Cutters

[paddy]

has anyone found a pair of side cutters that will cut just 0.5mm piano wire ?
I have tried several advertised as hard wire cutters and they do cut but also dent the blades so you dont get many chances before the blades are wrecked.

I know its a sign of the times, when in Engineering i had a pair of cut anything side cutters that i had for 35 years, today they are all made in India or China and completely useless, even good brand UK names are now made in china and dont cut hard wire.

I get that the thinner the blade the weaker but this is only .5mm or .012" and i need accuracy so bolt croppers wont do

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Piano wire? Dremel/jewelry cut off wheels. That wire is too tough for anything else. I pretty much just use the cut off wheels on any steel wire.

 

[Rhino]

I thought you were commenting on Revenue Cutters. OOPS!!

 

[paddy]

the problem with a Dremel is lack of accuracy and the wire gets red hot instantly because Dremel's are just too fast for most applications..
Given the micro small reduction gearboxes these days i often think there is a market for a Dremel with a 500rpm cutter that cuts plastic rather than melts it

I was looking at micro motors that would fit in 1/48 engines the other day and they do gearboxes of 8mm dia that drop 4000 to 500 rpm for propellers ..... now there's a thought...

My mum bought me a Dremel and shes been dead 22 years ...maybe they are better today ?

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Paddy, that is why I use this very old Dremel speed control. It runs the Dremel way down to TOO slow. They can be found on Ebay for US 120V versions. Not sure if there was ever a version for the higher voltage used in Europe.

Yes I have an old Variable speed Dremel plugged into the device, and the Dremel is left full on. I "ALWAYS" use this speed control! The thing is that even though the speed can go quite slow, it still seems to have plenty of power. It isn't just a rheostat in the box there is some circuitry in there that makes a difference so that the rotational power doesn't drop like the RPM.

 

[moon puppy]

.maybe they are better today ?

Besides computers, is anything better today?

I just use old school electrical dykes or one of those multi tool things that have strippers.. crimpers and cuters on it.

 

[RichB]

Besides computers, is anything better today?

I just use old school electrical dykes or one of those multi tool things that have strippers.. crimpers and cuters on it.

So now we know the type of "modeling" that is being done in the shed and why you needed the dining room table out there.

Cheers,
RichB

 

[paddy]

Problem solved, i managed to find (in my local model shop) .043mm nickel silver rod. its not soft, even at this dia you need pliers to bend it but it cuts nicely with std side cutters. My piano wire was .05mm so this is near enough and scaled up 1/9 will be 4.5mm which is perfect.