would a dremel melt the inside of housings if I grind the ends with it?

[jp!]

I had the same question as well. I've seen it done with a hand file before but don't have one handy.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by Ronsonic

I once had a dremel cut-off wheel snag a strand of compressionless housing - caught that and just shredded the thing. Wadded about ten inches of it into an impossible snarl before I could get the thing stopped.

The Dremel is a tool that I mostly reserve as a last-ditch use, save for those few special applications like cutting bolts off from within a the door of my Lincoln Town Car, where no other tool could possibly work.
In this case, it saved me from having to remove three windows just to replace the window regulator cable/motor assemblies.

But Dremels used with the metal cutoff wheel are extremely dangerous in the hands of the less-seasoned mechanic or machinist. I've heard of digit loss and myself cut open the tip of a pinky while merely trying to modify a small piece of plastic that was used to hold a wiper blade to a wiper arm.
No, I didn't think that anyone would use the metal wheel to cut a cable housing, but I was wondering how else would the cable housing get wrapped up in the spindle?

Also, there are carbide cutters for Dremels which can emit a shower of tiny, razor-sharp needles which becomes a virtual haz-mat cleanup lest one leaves them to embed in fingers, clothing, eyes or feet.

A lot of possible applications for Dremel tools are more easily, safely, quickly and economically done with non-powered tools, which I usually reach for first.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by dddd

...

A lot of possible applications for Dremel tools are more easily, safely, quickly and economically done with non-powered tools, which I usually reach for first.

Same. If the cut isn't clean from the cable cutter (Park), I just use a tiny diagonal plier and a file to clean it up, followed by whatever awl/toothpick/little pointy thing is available to round out any pinched teflon liner. Takes all of 40 seconds.

[martl]

Originally Posted by zmalwo

I've read that people use dremels to clean up housing ends after cuts, would that melt the inside of housings? back when I first started building bikes I wrongly bought a dremel mini saw instead of a grinder and it would melt the teflon insides when I cut them. years later I learned that I bought the wrong tool. What other ways do I have to clean up housing ends?

Done it a lot of times, both cable housings and cables. Never melted anything. Advantage is, nothing gets squeezed. Disadvantage is the hassle of setting up the dremel and finding the right angle so that the precious paintjob of the frame doesn't get a spark shower.
This is why i got a good cutter...

[MikeD]

I could see cutting brake cable housing with a Dremel or die grinder, but not shift cable housing. The latter only needs to have the liner opened up with an awl after the cut with a proper cable housing cutter.

I've used a Dremel and the problem is getting a straight cut. I guess some people are better than me at getting a 90 degree cut.

[Road Fan]

Originally Posted by dddd

The Dremel is a tool that I mostly reserve as a last-ditch use, save for those few special applications like cutting bolts off from within a the door of my Lincoln Town Car, where no other tool could possibly work.
In this case, it saved me from having to remove three windows just to replace the window regulator cable/motor assemblies.

But Dremels used with the metal cutoff wheel are extremely dangerous in the hands of the less-seasoned mechanic or machinist. I've heard of digit loss and myself cut open the tip of a pinky while merely trying to modify a small piece of plastic that was used to hold a wiper blade to a wiper arm.
No, I didn't think that anyone would use the metal wheel to cut a cable housing, but I was wondering how else would the cable housing get wrapped up in the spindle?

Also, there are carbide cutters for Dremels which can emit a shower of tiny, razor-sharp needles which becomes a virtual haz-mat cleanup lest one leaves them to embed in fingers, clothing, eyes or feet.

A lot of possible applications for Dremel tools are more easily, safely, quickly and economically done with non-powered tools, which I usually reach for first.

I had not imagined such a rogue's gallery of negative effects of a Dremel, but I nevertheless always use a Park cable-cutter to cut a housing, then use a file to dress the end smooth and perpendicular with the cable pull direction. I guess my reason is to maintain the strength of my fingers after my recovery from a broken wrist, and simply to avoid noise solutions when I don't need speed. And, I have seen inner plastic linings needing to be punched open after that heat is applied. Maintaining the file so it stays sharp is a knowledge gap, for me.

I also have not been able to find a rotary metal cutting saw blade made of steel. I have a package of cutoff wheels, but I don't like the fact that they wear away as they are used.

[Road Fan]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Same. If the cut isn't clean from the cable cutter (Park), I just use a tiny diagonal plier and a file to clean it up, followed by whatever awl/toothpick/little pointy thing is available to round out any pinched teflon liner. Takes all of 40 seconds.

For me 40s is an optimistic claim.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by Road Fan

...I also have not been able to find a rotary metal cutting saw blade made of steel. I have a package of cutoff wheels, but I don't like the fact that they wear away as they are used.

I seem to recall that the metal saw blade was removed from the market because of safety concerns, something about the disc breaking free from it's mounting on the arbor due to fatigue in the disc itself.

But they were plenty dangerous as well for their ability to grab the work if the blade so much as tilted slightly in the slot it is cutting, exactly what happened to me when it suddenly grabbed the piece of plastic I was holding.
It takes two firm hands on the tool to prevent any tilt from becoming instantly self-energizing, resulting in the dreaded violent grab with the tool then likely twisting out of one's hand with the sharp saw blade still spinning.

The stone wafer discs are deemed safe because of their relative inability to generate grabbing force without shattering, which is why they come in like a 25-pack. They force the operator to use the sort of delicate control that people should have been using with the metal blades(!), but aren't quite a replacement for all of the uses one might have had for the metal blade.