History The Beverly Shear

This story begins with a video posted by Ian Roussel years ago where his wife was touring Gene Winfields shop. Coincidentally, they just reposted it semi recently on youtube so check it out!
Towards the 2/3 mark she asks Gene "If you were recomending a tool or tools to a young aspiring metal fabricator, what would it be?" Gene walked over and slapped his B-2 ( the middle sized Beverly) and he said "A Beverly shear!"
Ever since watching that video I had it on my list. Then reality struck... used Beverly shears run about a thousand bucks! I went the route many go and I headed down to hobo freight and bought their version (around 150 bucks) wow! Gene was right! I used the pants off of it! Problem is, hobo frieghts version is sloppy, loose and poorly made. I modified it with washers to make it work better but the blades still horribly chipped and it was just a losing battle. My buddy Scott scored a real deal Beverly for 150 bucks a couple months back! Oh man....through my happiness for him I was green with envy! I started searching even harder. Finally, around a week ago I did the usual, log into facebook, go to marketplace and type in Beverly shear... 3 popped up! 2 nearby for 1000 each... sadness... but one, one about 5.5 hours away for 550, I had to jump with both feet! This one looked odd. It looked just like Scotts I realized but not like the typical Beverly shear. The tag was brass and looked more homemade. I gathered my scratch and tried to devise a plan to get my prize. Turns out, the fella selling it knows my mom so that didnt hurt things. As I collect payment from a fella for rebuilding his front end he tells me, "yeah, tomorrow I gotta drive to redmond." THATS WHERE MY SHEAR IS! I handed him back the money and said, "wanna do me a solid?" He did and today I took delivery of my bonafide Beverly. Man its purdy!

After looking it over and deciding what level I wanted to restore it to, I looked at the serial number.... it appears to say it was made october of 1936! Only 4 years after the patent went into effect! This explains the odd and rudimentary brass tags. So I ask Scott what his serial number is..... would you believe it? HIS BEVERLY WAS MADE OCTOBER 1936! Our shears were made only 8 units apart!! WHAT ARE THE ODDS!? 89 years later and two friends end up with brethren shears that probably came from the same casting run! I can only find one other picture of a shear with the same brass tag and it sold online. I look forward to restoring and using my historic shear to build traditional hot rods and customs!

 

Little history

 

The brass tag

 

I have a B2 that took me a long time to find. I won't give it up until I am unable to use it. Congratulations! Mine isn't as old as yours but it is an original.

 

Congratulations and super cool that it’s made in back in 1936. I have had one B2 for 30 years now and truly one of the handiest tool in the shop. I’m going to check what year mine was made in. Mine

 

Thanks! Yeah mine will.get a mild restoration and be well used for my lifespan!

Let me know! Super neat stuff! I love em, theyre so handy!

 

Good for you! Close to 15 years ago, my wife was getting into metal sculpture and cutting metal with a tin snips wasn't getting it (she had carpal tunnel surgery done later) so one day I visited Harbor Freight and picked up a throatless shear and an anvil. (well it was an anvil shaped object, That shear was a life saver for her. After quite awhile the blades got beat up, got a set of blades and they lasted awhile. Then the blades became not available, so I bought another one, it was worth $hit, I took it back. We sucked it up and bought a real Beverly Shear, I just got through cutting some 16 gauge an hour or so ago, not sure what either of us would do without it.

 

Its like night and day. When I restore mine I will make a video and do a side by side comparison for folks who dont get it. They sorta do the same thing.... not quite

 

I’ve got a nice B-2
Absolutely love it

 

Don’t get me started. My last ex-wife sold mine for scrap. . . Yes, they are one hell of a good tool.

 

How are you doing with your current ex-wife...?

 

Oh, she has pulled her share of crazy shit, I guarantee.

 

I have had one for about 50 years.... Almost gave it away onetime years ago during a major cleanup.....
Sure GLAD I didn't..... Great tool.....

LynnW

 

Hey, im just north of you...if you get a hankering to give it away again ill gladly make the drive!

Oh nooooooo.....

Heck yeah!

 

I have come to my senses since then..... I HOPE.....

LynnW

 

if I could go back in time I'd buy one. I could sell it now for more than I would have paid in the 90's
plus its fun to have all the cool tools.

 

The older tools, are still the best type to invest in, depending upon its intended use.
This vintage "YODER" power hammer, which used to belong to my friend Rick Young, (RIP) is a classic example of how the older tools/machines, in a lot of applications, are far superior to the modern day stuff.

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That thing was fun to move after it came back from the corvette nomad project

 

And there’s my story about a “Beverly Shear”…guy said he had one, 100 bucks. This was 25 years ago.
I gave him the 100 and he came back the next day with a shear, just not a Beverly.
I said “naw, I’ll take my $$ back”.
He said “I spent the $$”.
It works okay for cutting 1/4 inch rod…

 

The My Mechanics YouTube channel has a 30 minute video on restoring a Beverly Shear: He brings it back to so much better than new that it's way over the top, but it's still fun to watch. (I find his videos oddly soothing - no loud annoying music or anything, just a talented person working quietly.)

 

I use my B2 all the time, I just love these old tools that seem to never wear out.

 

I bought my B2 for $150 at the Back to the Fifties swap meet a dozen years ago. My local blade sharpening guy looked at the blades with a real funny expression, so I sent them to Beverly for sharpening. Blasted and repainted the rest, and mounted it to an old cast iron cream separator stand. Been working great ever since.

 

10 years ago, I bought one at an auction for 10 bucks, sold it for &75. thought I did great

 

I've watched that! I wont be polishing my bolts but mine will get a nice restoration. I think the reason he doesnt talk is he is in europe and he is trying to appeal to a worldwide audience. I agree, soothing.

Wow!!

Unreal... I have learned similar lessons about seeing what Im buying first. That sounds painful

 

While not a Beverly shear, I have this old Hercules shear that’s mounted on an old pickup spare tire carrier. Works pretty good, although not good for curves. Seen one just like it last year at a local swap meet.

 

He's Swiss. In some of his newer videos he does talk, he is pretty fluent in English but that doesn't really matter - in general I prefer how-to videos that don't have sound anyway.

 

I have a B-3.

Probably the most used cutting tool in the shop.

 

Fellow HAMBER has one that I used years ago to cut kitchen cabinet hinges narrower for a custom kitchen project, perfect tool for the job. I'd like to find one at a bargain price.

 

That things AWESOME!!

That makes sense, I definitely sometimes prefer them silent

Mayne someday Ill get a b3 as well. I believe there were two models made in 1936 and mine is the smaller one (more like a b2)

It happens, gotta be right on top of it like Scott was

 

Just finished watching the restoration video, nicely done. Oliver, I forgot to say Thank You for starting this thread, the Hamb had a lot more like it years ago, sharing the thrill of someone's find is almost as good as finding something yourself.
Bob