Bowden cable cutter recommendation?

[1969Mk3Spitfire]

Calling upon forum knowledge and experience, can anyone recommend a Bowden cable cutter? Happy to pay enough to ensure a clean cut with no frayed ends.

Many thanks

[Ian Faulds]

Maybe be best to use a thin slitting wheel on a grinder.

[Peter Truman]

I think nowadays the multi stranded inner Bowden cable are stainless so cannot be soldered but somewhere/someone told me to superglue the cable where you cut it to stop it fraying. Haven't tried it myself

[1969Mk3Spitfire]

23 minutes ago, Peter Truman said:

I think nowadays the multi stranded inner Bowden cable are stainless so cannot be soldered but somewhere/someone told me to superglue the cable where you cut it to stop it fraying. Haven't tried it myself

It’s for a bonnet catch. There’s a kink in the cable about 10mm before the nipple and one or two strands have now broken. I tried to solder it, for added strength as a temporary measure, just yesterday but failed miserably. Perhaps it’s Stainless as you suggest (1990 Ford). Using superglue on a new cable, when I get one, sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

[Pete Lewis]

i would just replace with bike brake cable and solder less  nipples  

Pete

[1969Mk3Spitfire]

17 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

i would just replace with bike brake cable and solder less  nipples  

Pete

That’s what I’m planning to do, Pete, but I’ll need to cut the excess and I’d much prefer a neat cut. I’ll probably finish with heat shrink, too. Those gremlin creatures may otherwise take pleasure in unwinding the end, just to annoy me.

[Pete Lewis]

on some they fitted a small brass thin walled tube crimped on the cable end to stop fraying 

how about a dremmel disc ??    or grip in a clamp so a junior hacksaw can cut without fretting the cable into a frayed mess

Pete

[1969Mk3Spitfire]

I have a Dremel so that is an option.

Tried the vice and hacksaw method in years gone by but never had success, always ended in tears.

I installed a Battery Monitor on boat domestic bank, 440 Ah, and needed to make some patch leads using 125 mm2 cable. I bought a huge cable cutter for the job and it worked a treat. Very clean cuts. Hence I’d like to buy one for Bowden size. I may go and look at both Halfords and Decathlon own-brands.

[rlubikey]

6 hours ago, 1969Mk3Spitfire said:

recommend a Bowden cable cutter?

Bike shops have these cutters. I have the Park Tool cable cutter which makes a nice clean cut on the inner cable but the jaws are a bit small to easily cut the spiral outer of the Bowden. The one on their web site looks different to mine which is 20 years old or more. Maybe they've improved the jaw size?

I've recently bought another one labelled "Torque" (with an open-ended spanner emerging from the "e") which seems to be a brand of Oxford bike products. This cutter also makes clean cuts like the Park Tool but the jaws are much bigger (about 6mm or 1/4") so it's easier to cut the outer as well. I've only had it for a year or two and done several cuts, but it shows no sign of wear. Here it is on Oxford's web site, and I would think you should find it in many local bike shops.

I see that on, in my view, cycling's equivalent of Canleys/Moss/Wittor/etc. that there are three brands of cutters made to the same design as the Oxford one!

Cheers, Richard

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by rlubikey

[Pete Lewis]

last used in Stalag Luft 3 

they look the part , one of those tools you rarely use but  just pleased you have one 

Pete

[Wagger]

I don't get why stainless cables have come into use. They still need lubrication and stainless is not as strong as good steel cable. Sticking the end in 'Bakers fluid' then tinning it always worked for me before cutting with any good wire cutter or hacksaw.

Would like to see that tool with the jaws 'Open' though. Does the profile resemble dog claw clippers?

[PeteH]

2 hours ago, Wagger said:

'Bakers fluid'

Have`nt heard that in years. Father used "sprit of Salts" (Hydrocloric acid) when soldering, needed to "passiffy" afterwards though. I have about 1/2 Gallon which I used to clean Brickwork.

Pete

[Wagger]

25 minutes ago, PeteH said:

Have`nt heard that in years. Father used "sprit of Salts" (Hydrocloric acid) when soldering, needed to "passiffy" afterwards though. I have about 1/2 Gallon which I used to clean Brickwork.

Pete

It is still available containing Zinc Chloride. Also found in old Zinc Carbon batteries. (Salamomiac). Best washed off after soldering.

My concern over stainless is that it still 'Rusts' when in water and in contact with another piece of stainless. It is an alloy so forms 'Anodes and Cathodes' when water is present.

[Peter Truman]

Bakers Fluid still available at Bunnings here and electronic's shops 

See my attempt to solder the plastic lid, had to happen!

[PeteH]

9 hours ago, Wagger said:

It is still available containing Zinc Chloride. Also found in old Zinc Carbon batteries. (Salamomiac). Best washed off after soldering.

My concern over stainless is that it still 'Rusts' when in water and in contact with another piece of stainless. It is an alloy so forms 'Anodes and Cathodes' when water is present.

