Bicycle Mechanics - Cable Housing Cutting Question.

What do you perfer to cut your cable housing with, a wire cutter for steel wires and cables or tubing cutter? I've been looking at a "Mini Heavy duty" tubing cutter at sears that is used to cut steel brake line.

If it works It should provide a clean cut without the need to file, bend and clip ends of the cable housing after cutting it. I could be wrong however since I've never tried using one to do this. What do you guys think?

I cut with my bike tool and grind to finish. Takes 2 minutes and never had a problem.

I use a chanellock cable cutter. Nice and clean cut without fraying on the cable. Works fine on housing as well, and it's cheaper than the dedicated parktool cutter. Finish with a touch of glue to prevent future fraying.

Any good quality cutter will work. Stay away from the cheap Chinese tools, they are crappy. Can't cut without fraying the cable.

I use a dremel myself. Quick and painless.

I use a dremel myself. Quick and painless.

Agreed. Cutting cable housing with a Dremel tool is quick, very clean and doesn't distort the housing. The resulting cut needs very little dressing.

A tubing cutter won't work at all well on cables of cable housing as it requires considerable pressure to achieve which will distort and fray the cables and mash the housing. Tubing cutters require a rigid surface to cut properly.

+1 on Dremel. Nice clean cut -- especially on Kevlar housing like Avid Flak Jacket which I have had a lot of trouble cutting cleanly with conventional cutters. Slip in a piece of old cable before cutting so as not to crush the inner housing.

+1 on Dremel. Nice clean cut -- especially on Kevlar housing like Avid Flak Jacket which I have had a lot of trouble cutting cleanly with conventional cutters. Slip in a piece of old cable before cutting so as not to crush the inner housing.

A dremel tool it is, I'm on my way to sears now to grab one. I always wanted a Dremel, now I have the need and the reason to buy one. Anything I need to know about the getting some special type of cutting discs to do the housing cut?

Thanks all:)

I bought the newer Park cable cutter. A lot beefer than the old design. Does well on the stranded shifter cable, but still mashes the spiral brake cable. I still have to trim it with my Dremel tool which always provides the cleanest cut.

Al

I have Park and Wrench force cable cutters, but I still prefer to use these on housings:

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103580122

The best cable cutters are the Shimano ones. They are the one god himself uses.

+1 for the dremel.
Works great every time.

A dremel tool it is, I'm on my way to sears now to grab one. I always wanted a Dremel, now I have the need and the reason to buy one. Anything I need to know about the getting some special type of cutting discs to do the housing cut?

Thanks all:)

You should be able to find a diamond cutting wheel that cuts like a hot knife though butter.

pedro's cable cutter. similar design to the felcos. i haven't had to use the grinder to finish off a housing cut in a while. if you take the time to line up the blades with the gaps between the spirals, it cuts very clean. sometimes i'll use dikes to clean the cut up a little if needed. a dremel is a little excessive and would take me much longer to set it up to cut, than it does to reach into my apron pocket for my cutters.

for finishing the cable itself, nothing beats a soldering iron for nerdy attention to detail points. it works better than glue because you just melt the ends of the cable together. glue can flake off and still allow the cable to fray. i just use a cable tip. spicy road tips for derailleur; and hot mountain tips for brake.

For linear housing on shifter cables, I use a dremel. For spiral brake housing, which is also the same thing as friction shifter housing, I use a simple side cutter. Looks like a small pair of pliers, with a rounded point set at an angle. I squeeze lightly at first, which separates the spiral on one side. Then a firm squeeze makes the final cut. With a little practice, it's a perfect cut every time. Every once in a while, there will be a small piece of spiral piece sticking out in the way, but that can be easily snipped off. Best part is not spending $30 on a housing cutter, and buying yet another vintage bike with the savings;),,,,BD

Dremel sounds a bit slow to me. Dremel Users: Shop or home?

Any good cable cutter works pretty well. I save old brake and shifting cables and place them inside the cable housing when I cut the cable and rarely get the burr from the housing alone.

Dremel sounds a bit slow to me. Dremel Users: Shop or home?

I use Park cutters at the shop. Too many cables to cut to use a slow Dremel (although I have one there), but you do get good at the "old fashioned" method after a few hundred jobs.

