Cable/casing cutter?
#26
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I use some basic wire cutters for slicing housing and a separate wire-cutting tool for cutting cables. The key to longevity of the latter is to only use it for cutting cables.
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I've always used a Dremel cutoff and bench grinder to clean the edge of the casing and one of a couple smaller nails to clean the opening..
However, I recently bought a pair of Hozan C-217 after reading so many people here swear they'll cut evenly. I found that on at least 50% of cuts I don't need to clean up after. Amazon has them for ~$32 right now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OFW5Q6
Two other things to say: One, I've only used the Hozans on a couple dozen bikes at this point, so my long-term feedback is limited. Two, I hear the vintage VAR cutters also will cut as cleanly as the Hozans. I just haven't managed to snag a pair at a reasonable price yet to confirm.
However, I recently bought a pair of Hozan C-217 after reading so many people here swear they'll cut evenly. I found that on at least 50% of cuts I don't need to clean up after. Amazon has them for ~$32 right now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OFW5Q6
Two other things to say: One, I've only used the Hozans on a couple dozen bikes at this point, so my long-term feedback is limited. Two, I hear the vintage VAR cutters also will cut as cleanly as the Hozans. I just haven't managed to snag a pair at a reasonable price yet to confirm.
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At home I have the Felco and at work I don't recall if they're old VAR or Shimano. Both work fine.
Grind/file housings and poke with a pointy tool/nail whatever's handy
The Felco are not used exclusively on bikes. I have a roll of SS cable to make things like lanyards for hitch pins or hangers for bird feeders etc.
Grind/file housings and poke with a pointy tool/nail whatever's handy
The Felco are not used exclusively on bikes. I have a roll of SS cable to make things like lanyards for hitch pins or hangers for bird feeders etc.
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How are you guys who use grinding methods to cut and/or square the ends of the housing getting the grit storm out of your cable housings?
Especially with the better housings being pre-lubricated, you wouldn't want to just blast any aerosol cleaner through and wash out the special silicone/teflon lubrication.
The millions of grit dust particles from cutting I imagine would easily simulate perhaps thousands of miles of typical use/ageing by contamination.
Especially with the better housings being pre-lubricated, you wouldn't want to just blast any aerosol cleaner through and wash out the special silicone/teflon lubrication.
The millions of grit dust particles from cutting I imagine would easily simulate perhaps thousands of miles of typical use/ageing by contamination.
"Even when the housing is cut cleanly, the end is not square and perpendicular, due to the pitch of the helix. Careful mechanics will grind or file the end of the housing so that it is flat and flush. The best tool for this is a grinding wheel, but it can be done with a file if you don't have access to a grinding wheel.When you cut the housing, the end of the plastic liner also gets cut, and often gets squashed flat. You can use a scriber or a sharp awl to open it up and round it out. If you use a grinding wheel to dress the end of the housing, have your scriber right at hand so that you can open up the plastic liner immediately after grinding. The heat from the grinding will partially melt the liner. By sticking the scriber in before the liner cools off, you can not only round out the end, but the shape of the scriber will actually flare the end a bit for a smoother transition." - Sheldon Brown
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I use Jagwire cutters for gear and brake cables and housing. The housing I always cut with a piece of old cable in the canal. That keeps it from getting mashed. Smooth the ends with a file and I use a pick from a walnut cracker set to make sure the canal is open and round.
"The housing I always cut with a piece of old cable in the canal. That keeps it from getting mashed."
My cutter is a 25 year old Shimano that still cuts cleanly.
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#32
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Used to be an electrician. Still have most of my handtools. This one cuts through cable housing like butter. Then, use an ice pick to open up hole at end. Klien makes good stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/Leverage-Comm...03161356&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Leverage-Comm...03161356&psc=1
#33
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Knipex ****s were my favorite tool for cutting cables, old school coiled housing, and spokes BITD.
Edit: apparently the common term for diagonal cutters is banned... I'd like to add that those Hozan cutters look very tempting. Anyone using them on shift housing? Can they cut it cleanly? I don't have much experience with newer bicycle specific housing cutters. I was always somewhat annoyed by the special Shimano cutters we were obligated to use when digital shifting came out.
