The best cable housing cutters

[Ginger]

I've been doing a bit of bike building lately and I have a very nice set of cable/housing cutters and they work, but I'm thinking there's something out there that does a neater job on brake housing. I'm even contemplating using my dremel tool with a cutoff wheel...

So...those of you who do their own wrenching...

Point me to the best cable housing cutters that do the neatest job. What do you have that works.

Thanks!

Mary Ann

[zap]

dremel.

[Kevan]

I'm not dazzled. The Dremel might be a very good suggestion. Sheldon suggests using a grinding wheel to remove any burr.

I suggest you hold onto those bits of leftover brake cable and stick them into the housing where you're about to cut. Typically, you can use the cable you're running through the housing, but the brake cable, being heavier gauge, helps where the shifter lines run.

I haven't resorted to grinding or dremeling (?), but have had to recut.

[oldguy00]

I found that leaving a cable inside the housing just made it near impossible to cut, and I still had the stupid little 'burr' left sticking inward on the housing. I gave up and used a dremel. Pain in the ***, but works a little better than cutters.
What do the shops do?? I've never seen a dremel tool in any LBS I've been into. How do they get rid of the little burr after they cut??

[Richard]

This may be inelegant, but I use a piece of a spoke gtound on a wheel to a sharp point. I push it into the housing and manipulate the burr till its smoothed out.

[guyintense]

I've been doing a bit of bike building lately and I have a very nice set of cable/housing cutters and they work, but I'm thinking there's something out there that does a neater job on brake housing. I'm even contemplating using my dremel tool with a cutoff wheel...

So...those of you who do their own wrenching...

Point me to the best cable housing cutters that do the neatest job. What do you have that works.

Thanks!

Mary Ann

I really like the SHIMANO TL-CT10 CABLE CUTTER.
I guess the dremel would work OK but I'd make a fixture to hold the cable. Maybe just a small cable sized hole drilled into a piece of wood. Those dremel tools are dangerous!

[11.4]

The small Felco cable cutters. These are sold at West Marine (including on-line) at very nice prices and are the best cutters out there. They're popular for cutting standing stainless rigging on one-design sailboats so for cables and housing, they're a snap.

You still get a small tweak at the end of the spiral brake cable housing when you cut it, regardless of the cutter used. I just have a 6" flat bastard file and file it off in ten seconds so it's perfectly flat and square.

[woolly]

dremel.

+1

[Louis]

Cutoff wheel on the PTO of my bench grinder works well for me.

[lemondsteel]

I always use a Dremel tool with medium cut off wheel. It will still leave a smal burr that is removed with a small round pointed file you and get at hobby shops. Inserts into the cable end and a few revolutions and it's slicker than.............

[thwart]

Hey, I've just used a Nashbar cable cutting tool (cheap and seems to work quite well); always turns out better if I can cut with some tension on the cable or housing. Then I use a long but narrow wood screw---by hand---to open the slightly crushed housing end completely (this is clearly even less elegant than a sharpened spoke...). A dab of grease on the tip of the freshly cut cable facilitates its easy passage through the housing. If I remember... I wipe down the exposed cable when I'm done so it doesn't collect dirt.

Never had any trouble, and I've built up too many bikes. :D

[SPOKE]

for brake cable housing i use a very good quality pair of diagnal style cutters. once you get it snipped then a fine pitch file can be used to make the end flat and remover the burr. the easier way is to just bump the fresh cut end onto the side face of a grinding wheel on a bench top grinder.
for derailleur cables i use a specially designed pair of cutters designed to cut wire rope. these cutters give a pretty clean edge and don't crush the housing out of shape. i'll then make the end flat on the grinding wheel.
if you need a bench top grinder and don't want to spend a bunch of $$ check out Northern Tool and Equipment. i just bought a bench top 6" grinder for about $40. it came with two grinding wheels ready for use.

