Cutting Spokes

[irideti]

What's the right procedure and tool for cutting spokes? Any safety advise? I'm planning to send hubs back to Chris King before giving them to my wheel builder.

[kiwisimon]

standard cheap home center pliers works for me. But usually I unwind the nipples and save everything

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by irideti

What's the right procedure and tool for cutting spokes? Any safety advise? I'm planning to send hubs back to Chris King before giving them to my wheel builder.

The sudden tension release when a spoke is cut may cause the end with the nipple to shoot out of the rim. So don't remove the rim tape until after the spokes are cut to prevent them from shooting out, and make sure the nipple end of the spoke isn't pointed toward your face (or any other sensitive areas) when you cut each spoke.

[steelbikerider]

Loosen spokes a couple of full turns then cut

[bigbill]

De-tension the wheel before you cut spokes. Even better, disassemble the wheel completely. I've seen hub flanges crack when someone starting cutting spokes on a tensioned wheel.