Edit: apparently the common term for diagonal cutters is banned... I'd like to add that those Hozan cutters look very tempting. Anyone using them on shift housing? Can they cut it cleanly? I don't have much experience with newer bicycle specific housing cutters. I was always somewhat annoyed by the special Shimano cutters we were obligated to use when digital shifting came out.
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Someone should post a thread in the User Assistance forum. I would, but I don't know the word.
https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sug...er-assistance/
https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sug...er-assistance/
I think the use of such a word for diagonal cutters is quite regional. I never heard it in Minnesota where I grew up, but in New England it seems pretty common. I have a friend from Kansas City who says his dad used the word, but when he moved to California nobody knew what he was saying.
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#35
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The word in question is a different way to spell the word for an embankment that holds water out of the Netherlands. It is an adaptation of "diag" which is short for the "diagonal" in "diagonal cutters". (wikipedia)
I think the use of such a word for diagonal cutters is quite regional. I never heard it in Minnesota where I grew up, but in New England it seems pretty common. I have a friend from Kansas City who says his dad used the word, but when he moved to California nobody knew what he was saying.
I think the use of such a word for diagonal cutters is quite regional. I never heard it in Minnesota where I grew up, but in New England it seems pretty common. I have a friend from Kansas City who says his dad used the word, but when he moved to California nobody knew what he was saying.
I've heard them referred to as such- but not popular usage around here.
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#36
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Haven't experienced anything that indicates deterioration due to grinding the ends, or cutting with a Dremel. It doesn't concern me, and if it was good enough for Sheldon, it's good enough for me.
"Even when the housing is cut cleanly, the end is not square and perpendicular, due to the pitch of the helix. Careful mechanics will grind or file the end of the housing so that it is flat and flush. The best tool for this is a grinding wheel, but it can be done with a file if you don't have access to a grinding wheel.When you cut the housing, the end of the plastic liner also gets cut, and often gets squashed flat. You can use a scriber or a sharp awl to open it up and round it out. If you use a grinding wheel to dress the end of the housing, have your scriber right at hand so that you can open up the plastic liner immediately after grinding. The heat from the grinding will partially melt the liner. By sticking the scriber in before the liner cools off, you can not only round out the end, but the shape of the scriber will actually flare the end a bit for a smoother transition." - Sheldon Brown
"Even when the housing is cut cleanly, the end is not square and perpendicular, due to the pitch of the helix. Careful mechanics will grind or file the end of the housing so that it is flat and flush. The best tool for this is a grinding wheel, but it can be done with a file if you don't have access to a grinding wheel.When you cut the housing, the end of the plastic liner also gets cut, and often gets squashed flat. You can use a scriber or a sharp awl to open it up and round it out. If you use a grinding wheel to dress the end of the housing, have your scriber right at hand so that you can open up the plastic liner immediately after grinding. The heat from the grinding will partially melt the liner. By sticking the scriber in before the liner cools off, you can not only round out the end, but the shape of the scriber will actually flare the end a bit for a smoother transition." - Sheldon Brown
No worries, I was just asking. And I did (long ago) try cutting a few housings using a Dremel with the thin wheel. I myself would then dip the end of the housing into a tiny jar of solvent, and literally watch the grit storm fall out where it then sank in the cup. This was before the days of pre-lubricated housing though.
In most cases I was re-using discarded housing anyway, so I developed a method of scrubbing out the old housings using a bent-up piece of cable wire with ptfe spray , then spraying it out yet a second time with the dry-lube ptfe solvent spray, and finally blasting it out with compressed air. I then apply Grip-Shift Jonnisnot ptfe/teflon cable grease to the inner wire upon installation. Almost as much effort as cutting a piece of housing to length using the dremel!
This was all by trial and error you could say, worked good enough (as in "wow, that's smooth!") that I still often do the same today.
Poor 1st cut:
Better first cut:
After second cut:
I don't notice any improvement in braking when I follow a second cut with a bit of filing (done with the housing end pointed down).
