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How to use a nibbler

Updated: October 2026

The first cut with an electric nibbler usually goes wrong in one of three ways: you start in the middle of the sheet with no hole, you lean on the tool when the punch slows, or you forget that a strip of metal leaves as chips. How to use a nibbler, for a first hole in mild steel or aluminium, is mostly about letting the punch work and marking a line that already allows for that strip. The die in your hand decides the hole size and the kerf. The tools are on the [electric nibbler comparison](/hub/cutting-tools/electric-nibbler). We used maker notes and UK guides. We did not run a lab test.

The first cut with an electric nibbler usually goes wrong in one of three ways: you start in the middle of the sheet with no hole, you lean on the tool when the punch slows, or you forget that a strip of metal leaves as chips.

Our top picks

TengXcel TengXcel Makita 18V nibbler

Best overall

TengXcel TengXcel Makita 18V nibbler
6.2/10about £107.99
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Gautesy Gautesy Makita 18V nibbler

Best value

Gautesy Gautesy Makita 18V nibbler
6.4/10about £79.99
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DEYITONG DEYITONG Makita 18V nibbler

Rank 3

DEYITONG DEYITONG Makita 18V nibbler
7.1/10about £106.99
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On this page
  1. 1.What the tool removes
  2. 2.Start at an edge or from a hole
  3. 3.Feed, oil and a stalled punch
  4. 4.When to stop

What the tool removes

A nibbler is a punch and a die. Each stroke knocks out a small crescent, and the crescents add up to a strip. The panel stays flatter than it would under tin snips, and it does not throw the heat of a grinding disc. The cost is the kerf. Stakesys prints 4 mm on the EN2. Milwaukee prints 6.35 mm on the M18 FNB35. A UK reviewer of one Makita-fit body in this set estimated about a 6 mm bite. Most listings here print no width, so measure yours on scrap. That strip is gone. If both pieces must keep their full drawn size, a nibbler is the wrong tool. Mark the finished edge, not the centre of the kerf. The chips are sharp crescents, so wear eye protection and gloves, and clear them with a brush. Capacities are on the buying guide.

Start at an edge or from a hole

From an edge, offer the sheet into the die with the body roughly parallel to the panel. A nibbler has no shoe like a jigsaw. If you lift the nose, the punch binds. A straight edge clamped to the sheet keeps a long line honest. Follow it at a speed the punch can clear. An internal cut needs a starter hole, because the die has to pass through before the punch can work. The diameter is on that tool's manual. Milwaukee's M18 FNB35 listing specifies 35 mm for that model only. None of the eight amazon bodies here prints a starter size. Drill a hole the die enters freely, on scrap first. Switch on before the punch is loaded, so the tool is at full stroke as it meets the metal. Finish an internal cut by backing out of the hole before you let go of the switch. Lifting the head out of the middle of a cut, while it is still biting, is how punches snap.
TengXcel TengXcel Makita 18V nibbler

Testsieger

TengXcel TengXcel Makita 18V nibbler
6.2/10about £107.99
View offer

Feed, oil and a stalled punch

A light oil on the line, where the manual allows it, keeps the punch from dragging. If the sheet is plastisol roofing, do not invent an oil film the coating maker has not mentioned. On bare mild steel, a thin line is the usual trade-manual habit, and it is still the manual's call. You do not flood the motor. The feed is steady. If it stalls, stop pushing. Forcing a stalled punch bends the punch or kinks the sheet. Back out, and look at the edge. A 1.6 mm mild-steel line is not permission for 1.6 mm stainless. Use the tools in the box, and do not grind a homemade punch. If the edge is tearing and you have no spare, stop and brush the chips into a tin.

When to stop

Stop when the sheet is thicker than the figure for that metal, or when the listing never printed a figure. Axelrivet, in this set, names steel and stainless and gives no millimetre. Stop when the only spare punch is already chipped and the seller, as on one UK review here, does not answer. Stop, and get someone set up for it, when the work is at height, when you would be alone on a roof, or when the sheet is structural. A site supply that has not been planned is not a nibbler setting. For a Saturday cut in light sheet, on a bench, the sequence is short: support the sheet, mark inside the kerf, start at full stroke from an edge or a hole the die accepts, follow the line, back out before you switch off, and brush the chips.

Common questions

Do you start at the edge or in a hole?
Start at a free edge when the cut runs off the sheet. Start from a drilled hole when the cut is an opening in the middle. The die has to pass through before the punch can nibble. Offering the nose at a mark with no hole bends the punch.
What size is the starter hole?
Whatever that die needs, which the manual should state. Milwaukee's M18 FNB35 listing gives 35 mm for that model. TRUMPF dies run from the mid-teens of millimetres up to about 41 mm. The amazon tools here do not print a starter size, so confirm the hole on scrap.
Should you oil the line?
On bare workshop steel, a thin film is the usual advice if the manual asks for it. Skip the oil on coated roofing, or when the coating maker says to keep the face dry. Oil does not make an over-thick sheet cuttable.
What happens if you push harder when it stalls?
The punch stops clearing the crescent and the load goes into the punch and the sheet. You can bend the punch or kink the panel. Ease off, back out, and check the thickness. A stall on the first 50 mm of a rated sheet can also mean a blunt punch.
How much material disappears?
A few millimetres of width, as chips, along the whole cut. Published examples are 4 mm on a Stakesys EN2 and 6.35 mm on a Milwaukee M18 FNB35. Measure your own kerf. Both offcuts lose that strip.
When should you stop and get someone else?
When the work is at height, when you would be alone on a roof, when the sheet is structural, or when the site supply has not been set. A bench hole in light-gauge steel is ordinary careful DIY. A cut in a tank belongs with whoever holds that duty.

Related pages

Electric nibbler for roofing and cladding

Electric nibbler

Best electric nibbler for the packs you already own

Electric nibbler buying guide: thickness, pack, kerf

Cordless or corded nibbler for a UK site or garage

Sources

Public UK sources and dealer pages for trade-body context, checked on 19 October 2026. amazon.co.uk prices and review counts are taken from the listings in this category and can change.

  1. BS EN 62841-2-8:2016, hand-held shears and nibblers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE: electrical systems on construction sites (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Heamar: power-tool nibblers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Southern Sheeting: cutting metal roofing and cladding (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Power Tool World: Makita DJN161Z body only (retrieved 19 October 2026)