41 replies to this topic

[Guy Spaulding]

I nabbed a pair of 6" Cameron needle-nose pliers with side cutters while in the military. Used them to cut and bend piano wire literally thousands of times during my heavy chassis building days in the '80s. They occasionally show up on eBay, so I picked up a couple spares. They have horizontal serrations along their tapered noses, making wire easy to grip and even give some repeatable sizing opportunities.  

Right now eBay has some diagonal cutters at a good price. Just search for "Cameron pliers." It would seem that few know they have hardened cutters and would easily compare to a pair of $40 Klien pliers.

[Craig]

Amazon has these compound cutters. About $40.00 but should do up to .078" wire.

[Pappy]

If you don't mind spending some $$$ to cut piano wire like a pro... get what professional piano builders use...

Starrett Wire Cutters

With a sale price of $359.80 you can't afford not to buy them.   

[MSwiss]

I'll ask a dumb question.

Do any of the higher end ones leave a "finished end"?

[Keith Tanaka]

I use the same wire cutter (.063" and smaller piano wire) that Jersey John recommends. For piano wire .078", .093", I use the cheap ($8.99) Harbor Freight 12" bolt cutter. The bolt cutter easily cuts larger piano wire but you need to use a Dremel disc afterwards to clean up the cut end. I also use a Dremel for cutting any size piano wire, especially the 3/32" front axle once its been soldered to the chassis. 
 
12-inch bolt cutters
 
Keith

[DPmax]

Do any of the higher end ones leave a "finished end"?

 
I've seen the ones I linked to used by a piano tuner once (how I knew they existed), the cut is very clean.

[Bill from NH]

Do any of the higher end ones leave a "finished end"?

 
Mine don't, but for finished cuts, I use a chop saw with a carbide disc.

[John Miller]

For .078" and .093" these cut the wire like butter. 

9-1/2 in. Heavy Duty Linesman Pliers
 
For everything up to .063" I use the Husky set that I bought from Swiss.
 
To clean up the jagged ends I use a belt belt sander for the big wire and a Dremel for smaller wire.

[Steve Deiters]

I always cut off piano wire, especially larger diameters, with a cut-off disc. Always have way back to the '60s.
 
I always felt using a jaw type cutter imparted stresses and fractures into the ends that have been cut that were not remedied even if the ends were dressed with a wheel or disc.
 
With a disc cut the material separating the two pieces is removed as opposed to being "displaced" when using jaw type cutters.  That pinching energy from the jaws has to be transferred somewhere so it winds up in the ends. 
 
In my view it's the end pieces of that have been cut - disc cut. No stress raisers.

[JimF]

Wow!!!!... 34 posts... and I thought that cutting piano wire was pretty simple. Just shows to go ya!!!

[Bill from NH]

I built my first scratchbuilt car before I had a Dremel. I used a three-cornered file to notch all wire and brass rod where I wanted it cut, then took a pair of needlenose pliers and bent it back and forth until the piece broke at the notch. I didn't have an Ungar or acid flux in those days either. Not pretty, but it worked and is still together...

[Zippity]

eBay has these:
 
Piano Music Wire Cutters

[gc4895]

Wow, thanks for all the input! I have chosen the Xuron 2193F Hard Wire Cutters. I found them on Amazon at $27.00 delivered. The information claims they cut up to 0.063 cleanly or with minimal cleanup needed. We shall see if they meet my definition of minimal cleanup needed.

I hope to receive these next week and I will report in to this group how they work in the real world of chassis building.

I can say my experience of buying from Amazon is mixed. I bought a pin vice that was amazing on paper. However, it showed up beautifully made BUT with an aluminum chuck so "slick" and smooth it will NOT hold any drill bit no matter how tight you twist it closed.

Hopefully, these cutters will do a better job than that useless pin vise.

[gc4895]

OK, I have added some photos of the cutters I received. These are the Xuron 2193F as previously noted. 

 

They cut hard wire by "snapping" it between jaws rather than cutting (smashing) it with sharp edges. I have attached some photos (each end of the wire) of 0.063" wire I clipped off. You can see from the photos that the wire is broken, not smashed or squash-cut. I find the ends to be very acceptable for most applications. Yes, some will require Dremel clean up so these are NOT perfect cuts. But they also aren't a bunch of heavily distorted ends that renders the cut piece un-useable. 

 

I also find that I can mark the wire with a pen and the jaws allow a very accurate "break" at the line. 

 

Bottom line:

• Cost of these at $27/delivered isn't bad compared to many of the prices I found. 
• They comfortably cut up to 0.063" but I wouldn't consider cutting any thicker wire than 0.063".
• Cutting 0.063" is OK but I wish they had made the handles a little longer for more leverage (if it was my work to cut lots and lots of 0.063" wire I would find pliers with more leverage!).
• Wire below 0.063" is a breeze to "snap."
• Recommended for chassis building application.
• As always, YMMV.

 

 

 

[dalek]

Thank you for taking the time to report your findings.

[orangecrate]

FYI, I have for years bought specialty tools from Micro-Mark http://micromark.com, They have great tools and stuff for the hobbyist.

[Zippity]