Cutting aircraft cable?

How do I cut 3/16" stainless steel aircraft cable? I've tried
wirecutters, tin snips, airplane sheers, and a branch lopper. Tough stuff!

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
How do I cut 3/16" stainless steel aircraft cable? I've tried
wirecutters, tin snips, airplane sheers, and a branch lopper. Tough
stuff!

You need a dedicated cable/wire rope cutter.

http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200308983.htm

In article ,
"John Kunkel" wrote:

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
How do I cut 3/16" stainless steel aircraft cable? I've tried
wirecutters, tin snips, airplane sheers, and a branch lopper. Tough
stuff!

You need a dedicated cable/wire rope cutter.

http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200308983.htm


A big hammer and a sharp chisel against an anvil will work, too.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:

In article ,
"John Kunkel" wrote:


"Stubby" wrote in message
...

How do I cut 3/16" stainless steel aircraft cable? I've tried
wirecutters, tin snips, airplane sheers, and a branch lopper. Tough
stuff!

You need a dedicated cable/wire rope cutter.

http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200308983.htm



A big hammer and a sharp chisel against an anvil will work, too.

Ah. The big hammer solution. I like that. Thanks.

Stubby wrote:

Orval Fairbairn wrote:

In article ,
"John Kunkel" wrote:


"Stubby" wrote in message
...

How do I cut 3/16" stainless steel aircraft cable? I've tried
wirecutters, tin snips, airplane sheers, and a branch lopper. Tough
stuff!

You need a dedicated cable/wire rope cutter.

http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200308983.htm



A big hammer and a sharp chisel against an anvil will work, too.

Ah. The big hammer solution. I like that. Thanks.

Yes! that one appeals to me too...must be a man thing eh?...
--


-Gord.

"I'm trying to get as old as I can,
and it must be working 'cause I'm
the oldest now that I've ever been"

Orval --

A quick question from somebody who farms that part of the job out when it
has to be done...since the end doesn't take any of the tension of the cable,
what would be wrong with torching it and then nicropressing it outside of
the torched area?

Jim




A big hammer and a sharp chisel against an anvil will work, too.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:31:38 -0700, "RST Engineering"
wrote:

Orval --

A quick question from somebody who farms that part of the job out when it
has to be done...since the end doesn't take any of the tension of the cable,
what would be wrong with torching it and then nicropressing it outside of
the torched area?

Jim

Doing things the boring, conventional way has a benefit:
reducing the unknowns.

Brian W.

In article ,
"RST Engineering" wrote:

Orval --

A quick question from somebody who farms that part of the job out when it
has to be done...since the end doesn't take any of the tension of the cable,
what would be wrong with torching it and then nicropressing it outside of
the torched area?

Jim

The problem is -- you just don't know how much of the cable has been
heat-damaged that way.

I have used the hammer/chisel and it works. Make sure that you have a
good, sharp chisel (and a big hammer).



A big hammer and a sharp chisel against an anvil will work, too.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:

In article ,
"RST Engineering" wrote:

Orval --

A quick question from somebody who farms that part of the job out when it
has to be done...since the end doesn't take any of the tension of the cable,
what would be wrong with torching it and then nicropressing it outside of
the torched area?

Jim

The problem is -- you just don't know how much of the cable has been
heat-damaged that way.

At the risk of agreeing with Jim here I'll venture to say "Sure
you do...only the 'ends' are heated and those are inside the
clamped areas at the 'ends' of the cable..."
--


-Gord.

"I'm trying to get as old as I can,
and it must be working 'cause I'm
the oldest now that I've ever been"

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
Orval --

A quick question from somebody who farms that part of the job out when it
has to be done...since the end doesn't take any of the tension of the
cable,
what would be wrong with torching it and then nicropressing it outside of
the torched area?

Stainless steel does not burn in oxygen like carbon steel does. You can CUT
stainless steel with a plasma torch or with an abrasive disk cutoff saw.
With an oxy-acetylene torch you could MELT the stainless cable (and blow the
melted metal away as opposed to burning away like carbon steel) and you may
be able to fuse the ends of the cable as is often done with regular wire
rope. Since stainless is normally welded inside an inert atmosphere (argon
or helium), you should expect less than perfect results if fusing the end of
the cable in an oxygen atmosphere. Some people use solder or silver
solder(brazing) to seal the cable ends and contain the jagged ends.
Stainless does not conduct heat as well as regular steel so it will stay hot
longer but will not conduct the heat as far down the cable as regular wire
rope. You could stop the heat traveling very far by quenching in water or
oil.

YMMV and I doubt that it is approved as per EA-AC 43.13-1A&2A An abrasive
disk cutoff saw and a blob of 5 min. epoxy would be the easiest and would
solve worries about the heat affected zone, or just put an extra nico over
the jagged ends.

Blue skies to all.