Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Bicycle Mechanics
Reload this Page >

How to get a square cut on cable housing using a dremel?

Notices
Bicycle Mechanics Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

How to get a square cut on cable housing using a dremel?

Old 12-07-12, 08:24 AM
  #26  
jyl
Senior Member
 
jyl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 7,644

Bikes: 61 Bianchi Specialissima 71 Peugeot G50 7? P'geot PX10 74 Raleigh GranSport 75 P'geot UO8 78? Raleigh Team Pro 82 P'geot PSV 86 P'geot PX 91 Bridgestone MB0 92 B'stone XO1 97 Rans VRex 92 Cannondale R1000 94 B'stone MB5 97 Vitus 997

Mentioned: 146 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 392 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 48 Times in 30 Posts
Originally Posted by UnsafeAlpine
Wow. I must be doing something wrong. Can someone explain why the Park Tool cutter does an insufficient job?
Apparently you and I can't shift or brake :-)
jyl is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 08:30 AM
  #27  
Goes to 11.
 
striknein's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Wichita, KS, USA
Posts: 2,547

Bikes: 2015 Soma Double Cross

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I've found that the Park tool is very temperamental. Cutting with a dremel gives me cleaner results.
striknein is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 08:30 AM
  #28  
Junior Member
 
jdoff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Michigan's UP
Posts: 108
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by UnsafeAlpine
Wow. I must be doing something wrong. Can someone explain why the Park Tool cutter does an insufficient job?
Well obviously if you're not using a power tool, you're not doing it right. The Park Tool cutter works great for me on derailleur housings, but I always seem to get an uneven cut with brake housings. It works, but I end up doing some filing afterward. I've noticed that I have to use the barrel adjusters less when I cut housings with a Dremel, I suspect because the housings do less "bedding in" in the ferrules.
jdoff is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 09:18 AM
  #29  
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
If you don't have expensive tools, you can use a file plus patience.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 09:48 AM
  #30  
bike whisperer
 
Kimmo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Melbourne, Oz
Posts: 9,533

Bikes: https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=152015&p=1404231

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1520 Post(s)
Liked 716 Times in 508 Posts
Originally Posted by lineinthewater
I don't have a grinding wheel, unfortunately.
Got an angle grinder and a vise?

Originally Posted by UnsafeAlpine
Wow. I must be doing something wrong. Can someone explain why the Park Tool cutter does an insufficient job?
If you can get a clean square cut every time with it, good luck to you. As for brake housing, nothing's snipping that stuff square.

Bonus tip: to speed up the housings bedding in, grab the brakes like buggery a few times, and with a folded rag or something, pull the shift cables from just above the BB towards the front wheel, kinda hard (but not so hard you break something).

Last edited by Kimmo; 12-07-12 at 10:02 AM.
Kimmo is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 10:01 AM
  #31  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Rochelle, NY
Posts: 38,544

Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter

Mentioned: 139 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5703 Post(s)
Liked 2,432 Times in 1,345 Posts
Even though I posted advice about how to grind the end of the housing square square, the face is that it isn't necessary if a decent cut is made with a cable cutter. It won't be perfectly square, but that's OK because a decent ferrule will take care of it. 99.9% of bikes, including the top end stuff ridden by the pros are put together with housings that weren't ground square, and work perfectly well.

All this obsessiveness is really a case of gilding the lily. If the newly cut housing is that far off, you don't need a grinder, you need a decent cable cutter.
__________________
FB
Chain-L site

An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.

Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN

WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FBinNY is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 10:04 AM
  #32  
bike whisperer
 
Kimmo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Melbourne, Oz
Posts: 9,533

Bikes: https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=152015&p=1404231

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1520 Post(s)
Liked 716 Times in 508 Posts
Yeah, I have to admit I don't really bother anymore

...Except for that bastard rear shift cable.
Kimmo is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 10:26 AM
  #33  
Domestic Domestique
 
UnsafeAlpine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,742

Bikes: Brand New Old Catamount! Schwinn Homegrown, Specialized FSR, Salsa Vaya, Salsa Chile Con Crosso

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by Kimmo

If you can get a clean square cut every time with it, good luck to you. As for brake housing, nothing's snipping that stuff square.
I doubt mine are square every time, but it seems to me like this is of miniscule importance. It's like asking how to get the exact torque on a presta valve. Is it really that important?

What shocks me is the number of people who do seem to spend serious time on this. There must be a problem associated with unsquare housing but for the life of me, I can't see it.
UnsafeAlpine is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 10:36 AM
  #34  
Banned.
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 360
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by FBinNY
Yes, using one of the stones or mini grinding wheels that Dremel makes. You can also use the cut off disc, but you have to do it as a skim cut from the rim, not from the side or you'll shatter the disc.
Must be the Dremel stone cut off wheel are pretty thin.

I now use the Craftsman brand 15/16" stone cut-off wheels that are labled "Heavy-Duty", part # 95314.(the 9 is much smaller and has a line under it, so maybe it's part # 5314 of group 9?)

They are much thicker than the ones i used for 35 years in my jewelry repair. (for cutting through rings for sizing work). Because of it's thickness it has greater strength and it's easy to trim up to flat after making the initial cut without breaking.

I take about 20 seconds to cut my cable to prevent heat buildup and melting of the outer cover. Basically just cut a few seconds, blow on the cable to cool it, cut a bit more and blow again, and 3rd cutting usually gets me through with a final cooling bit of breath.