[rePhil]

Depending on my mood either one works.Felco's can be hard to find but I would go out of my way to find another pair. I have a little deburring reamer that I got from Loose Screws for opening the hole. I also kept the end of a Campy cable which is pointed as well as a Scriber awl, again depending on my mood.

[Too Tall]

A 1962 Chevy Suburban big block.

Now that's a tool.

[atmo]

http://exophrenia.typepad.com/exophrenia/images/cableguy.jpg

[ergott]

The small Felco cable cutters. These are sold at West Marine (including on-line) at very nice prices and are the best cutters out there. They're popular for cutting standing stainless rigging on one-design sailboats so for cables and housing, they're a snap.

You still get a small tweak at the end of the spiral brake cable housing when you cut it, regardless of the cutter used. I just have a 6" flat bastard file and file it off in ten seconds so it's perfectly flat and square.


Who you callin a flat bastard?

Ditto Felco.

[davyt]

Just send the cable housing(s) to atmo: he'll trim them using his torch which leaves no burrs and actually cauterizes the ends, resulting in a feel at the controls which is sublime.

Of course, there is that five-year wait thing to contend with...
--
Davy

[Tom]

Nobody's suggested a Sawzall?

[Ginger]

.

[Ginger]

Nobody's suggested a Sawzall?

A sawzall works well at high speed with a really fine blade... and you have to have a pretty decent vice...but it's such a hassle...a bit out of scale for the cable housing...if you're not careful, there's a big ole burr issue too... :D
If ya do it wrong it sorta looks like a rat knawed it..

I was looking for a more elegant solution.

:)

[Kevan]

then this too will shorten the cable:

http://www.webomatica.com/images/blog/goldfinger_lg.jpg

[Tom]

Aw, you're no fun.

[pdxmech13]

I use a channellock 7"end cutter for brake housing everyday
and for sis housing and cables I like Felco C-7 cable cutter.

[thwart]

then this too will shorten the cable: James Bond laser shot

I don't think I've ever heard of that part of one's anatomy referred to as a "cable"... :cool:

[Bill Bove]

I've had a pair of Felco's for about ten years now, cut spokes, cables and the cat's claws with them. To clean up the burr I'll either dab it with a file, touch it to the bench grinder or just snip it with the Felco's again and stick a dental pick into it, depending on whose bike I'm working on. My own gets the pick but those fussy guys paying my rent get the file. Picky basterdo's.

[handsomerob]

I have a Park housing cutter that I like to use for cutting the actual cables and sometimes derailleur housing, but I use my dremel with a cut off wheel for the brake housing.

FYI, derailleur housing normally has a serious of small cable wires under the plastic exterior which don't "crimp" when cut and brake housing normally has a hollowed metal "sheath" under the housing which makes it tough to cut cleanly without a burr.

If I am recableling the whole bike I will get the dremel out for everything.


Also, as a rule I will stick a piece of cable in the end that isn't getting cut to thread through directly after using my dremel to avoid having any of the heated/melted plastic from the housing get in the cable hole. If you wait more than a few seconds it could solidify in the path and not be as smooth.

[peter weigle]

[QUOTE=handsomerob] snipped'
Also, as a rule I will stick a piece of cable in the end that isn't getting cut to thread through directly after using my dremel to avoid having any of the heated/melted plastic from the housing get in the cable hole.

cause I'm a framebuilder and don't know any better,,,,
For brake and ergo housing I slide a piece of 1/8th " brazing rod in the outer housing just past the point of the cut, then cut with my felcos. This prevents the strands from getting out of shape and keeps the inner lining clear. After I cut, I "whip" the housing in the air and the short piece of brass flies out!
If this sounds exciting to you give it a try,,nothing like that sound,,,whip, whip........whi................

[Ginger]

Did yer mom tell ya Yer gonna put an eye out that way....

but it sounds like it'll work just fine.

Not that I have a lot of brazing rod laying around, but I'll find something that'll work.

(I tried the Dremel tool cutoff thing last night...didn't like the results so well.)

