bolt croppers / wire cutter - for safety boat and dinghy sailing club use?

pagoda

pagoda

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We're upgrading all our current safety gear for the safety boat which we use for race/ sailing support.
Though we have never yet got into the situation of needing to do it, there is always a possibility of having to cut away the standing rigging of a dinghy tangled up in a collision - with buoys -or our railway bridge !.
I doubt it there is anything heavier that 3 to 4 mm wire in anybody's boat, trapeze wire included. However, I am not sure what length/ quality of wire/bolt cutters to go for? I'm not really tempted to go ultra cheap.
what about these?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-forged-handle-bolt-cropper-18/27938

You can't exactly practice with them before you buy!!
Any advice welcome...

thanks,

Graeme
 
pagoda said:
We're upgrading all our current safety gear for the safety boat which we use for race/ sailing support.
Though we have never yet got into the situation of needing to do it, there is always a possibility of having to cut away the standing rigging of a dinghy tangled up in a collision - with buoys -or our railway bridge !.
I doubt it there is anything heavier that 3 to 4 mm wire in anybody's boat, trapeze wire included. However, I am not sure what length/ quality of wire/bolt cutters to go for? I'm not really tempted to go ultra cheap.
what about these?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-forged-handle-bolt-cropper-18/27938

You can't exactly practice with them before you buy!!
Any advice welcome...

thanks,

Graeme
Click to expand...

these are designed to cut solid rod not that good on wire
 
sailorman said:
these are designed to cut solid rod not that good on wire
Click to expand...

Right.. OK ?

So what style of cutter is best for this job? Scissor action - or what? Would we be better with a rechargeable small angle grinder? That would work, but poses problems using in water of course, since there is no guarantee what you want to cut is out the water!!
 
pagoda said:
Right.. OK ?

So what style of cutter is best for this job? Scissor action - or what? Would we be better with a rechargeable small angle grinder? That would work, but poses problems using in water of course, since there is no guarantee what you want to cut is out the water!!
Click to expand...

they crop rather than Sheer the wire as the felco type do
 
If you haven't had any recommendations before weekend I will find out what make our club safety boats have on them and let you know.
 
You really need a tool where the cutting jaws are designed to grip and slice wire rope and cable - not bolts - like these from 3i/Felco at around £44. A websearch will suggest much cheaper options.....


Capture.jpg


Technical Information

Small single-hand cutter, compact, light and very easy to handle.

Recommended for cutting wire or cable up to 5mm (0.2 in.) and cables up to 7 mm (0.3 in.).

Its quality and long life make it particularly suitable for manufacturing and repairs in all fields of industry and craft.

Because of the special shape of the blades, cables are not crushed, but cut progressively.

Hardened steel blades and centre bolt, pressed steel handles with plastic covering.

Specifications:

Length - 190mm
Weight - 270g

Max wire diameters:

7x19 Stainless steel wire = 5mm
1x19 Stainless steel wire = 3mm

The triangular cutting action delivers a progressive cut for wires and cables. The blades squeeze and restrict the cable instead squashing it.

Thanks to this feature, it is generally not necessary to tie the cable before the cut to avoid unravelling.

Blades and centre bolt made from quality hardened steel for exceptional performance.

Thumb catch designed for one-handed operation.

Pressed steel handles with non-slip grips.
Click to expand...

I would recommend these be kept in a 'ready-use' bag, lubricated on the blades/pivot, a retaining wrist-cord, and with TWO pairs of cheap Kevlar gloves ( one for the operator and another for the guy who holds the rigging wire steady in a bouncing seaway )
 
Last edited:
oldbilbo said:
You really need a tool where the cutting jaws are designed to grip and slice wire rope and cable - not bolts - like these from 3i/Felco at around £44. A websearch will suggest much cheaper options.....
Click to expand...

C7's will do 3/4mm but the blades suffer pretty quickly, especially with stainless, if you can justify the cash C9's are far better.

http://www.flints.co.uk/acatalog/Felco_Cutters.html
 
Look at the Felco and Baudat range. For the relatively light wire you're dealing with you don't need to go to ratchet or hydraulic cutters, something like these Baudat long handle cutters will do the job: http://www.s3i.co.uk/baudat-wire-rope-cutter-6mm.php

Or if you prefer to use single handed cutters, the Felco set suggested by Oldbilbo.

S3i seem to be very honest about the capability of cutters on various grades of wire and rod, specifying capacity on 1 x 19 and 7 x 19 stainless wire, not just on copper cable.
 
Graeme,
I have a Felco C9 (with brand new unused blades) for sale in the for-sale section of this forum, these will be more than up for the job. They are up for half of the cheapest internet price I could find.

I hope the moderators don't mind me posting this :-)
G
 
Waste of money buying expensive croppers for a club.
Club members will b..er them & they will go rusty or go missing
Also ordinary croppers cut wire perfectly ok if fairly new & sharp.
I tested my ones when i bought them.
The shop owner said he had heard they would not cut wire so i challenged him to get some 6mm wire & it cut like butter
I have a set of 20inch on board but they do not get used for anything else. They are for rigging only
If you start cutting loads of old bolts etc then they will distort
The point is - only use them for cutting rigging which will be once every 10 years
Mine cost £22-00 plus VAT
 
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