There is a lot of "misinformation" about stainless steels. The "usability" of which is dependant upon it`s grade. Some are highly resistant to corrosion with a tendacy toward brittleness, other`s are more tolerant, but less resitant to chlorines. Something we "discovered" in the post Leigoninella days back in the 80`s. When components in Air Con and similar plants where failing pressure testing, due to chlorine attack. As Pete rightly referenced, "old fashioned" steel bowden cable, like stainless needs some form of lubrication, so the necessity to use stainless is really something of overkill, in an engineering sense. I supose it looks pretty, all nice and shiney?.

Pete

[mark powell]

A lot of people with canopy garage doors would love stainless cables for their lifting gear...  They are available now, a lot more expensive, but I would have offered them to my clients. (now retired)

I have the same type of cutters as Riubikey and can attest to their efficiency.  Several years of use and still working.

[Wagger]

Have any of you a picture of the jaws when they are open? I suspect that they are circular, not like ordinary wire cutters.

[rlubikey]

Wagger, the jaw blades of my new (cheap - about £20 in the bike shop) are straight, but meet at the tip (i.e. farthest from the hinge) first as they close, so the wire doesn't try and pop out when you crop it. My older (discontinued) Park Tool CN2 (just dug it out of the tool box) has curved jaws a mere 3mm long - like a "C" with a hinge half way - so they also meet first farthest from the hinge.

16 hours ago, Wagger said:

My concern over stainless is that it still 'Rusts' when in water and in contact with another piece of stainless.

Presumably this may happen when different grades of stainless are in contact, right? The housings are almost always lined with e.g. PTFE, so this is unlikely to happen where the friction would matter. Bike cables are nearly always stainless these days so they don't rust when left in damp sheds etc.  Spokes are also stainless nowadays and these seem to be strong enough for the job.

Cheers, Richard

PS: Here's a picture of the cheap cutters with jaws open.

[AndyTV8]

A Park Tool CN-10 is a good choice, usually found for about £25 on offer somewhere - spoiler, I help out in a bike shop and these do not cause elevated levels of swearing  

…….. Andy

[1969Mk3Spitfire]

9 hours ago, AndyTV8 said:

A Park Tool CN-10 is a good choice, usually found for about £25 on offer somewhere - spoiler, I help out in a bike shop and these do not cause elevated levels of swearing  

…….. Andy

I’ve ordered one from Bike Parts interweb, as you say, for £25. It does seem to get consistently good reviews.

Thanks to you all, an interesting and informative thread evolution, as always.

[Wagger]

On 13/04/2023 at 14:23, rlubikey said:

Wagger, the jaw blades of my new (cheap - about £20 in the bike shop) are straight, but meet at the tip (i.e. farthest from the hinge) first as they close, so the wire doesn't try and pop out when you crop it. My older (discontinued) Park Tool CN2 (just dug it out of the tool box) has curved jaws a mere 3mm long - like a "C" with a hinge half way - so they also meet first farthest from the hinge.

Presumably this may happen when different grades of stainless are in contact, right? The housings are almost always lined with e.g. PTFE, so this is unlikely to happen where the friction would matter. Bike cables are nearly always stainless these days so they don't rust when left in damp sheds etc.  Spokes are also stainless nowadays and these seem to be strong enough for the job.

Cheers, Richard

PS: Here's a picture of the cheap cutters with jaws open.

Thanks for that. Same principal as my dog claw clippers. At least the cable does not head butt you wearing a muzzle when they are used.

[Colin Lindsay]

On 13/04/2023 at 07:05, PeteH said:

There is a lot of "misinformation" about stainless steels. The "usability" of which is dependant upon it`s grade. Some are highly resistant to corrosion with a tendacy toward brittleness, other`s are more tolerant, but less resitant to chlorines.

Probably why some of our local councils used the stuff for railings and bollards at seaside resorts which are now rusting quite considerably. It certainly cut out the need for painting every so often (plus the fun of picking rusty scabs off them when I was young!) but I suspect they've gone for a cheaper grade which isn't giving the longevity they hoped for.

[PeteH]

37 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Probably why some of our local councils used the stuff for railings and bollards at seaside resorts which are now rusting quite considerably. It certainly cut out the need for painting every so often (plus the fun of picking rusty scabs off them when I was young!) but I suspect they've gone for a cheaper grade which isn't giving the longevity they hoped for.

In some cases the "rusting", has much to do with environment, For example, IF you habitially use wire wool scourers to clean pans as some do, in a stainless sink, (Not ON the sink it`self) it can aquire "rust spots" due to very small particles being left behind when the bowl is rinsed. These are easily removed with the right product, leaving no effect on the sink itself. Seaside atmosphere`s are notorious for having high saline content often with other chemical elements.

Pete

[Morgana]

I know austenitic stainless steel as used in standing rigging on yachts has a nasty way of failing without any visible signs.