I then do a final true up of the end using the side of these Craftsman stone discs, something you can't do if using a metal saw type cutter in your Dremel or other flex shaft. I still have my heavy duty aluminum frame and handpieced Foredom jewelers lexble shaft machine that's 25 years old and i used a LOT every day in my jewelry work. I put new brushes in every year or two and a new armature once or twice over that time, but at $400 to $600 today for a new one worth the rebuild.

OH,...and then you of course have to open the hole in te center t feed the cable in. One of my smaller diamond setting burs works great or this, Push it in as a tight fit and it pulls out the bit of cable liner.


Originally Posted by FBinNY
Even though I posted advice about how to grind the end of the housing square square, the face is that it isn't necessary if a decent cut is made with a cable cutter. It won't be perfectly square, but that's OK because a decent ferrule will take care of it. 99.9% of bikes, including the top end stuff ridden by the pros are put together with housings that weren't ground square, and work perfectly well.

All this obsessiveness is really a case of gilding the lily. If the newly cut housing is that far off, you don't need a grinder, you need a decent cable cutter.
Over 30 years of working on my own bikes, i've never found the need for a separate cable cutter. Good ones aren't cheap today (or ever!), where 20 of these heavy duty Sears Craftsman stone cutters are 20 for $7.50 or so and will last a LONG time if just used for cable cutting.

......but i use the stone cutting discs for lots of chores, like cutting down eyelet screws for a good fit without sticking out. (especially the cassette side where a too-long screw interferes with the chain on the smallest cog :-)

Originally Posted by MichaelW
You need to cut close to the end to get a square cut. I chop the cable about 1cm too long then finish it with a dremel.
I think you mean you chop the cable about 1mm too long and finish :-)

1cm is a LOT of grinding!

Last edited by joejeweler; 12-07-12 at 10:59 AM.
joejeweler is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 11:48 AM
  #35  
Goes to 11.
 
striknein's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Wichita, KS, USA
Posts: 2,547

Bikes: 2015 Soma Double Cross

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
For an enthusiastic home mechanic who refurbishes a bike every month or so, what's wrong with gilding the lily?
striknein is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 01:32 PM
  #36  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Rochelle, NY
Posts: 38,544

Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter

Mentioned: 139 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5703 Post(s)
Liked 2,432 Times in 1,345 Posts
Originally Posted by striknein
For an enthusiastic home mechanic who refurbishes a bike every month or so, what's wrong with gilding the lily?
Absolutely nothing. Gild all you want, and never expect criticism from me. However, if you read this thread, you'll see that there are many who feel they must use a grinder to get housing ends perfectly square.

My post is for them. They don't need to feel it's necessary and can keep it simple if they want, or they can grind if they choose. When I say something isn't necessary, that's all I'm saying. I have no feelings one way or other about what people choose to do.
__________________
FB
Chain-L site

An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.

Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN

WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FBinNY is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 03:26 PM
  #37  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 9,438

Bikes: Trek 5500, Colnago C-50

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts
I use the Park cable cutter and then round out the inside of the housing with an old ice pick. Never a problem.
Al1943 is offline  
Old 12-07-12, 06:33 PM
  #38  
in cog neato
 
itsmoot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Missouri
Posts: 357
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
"A very common source of excessive cable friction or "sponginess" is improper cutting or failure to shape the ends of the cable properly."

https://sheldonbrown.com/cables.html

itsmoot is offline  
Old 12-08-12, 02:18 AM
  #39  
No longer active
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,001
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 89 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 6 Posts
I've always used a Dremel to cut housing (in fact I'm still using the same one I got for my 14th birthday); I've never worried too much about the less-than-a-millimeter off-angle cut, it doesn't seem to affect anything. I guess if I absolutely had to be precise, I'd rotate the housing while cutting it so that the angle remains consistent throughout the process, then smooth it out and ream it with, respectively, cross-cut & rat-tail jeweler's files.

Aside from wearing safety glasses, a bit of advice- when you cut, use the highest speed setting and cut with the top edge of the cutting wheel, not the bottom (so that the sparks & shavings are being spun AWAY from your eyes & clothing), and cut slowly. Cutting too fast torques the cutting wheel and can cause it to shatter; cutting too slowly however, will melt the housing. The cutting wheels are actually kind of fragile when it comes to lateral force. They'll also shatter when you wear them down too far.
DIMcyclist is offline  
Old 12-08-12, 10:03 AM
  #40  
Certified Bike Brat
 
Burton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 4,251
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by lineinthewater
So I'm testing cutting cable housing with my dremel, using a 1.5" metal cutoff wheel. The cuts come out very clean, but I can not get a good square cut. Any ideas, tips, or tricks?
Finish it with a file. Might be low-tech but avoids melting the inner or outer plastic and you probably don't have much to go anyway. A grinder works better in the shop only because a Park Tool or equivalent cutter deforms the housing and there's more material to be removed to get a decent end.
Burton is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Mo06
General Cycling Discussion
10
11-07-17 04:49 PM
vdo168
Bicycle Mechanics
15
04-15-17 08:02 PM
RubeRad
Bicycle Mechanics
18
09-22-11 10:23 PM
Noonievut
Bicycle Mechanics
2
01-26-11 08:28 PM
Raleigh71
Bicycle Mechanics
7
02-05-10 09:41 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.