’s sole plate/shoe along that. It is a bit awkward to try to cut freehand but could be done for all except butted ends For butting to another plank I would try to have both be factory ends, and have the cut on the end by the trim. For cutting lengthwise I placed another plank alongside it, and then stacked four planks on a guideline 1.5” from the cut line. The factory edges have tiny rough spots so be careful as the guide shoe will hang up a bit. Just be patient and smoothly push the shear head along the guide planks. Next time I will use a 2x4 or similar smooth wood cutting guide rather than another plank. It is much easier to handle the planks and set up cutting guides with two people but could be done by a lone worker. I used an older Milwaukee M18 1/2” drill/driver and it had no problem driving the shears. Use the highest drill speed possible. The shears produce virtually no air borne dust. You get some dust on the floor with 1/4” wide curled strips as waste products. Clean up periodically before the curly strips get stepped on and create much more cement dust. The jigsaw created more dust but it was very localized near the saw, unlike how a circular saw throws dust across the entire room. Jigsaw cuts ultra smooth but is very slow, like two minutes to trim length on a 6.26” plank. The shears take about 15 seconds. Bottom line, the shears are the only reasonable way time-wise and with minimal dust to cut HardiPlank. You get acceptable edges in fairly good time and almost no dust in the air. The main downside is they are awkward to control and you should use a firm guide to ensure straight cuts. This shear head is way cheaper than the full tool shears. Plus you get the benefit of working with any corded or cordless drill of 18/20 volts. Be sure to really crank the chuck closed on the head stem as it likes to work itself free. I will always have a jigsaw handy as a backup but these shears are what I will be using for all the siding I am doing in the coming months. Totally worth it! By the way, HardiPlank looks very nice on the house. When we cut ends or edges we just generously coated them with primer and put them up immediately, no waiting for it to fully dry. We even went ahead and primed over every nail head, just in case (I used the pre-primed planks which I think is the easiest version to work with).