They are generally used to cut ferrous members, such as rebar, pipe, angle iron, or I-beams.
When actuated, the piston arm extends and slowly closes the upper jaw of the alligator shear, which passes alongside the bed or lower jaw of the shear to perform the cut.
Federal OSHA and various state OSHA programs have requirements for guarding alligator shears, and newly manufactured alligator shears are provided with guards that adjust to the size of the stock or scrap being cut.
In an interpretive letter dated June 24, 1981, Federal OSHA discussed the guarding dilemma presented by the alligator shear.
In instances where the shear is exclusively used for routine cuts on standardized stock, safeguarding of the point of operation is definable.