Bolt Cutters

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VicMallows

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Anyone else spotted that next week LIDL have bolt-cutters with handles 10 CENTImeters long! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

More seriously, I do have a pair bought in Germany about 75cm for around £6 which can certainly cut 8mm chain easily and 7mm S/S with effort.

Vic (yes edited for stupid mistake...750cm) /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Hah..... after helping to re-rig a boat a few years back, and being given the opportunity to try an ordinary set of bolt croppers on 8mm stainless rigging, I decided there and then not to rely on them...

Strain as hard as I might, I acheived nothing but aching shoulders.......

I now carry a hacksaw........
 
NAS - had a similar experience when dismasted during a race. Big bolt cutters were hard work for a strongest guy on the crew. I now carry a handheld hydraulic cutter which are smaller and weigh a bit less than bolt cutters and will cut 1/2 inch wire like butter (tested on an old piece). Picked em up on eBay for about £50.
 
Yep, I agree, standard bolts croppers are pretty useless on board IMHO. We carry the Felco ones and they chop through the wire in our shrouds like butter.

Bloomin' pricey though!!
 
Ably answered by NAS!! The danger of a mast going over the side is the risk of it pounding a hole in the topsides!!

Cutting away the shrouds quickly reduces that risk. Never had to try it in anger and never want to, but we are at least prepared.
 
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Oh, I see. When I get de-masted I usually just undo the rigging screws.

[/ QUOTE ]

Usually! How many times have you been dis-masted?
 
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Oh, I see. When I get de-masted I usually just undo the rigging screws.


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But good quality rigging screws have stops on them to prevent them parting company.
 
My boat has some big croppers on board, but I doubt I am strong enough to use them. I second the idea of a hacksaw, but choice of blade is crucial. The finest teeth are required to cut wire (32 teeth per inch) and the blades should be the bi-metal type with hard teeth and a flexible back. Now if only someone made a 12 volt, or rechargeable, angle grinder. I have some very thin angle grinder disks that cut through steel very fast.
 
12v .... Dremel etc.

Modellers have been cutting wire / bar etc. with battery powered tools for years .... in fact :

Get a cordless drill and buy a set of cutting discs to fit ...

As to Bolt-Cutters ........... useless !! King Kong needed to do it .... as another said - Hydraulic type is best OR as I used to use when wire splicing .... the Hammer strike jobbie ... Basically place wire in jaws ... close and hit it with club hammer .....
 
Re: 12v .... Dremel etc.

I have a small ratcheted cable cutter which slices through s/s rigging wire with the greatest of ease. Saw it in a PBO / YM test about 1 year ago. A key attraction for me was that it could be used one handed - the ratchet allows the user to clamp it securely around the cable and then all that is required is to squeeze the handles together a few times. I hope I never have to use it in anger but this approach seems eminently more sensible than the idea of using a large pair of bolt cutters, a cold chisel or a hack saw when perched on a side deck experiencing the kind of weather conditions likely to have brought the mast down in the first place.
 
Re: 12v .... Dremel etc.

[ QUOTE ]
I have a small ratcheted cable cutter which slices through s/s rigging wire with the greatest of ease. Saw it in a PBO / YM test about 1 year ago. A key attraction for me was that it could be used one handed - the ratchet allows the user to clamp it securely around the cable and then all that is required is to squeeze the handles together a few times. I hope I never have to use it in anger but this approach seems eminently more sensible than the idea of using a large pair of bolt cutters, a cold chisel or a hack saw when perched on a side deck experiencing the kind of weather conditions likely to have brought the mast down in the first place.

[/ QUOTE ]

This looks good I like it. Can you give more details:- Make, Model, Supplier, Price. could be far better than a large and clumsy bolt cutter or battery or hand expensive Hydraulic units.
 
Re: 12v .... Dremel etc.

Just found the info, a bit more pricey than you average B&Q bolt cutter but if you are likely to need it in anger.....

Baudat model KS10
£160 ish
from:
Wolfgang Rodefeld (Safety) Ltd.
35 Willowhale Avenue
Aldwick, Bognor Regis
West Sussex
PO21 4BG
<info@rodefeld-sales.com>

no association etc.....
if you do a search of back issues of PBO / YM you'll find the review
 
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