Hand snips

The offset combination of universal snips is preferred by the panel beater when cutting thin gauge metal. Universal snips (Figure 3.11a,b) are suitable for cutting straight lines,outside and inside curves. A right- and left-hand pair of combination snips will be suitable for most of the sheet metal cutting that will be encountered by the panel beater,and there is no need for any curved-blade snips. When the more popular righthand snips are used,the waste metal forms a coilto the left of thecutting blades,thus causing little distortion to the surface of the sheet or panelbeing cut; similarly,with the left-hand pair of snips the waste metal passes to the right of thecutting blades,leaving the undistorted sheet or panel on the left. Snips can be obtained invarying sizes with either straight or crank handles. A straight pair of snips is often necessary for long straight cuts (Figure 3.11c).
Car Repair Talk's forum.