Skip to content
À LA PELLE, the specialist in hydraulic excavator attachments
01 84 16 55 49 · enquiries and quotes, 7 days a week, 7h–22h01 84 16 55 50 · local authorities and public bodies
Who is Arnaud Dufour
EN

The site is written in French.
The languages marked here are translated by us:
the French version prevails.

Français Русский English Italiano Deutsch Español
Demolishing and breaking

Hydraulic shear

Yellow crawler excavator, demolition shear raised on the end of the arm above a gutted tank; a container and a field in the background.
Shear raised above a tank being demolished, jaws open.
It cuts the steel into transportable pieces, without a torch.
Photo:
Pierre-Étienne Courtejoie (US Army), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, resized, face blurred, company name removed.

It cuts steel, it does not crush it.
Beam, plate, cable, section:
the shear cuts cleanly what a demolition grab would only twist.

Other names for this tool: scrap shear, demolition shear, steel shear, scrap cutting grab, metal shear, rotating shear.

The essentials
Family
Demolishing and breaking
Classes (t)
1.5 to 110 t
Coupler
All, by plate
Power source
Hydraulic — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine
Material
Steel

Compare with the concrete crusher →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the blades cross and the beam parts with a clean cut. On the right, poorly held blades crush and stretch the steel instead of cutting it. Computer-generated image.
the blades cross and the beam parts with a clean cut poorly held blades crush and stretch the steel instead of cutting it
Left: the blades cross and the beam parts with a clean cut.
Right: poorly held blades crush and stretch the steel instead of cutting it.
What sets it apart:
the cut is clean — the piece separates instead of stretching.
Computer-generated image.
Close-up of the rusty jaws of a hydraulic shear closed on the edge of a steel tank.
Close-up of the jaws closed on the plate of a tank:
the moving blade passes against the fixed blade.
The blades are what wear, and they are replaceable.
Photo:
Pierre-Étienne Courtejoie (US Army), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Two shear blades in thick steel crossing like scissors, their cutting edges marked by use, with the bolted plate that guides them.
The guiding counts as much as the blades:
a blade that moves under the force crushes instead of cutting.
Synthetic image.

Two blades of treated steel cross under the force of a ram and cut through the metal.
The cut is clean:
the piece separates instead of stretching, and the pieces stay easy to handle.

It serves at three distinct moments on a site.
At the demolition of a steel frame, to bring the structure down.
At the sorting, to cut the bars freed by a crusher.
And at the sizing, to bring the scrap down to a length that fits in a skip.

It is not the same thing as a demolition grab. The grab is made for concrete and tears it out ; the shear is made for steel and cuts it.
Many tools claim both — in that case check what material the force announced really relates to.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

On a mini-excavator from 2 to 5 t: a shear from 320 to 490 kg.
On an excavator from 5 to 10 t: from 320 to 850 kg.
On an excavator from 10 to 20 t: from 490 to 3 300 kg; above 20 t: from 990 to 8 400 kg.
For a micro-excavator, the weight: we calculate it with you for your machine.
It fits all quick couplers via a mounting plate, or directly on the pins.

What the tool does

This shear is used for demolishing and breaking; it weighs from 300 to 21 000 kg depending on the model.
It is also available in a rotating version, through 360°.
Its cutting blades are interchangeable, to be checked with you.
Depending on the model, the bolt-on teeth can be replaced without welding and the sets of jaws can be exchanged, to be checked with you.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It needs one hydraulic function for the jaw, and a second one for rotation depending on the model.
The working pressure ranges from 250 to 380 bar.
The flow ranges from 150 to 330 l/min on a 10 to 20 t excavator, and from 150 to 450 l/min above that.
On an excavator under 10 t, the flow: we calculate it with you for your machine.

Figures taken from 25 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model and the nature of what you cut:
sections, sheet, cable, salvaged scrap.
The same word “steel” covers very different forces.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Not to be confused
  • Scrap shear Principle — the same cutting principle: two blades that cross.
    Use — it takes up fallen metal on the ground and cuts it to the length of the skip, in short passes repeated all day long.
  • Crocodile shear Principle — a jaw hinged at one end, which opens like a mouth and crosses the fixed part along its whole length.
    Use — it takes in a long piece and cuts it up in passes, without repositioning for each cut.
Hydraulic shear at the end of the arm, moving blade passing beside the fixed jaw, steel beam cut through cleanly
Look at the cutting plane:
the moving blade passes beside the fixed jaw, it does not crush against it.
It is that geometry that separates a shear from a grab.
Synthetic image.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

  • 01 — The thickness of steel to be cut It is the criterion that rules out all the rest.
    A sheet of cladding and the flange of an I-beam do not call for the same tool, and the capacity announced is read at the least favourable cutting point — near the opening, not at the back of the jaws.
  • 02 — The opening of the jaws It decides what the tool can take at one go.
    A piece wider than the opening has to be attacked from the edge, which multiplies the passes and tires the blades.
  • 03 — The rotation On a heap of scrap, the piece to be cut is never in line.
    Hydraulic rotation presents the blades the right way round without moving the machine — at the price of a second function.
  • 04 — The blades, which are the real cost of use They are wear parts.
    Whether they are bolt-on, reversible and replaceable one by one completely changes what the tool costs over a year.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The pressure available, more than the flow A shear works by force, not by speed.
    It is the pressure that decides whether it cuts or whether it stalls. See the 7 criteria.
  • The number of hydraulic functions One for the jaw, a second if the tool turns.
  • The weight at the end of the arm Shears are among the heaviest attachments at equal capacity.
    The calculation is made with the arm extended, in the real working position.
  • The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
    The tool is supplied with the matching plate — see the couplers.
In the same family
After the cut
On the interface
To go further
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos