Abstract: An indexable piercing tip mounts to a nose portion of one of the jaws of a heavy-duty demolition shears so as to enclose and protect top, bottom, front, and two opposing side surfaces of the nose portion during use of the shears. The piercing tip has a first operative position in which a first set of piercing and shearing edges of the piercing tip are presented for use. When the first set gets dull or worn, the piercing tip can be rotated/indexed 180° degrees so as to present a second set of piercing and shearing edges of the piercing tip for use.

Abstract: Heavy-duty material processors (e.g., shears, concrete crushers) include a jaw that pivotally connects to another jaw. A hydraulic cylinder extends between the jaws to open and close the jaws in a shearing motion. Cutting/shearing/crushing blade inserts mount to detachable blade holders, which in turn mount to one of the jaws. Wedge blocks securely and detachably attach the blade inserts to the remainder of their associated jaw, and rely on force-amplifying wedge surfaces to ensure a secure attachment. The detachable blade holders may include lateral flanges that extend across an otherwise exposed face of their respective underlying jaw bodies to protect the jaw bodies during use. A blade on one of the jaws is laterally adjustable, which helps to free a jam if one of the jaws gets jammed into the space between blades in the other jaw.

Abstract: Heavy-duty material processors (e.g., shears, concrete crushers) include a jaw that pivotally connects to another jaw. A hydraulic cylinder extends between the jaws to open and close the jaws in a shearing motion. Cutting/shearing/crushing blade inserts mount to detachable blade holders, which in turn mount to one of the jaws. Wedge blocks securely and detachably attach the blade inserts to the remainder of their associated jaw, and rely on force-amplifying wedge surfaces to ensure a secure attachment. The detachable blade holders may include lateral flanges that extend across an otherwise exposed face of their respective underlying jaw bodies to protect the jaw bodies during use. A blade on one of the jaws is laterally adjustable, which helps to free a jam if one of the jaws gets jammed into the space between blades in the other jaw.

Abstract: Heavy-duty material processors (e.g., shears, concrete crushers) include a jaw that pivotally connects to another jaw. A hydraulic cylinder extends between the jaws to open and close the jaws in a shearing motion. Cutting/shearing/crushing blade inserts mount to detachable blade holders, which in turn mount to one of the jaws. Wedge blocks securely and detachably attach the blade inserts to the remainder of their associated jaw, and rely on force-amplifying wedge surfaces to ensure a secure attachment. The detachable blade holders may include lateral flanges that extend across an otherwise exposed face of their respective underlying jaw bodies to protect the jaw bodies during use. A blade on one of the jaws is laterally adjustable, which helps to free a jam if one of the jaws gets jammed into the space between blades in the other jaw.

Abstract: A heavy-duty material processing shears includes pivotally connected jaws and a hydraulic cylinder operatively extending between the jaws to open and close the jaws. One of the jaws includes a cutting blade with a substantially convex cutting edge. The cutting blade's surfaces intersect at an acute angle to define the cutting edge. The cutting blade's shape enables it to efficiently pierce and cut through large diameter structures such as conductor pipes. The other jaw includes a substantially concave portion that cradles the work piece. The shears include various features that facilitate subsea or above-water use of the shears to cut portions of a decommissioned oil platform.