I use a parks cable cutter at the shop and a dremel at home. As long as you un-mash the inner liner and the cut is straight you should never have a problem from your cables.

I use the Shimano Cutters at the Shop, and at home I either use my older Park or a my Dremel with a cut wheel on it. With the Dremel Tool, it takes longer to find it, get it chucked up and ready than it does to cut the housing.

For those of you using a Dremel...how do you deal with the heat melting the outer jacket? I find that when I've tried the Dremel (either for cutting or just the final grinding/finishing), about 1 cm of the plastic coating heats and permanently expands away from the metal shell, making it nearly impossible to slip it into a ferrule. Trimming it off altogether sometimes leaves the fit too loose on the ferrule. Maybe a dab of super glue or shoe goo is the answer? I do try to do the cut quickly so as not to generate too much heat, but it doesn't seem to help.

Maybe try and do it in 2-3 goes instead of one, that will reduce the heat output on the housing. I use cable cutters, my dad is an ex electrician so I have lots on hand ;).

For those of you using a Dremel...how do you deal with the heat melting the outer jacket? I find that when I've tried the Dremel (either for cutting or just the final grinding/finishing), about 1 cm of the plastic coating heats and permanently expands away from the metal shell, making it nearly impossible to slip it into a ferrule. Trimming it off altogether sometimes leaves the fit too loose on the ferrule. Maybe a dab of super glue or shoe goo is the answer? I do try to do the cut quickly so as not to generate too much heat, but it doesn't seem to help.

I completely agree. Dremels are soooo hot...Sometimes a mood strikes me and I use a grinding wheel instead. But either is frought with danger...A virgin teflon liner may be exposed, to soon, to the heat and expand, closing it forever.

When I really want to cut some cable I use a set of Park cable cutters. I keep them sharp and don't degrade them by using them to cut lowly, common spokes!!!!

My housing of preference is Campagnolo which is stiffer and much more satisfying than wimpy Shimano housing.

A firm, manly hand will make a quick, clean cut of the housing. I then take the pointy end of a spoke (which I have ground down to make a pointy end) and use it to gently open the pinched teflon bud at the cut I have just made opening the liner nicely and permitting easy and swift penetration by the anxious cable.

Bob...I think you need to get laid...

Negative Ion Plasma Cutter set no higher that 2300 electron volts. The only way to go. Fortunately, they have one at work. bk

Bob...I think you need to get laid...

Ya think?

A dremel tool it is, I'm on my way to sears now to grab one. I always wanted a Dremel, now I have the need and the reason to buy one. Anything I need to know about the getting some special type of cutting discs to do the housing cut?

I prefer the heavy duty, fibre reinforced discs for their ruggedness. I guess that the thin ones will make less friction and heat, which is good for not melting the plastic. But above all; if you value your eyes use protective glasses. Particularly the thin discs tend to explode in many sharp fragments, not good at 40,000 RPM.

I completely agree. Dremels are soooo hot...Sometimes a mood strikes me and I use a grinding wheel instead. But either is frought with danger...A virgin teflon liner may be exposed, to soon, to the heat and expand, closing it forever.


A firm, manly hand will make a quick, clean cut of the housing. I then take the pointy end of a spoke (which I have ground down to make a pointy end) and use it to gently open the pinched teflon bud at the cut I have just made opening the liner nicely and permitting easy and swift penetration by the anxious cable.


Well a cable cutter is the right tool for the job, but with the money you spend on a 'Park' cutter you could buy a dremel tool for about the same price with a thousand uses. It just makes better sence. I use a fibre disc wheel for cutting cable housing, but make sure I pull the inner teflon lining back out of the way first, then cut the housing. Make 2-3 passes with the disc-wheel to minimize melting the housing. After that, a few passes with a fine file (even a fingernail file) will dress it nicely to fit inside any ferrul.

With the inner teflon lining, I just cut it with a razor-knife. The end result is a clean cut for both the cable housing and the inner cable lining. When cutting the cable itself, wrap the section with masking tape and then cut through it with your dremel disc cutter. Makes nice, sharp, and clean cuts that way.

Get the dremel tool. You'd be amazed what all you can do with it.

~edit; Use safety glasses when doing all this.