Plow Share Shingle Shear

Plow Share Shingle Shear TILLAGE EUIPMENT Plows 29-4-11 Kevin West, Covington, Ohio, used the shares off an old moldboard plow to build a shear for trimming asphalt shingles. West does handyman jobs for people in his area, including re-roofing jobs. He uses his homemade shingle shear when working on top of a roof. "It works much like a paper shear except that it's much more heavy duty. It makes nice, clean cuts," says West. The cutting table is made from a pair of 2 by 4's spaced about 20 in. apart and covered by a piece of 1/2-in. thick plywood. One plow share forms the cutting edge, while another share is brought down against it to trim the shingle. A metal pipe welded to the top of this share acts as a handle. A small piece of steel plate is welded to the bottom back end of the "cutting edge" share. A bolt with a stiff spring attached to it goes through both pieces to form a pivot point. "It works a lot better than using a utility knife. Commercial asphalt cutting shears aren't built as heavy and sell for $300 or more," says West. "The only limitation is that it's a little heavy when climbing a ladder to get the unit up onto a roof. If I were to build another one, I'd cut the shares in half lengthwise to reduce the weight." West is willing to make plans available for a small fee. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin West, 1915 Leonard Rd., Covington, Ohio 45318 (ph 937 676-3434).

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