[chrisroph]

park cutters, square off the end and grind off any burr with a dremel grinding attachment, and then if necessary open up the plastic liner with a very small nail. I always grease the inner cable when I'm doing the assembly.

[peter weigle]

[QUOTE=Ginger]Did yer mom tell ya Yer gonna put an eye out that way....
but it sounds like it'll work just fine.

Ginger,
Mom did tell me but I can't get that sound outa my head,,,
BTW, the rod should be 1/16" not 1/8th as stated before,, and its brass, so it cuts easily,,,could be silver for the big spenders.

[Kevan]

Look no further, this pain in the neck task has been solved once and for all...
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http://www.kottke.org/plus/photos/200107uk/choppingblock.jpg

[11.4]

Mom did tell me but I can't get that sound outa my head,,,
BTW, the rod should be 1/16" not 1/8th as stated before,, and its brass, so it cuts easily,,,could be silver for the big spenders.

Another addition in the book of reasons why wait times are so long for some of the best builders.

Peter, remember the lesson of Mario Confente: OSHA tries to save the lives of suicidal framebuilders.

[d_douglas]

I have shred my hands on needle nosed pliers with a cutting edge for a decade and then finally I shelled out the $25 on a set of cutters. The first cut of brake cable housing last week was a revelation! No pain, no crushing force, no mangled housing end.

How did I live this long without one??

[Vancouverdave]

I use two--Felco (another vote here) for indexed derailleur cable housing, and linemans' pliers with a cutting jaw for brake housing. I clean up the ends of brake housing either with a flat 2nd cut file or with a 1" belt sander. I reopen the liner in derialleur housing with a pushpin from the bulletin board. Felco cutters will have the least ovalling effect on derailleur cable housing of any cutters made. I baby mine; they're never used to cut inner wires or brake cable housing.

[Ginger]

Push pin? I've decided guys are pretty dainty when it comes to opening up that plastic again...

I use a scratch awl. Quick and it rerounds anything that got misshapen when it was cut...

[Too Tall]

[QUOTE=handsomerob] snipped'
Also, as a rule I will stick a piece of cable in the end that isn't getting cut to thread through directly after using my dremel to avoid having any of the heated/melted plastic from the housing get in the cable hole.

cause I'm a framebuilder and don't know any better,,,,
For brake and ergo housing I slide a piece of 1/8th " brazing rod in the outer housing just past the point of the cut, then cut with my felcos. This prevents the strands from getting out of shape and keeps the inner lining clear. After I cut, I "whip" the housing in the air and the short piece of brass flies out!
If this sounds exciting to you give it a try,,nothing like that sound,,,whip, whip........whi................


Boring...sigh. Use your air compressor to shoot the pellet out at a target. We are free thinking here right?

[11.4]

Boring...sigh. Use your air compressor to shoot the pellet out at a target. We are free thinking here right?

Please don't arm the framebuilders.

[sspielman]

[QUOTE=Ginger],could be silver for the big spenders.

...I am waiting for "Grey Poupon" to weigh in here....

[sspielman]

back on topic(!).....I have a set of Var cutters that do an excellent job with cables and shifter housing...and are okay with brake housing. They are probably no better than the Felco's, but they say "VAR" on them, so I am hoping to score some style points with the mink and manure crowd.....

[Too Tall]

Somebody tell me how this thread got so lon.....oh my bad.

[AgilisMerlin]

park,

don't drop em' on your toe. Don't ask

[Steve Hampsten]

back on topic(!).....I have a set of Var cutters that do an excellent job with cables and shifter housing...and are okay with brake housing. They are probably no better than the Felco's, but they say "VAR" on them, so I am hoping to score some style points with the mink and manure crowd.....

i heart var:

goofy - yes

french - yes

but oh-so-effective

(and what's wrong with manure?)

[guyintense]

Here's all you need. One for the outer, one for the inner, and last but not least the special tool I'm sure you'll find in all the top wrenches tool box.