Where there is not much length of ferrule, the slight tilt of an un-finished end might, might, slightly improve aesthetic entry angle in a few rare instances, but I wouldn't waste much time on it since it might as likely slightly improve the entry angle (where the cable perhaps curves to the side anyhow?).
But yeah, it sometimes just feels good to accurately square the end of the housing, so if the grinder (and a tin of solvent!) are actually at hand (mine is unfortunately way down in the defined "dirty" half of my basement workshop), then why not go for it!
(Well, it did look this clean six years ago, shown here maybe a couple of weeks after I built it)
Interesting BEFORE/AFTER, this is about how it normally looks six years later:
Last edited by dddd; 02-09-20 at 06:25 PM.
#38
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Someone should post a thread in the User Assistance forum. I would, but I don't know the word.
https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sug...er-assistance/
https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sug...er-assistance/
Bill
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#39
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The word in question is a different way to spell the word for an embankment that holds water out of the Netherlands. It is an adaptation of "diag" which is short for the "diagonal" in "diagonal cutters". (wikipedia)
I think the use of such a word for diagonal cutters is quite regional. I never heard it in Minnesota where I grew up, but in New England it seems pretty common. I have a friend from Kansas City who says his dad used the word, but when he moved to California nobody knew what he was saying.
I think the use of such a word for diagonal cutters is quite regional. I never heard it in Minnesota where I grew up, but in New England it seems pretty common. I have a friend from Kansas City who says his dad used the word, but when he moved to California nobody knew what he was saying.
#40
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My Old Man was the UP of Michigan, did time in the USN as diesel engineman from 48-52, and took jobs as a machinist in Wisconsin while on college (UW) summer breaks. He always referred to them as 'ikes' with a d in front . How's that one?? Or better yet -- 'rhymes with bikes' )
#41
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Dad is retired USN airplane mechanic. Always called diagonals "dikes" (with a Y) and linemans pliers "kleins". He was born in the 'deep south', so not sure where he got it from.
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#42
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Always called them wire cutters myself, though today I probably use them on zip-ties as much as anything.
#44
elcraft
These work amazingly well at an astonishing price:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...0127/300513196
I always use a cut off disc with a Demel style tool to finish of the cable housing ends; especially after curving the cable housing on the compressionless style "SIS" derailleur cable housing at the chainstay cable stop to derailleur body section- eliminates any play for crisp, precise indexed shifting.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...0127/300513196
I always use a cut off disc with a Demel style tool to finish of the cable housing ends; especially after curving the cable housing on the compressionless style "SIS" derailleur cable housing at the chainstay cable stop to derailleur body section- eliminates any play for crisp, precise indexed shifting.
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#45
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I too am astonished at how cheap that tools can be these days. And a lot of these things are made of great materials on sophisticated mass-production lines.
It does also sort of shock me how little of the stuff we buy is made in the US these days.
It does also sort of shock me how little of the stuff we buy is made in the US these days.
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#46
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I use a Shimano cable cutter for both cable and housing, a few file strokes on the housing then stick a pokey tool into the housing. (Pokey tool - simply a sharpened spoke with the other end bent into a handle. Name is universal throughout the Portland bike scene. Very useful tool.
Ben
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#47
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Ok, thanks for all the replies, I reviewed what was available and ordered a felco knock off.
The first test cuts were quite impressive, so I will have to see how long they last.
This is the first set I bought, and to paraphrase Mr Hambini these are utter shyte.
This set, from Amazon works very well. Appears to be a Felco copy, identical to the Pedros except for the colour.
B
The first test cuts were quite impressive, so I will have to see how long they last.
This is the first set I bought, and to paraphrase Mr Hambini these are utter shyte.
This set, from Amazon works very well. Appears to be a Felco copy, identical to the Pedros except for the colour.
B
#48
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After the first cut if there's a small jagged piece on the brake housing I just turn the cutters and sort of nip it off, and use a niny philips to open the end.
#49
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These are a generic, bicycle-specific cutter, sold under many brand names and so with different colored handles.
They are the best I have ever used, going on decades here!
They are the best I have ever used, going on decades here!
#50
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Sorry, not a fan of riveted tool heads like the last couple. Makes me happy with my Park CN-10 purchase.