Rigging wire cutters

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Adonnante

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I am in the process of having my standing rigging replaced and when in Eurospars who are doing the job I tried to cut a length of stainless 10mm rigging wire just see if I could. I have a set of Felco 12mm wire cutters rated up to 12mm wire and failed. The professionals in the workshop managed it, but they were bigger and younger than me. The general agreement was they aren't a practical solution offshore in any sea that one is likely to lose a mast.

OK, the cutters I bought many years ago at great expense aren't up to the job. The alternatives appear to be hydraulic or explosive cutters, both way to expensive for my pension or a cordless disc cutter with a narrow disc. The latter is affordable but the only ones I'm familiar with, are too big to use one handed.

Any suggestions on a likely possible solution?


Thanks

Peter.
 
How were you using the cutters? The best way is to put one handle on the ground and bear down on the other with your bodyweight - easier said than done on a pitching deck, of course.

A hacksaw is reputed to be pretty good, and it certainly comes at the right price. Probably not really one-handed either though.

Solutions?

  • Spend a fortune on exploding or hydraulic cutters
  • Keep a hacksaw on board, with a lanyard, and plenty of sharp blades taped to the frame - and accept that you'll have a fight on your hands if you need to use it
  • Stick with the Felcos, and hope that the adrenalin of an emergency helps you use them.
  • Stick with the Felcos, and take up bodybuilding :)

Pete
 
Don't do as I did.I taped a few good blades to a hacksaw and when using it on deck they slid out of the tape and fell overboard.The moral is, keep the blades away from the hacksaw.
 
Is the YM video of this stuff still up somewhere? That was excellent and I seem to remember that the conclusion was not to buy cutters but can't remember what the solution was. Snooks will be along at some stage to remind us no doubt :)
 
You want to tape the blades on individually, so that when you want one you don't cast the rest loose. You must have had rubbish tape if it let the blades slide through it :)

Pete
 
Thanks for the suggestion, I have a hacksaw and spare blades but have discounted it, as cutting through up to three 10mm ss stays without a vice seems unlikely. However I have never tried so I guess that's tomorrows task. The riggers showed me the approved technique, one arm on the ground and also stressed the first hit is vital. Not to keen on gyms, perhaps Spinach.

Still think the best option is a cordless disc grinder, just need a small one.
 
Adonnante

Out of interest, which Felco 12mm cutters were you using? Did you mean the Felco C12 which I think are specified for up to 6mm stainless rigging wire? If so then you did well to get through the 10mm 1x19.

Salty John.

It's interesting that the Cabletooling website shows the Baudat KS13 to cut up to 8mm 1x19 yet the Seateach and Baudat websites show the KS13 to cut up to 10mm stainless wire...
http://www.baudat.de/en/products/wire-rope-cutters/ratchet-single-handed.html

I'm intrigued by the difference. As soon as I can get hold of a piece of 10mm 1x19 I'll be trying out the KS13. If you have tried the KS13 on 10mm wire then let us know how it works..

Many thanks.
 
pvb said:
In many cases, wouldn't it just be easier to knock the clevis pin out of the turnbuckle?
Click to expand...
I imagine that if there's any sort of tension on the pin it might prove very difficult.If for instance the rigging screw is being pulled down by the weight of the mast the split pin may become inaccessible.
 
Found it, YM Summer 2011 issue (was it really that long ago?!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-jqwkNXMIY

In order of recommendation from YBW:
  1. Hacksaw with bi-metal blade (£23)
  2. Nail Pincers (to remove clevis pin) (£4)
  3. Pliers (yes, normal pliers) (£7)
  4. Hydraulic clutters (£1116)
  5. Shootit (£499)
  6. RigOff (£116 each, replaces bottlescrew)
  7. Bolt Croppers (£80)
  8. Cable cutters (£160)
 
Last edited:
Martin_J said:
Adonnante

Out of interest, which Felco 12mm cutters were you using? Did you mean the Felco C12 which I think are specified for up to 6mm stainless rigging wire? If so then you did well to get through the 10mm 1x19.

Salty John.

It's interesting that the Cabletooling website shows the Baudat KS13 to cut up to 8mm 1x19 yet the Seateach and Baudat websites show the KS13 to cut up to 10mm stainless wire...
http://www.baudat.de/en/products/wire-rope-cutters/ratchet-single-handed.html

I'm intrigued by the difference. As soon as I can get hold of a piece of 10mm 1x19 I'll be trying out the KS13. If you have tried the KS13 on 10mm wire then let us know how it works..

Many thanks.
Click to expand...


I have the C12 cutters, they are engraved with a maximum capacity of 12mm steel wire, my error was to assume this was stainless 1x19 wire. Unfortunately I didn't manage to cut the wire, it was a rigger who was successful and we think it unlikely it could be performed at sea.

The video is most helpful, thanks lustyd. I carry a hacksaw and pliers, but aren't confident on them being successful in bad conditions offshore. The mast is the Seaspar F590 section and weighs 175kg without rigging, it would easily become a very dangerous item to be working near. The Shootit looked a good option.

Many thanks again, this forum is an excellent source of info.

Peter.
 
As the problem wasn't with the cutters failing, but requiring too much effort to make the cut, is it possible to extend the handles in some way? The extra leverage might then make it possible to cut the wire.
 
lustyd said:
Found it, YM Summer 2011 issue (was it really that long ago?!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-jqwkNXMIY

In order of recommendation:
  1. Hacksaw with bi-metal blade (£23)
  2. Nail Pincers (to remove clevis pin) (£4)
  3. Pliers (yes, normal pliers) (£7)
  4. Hydraulic clutters (£1116)
  5. Shootit (£499)
  6. RigOff (£116 each, replaces bottlescrew)
  7. Bolt Croppers (£80)
  8. Cable cutters (£160)
Click to expand...

I have a pair of bolt croppers on board which I have never used but which I assumed would be man enough for the job. I see they are way down on your list. Should I be worried? I assumed that they would be more efficient than the hacksaw I had before.
 
Keep an eye out on fleabay for the Hydraulic cutters. I got a set for, IIRC, $180 on ebay USA - and the FX rate was around 2 at the time. I've tried them several times on 1/2"" SS 1*19, 10mm SS 1*19 and on stainless chain (8mm?) - they are exceptionally easy to use and don't require a huge amount of force.

I can't recall the manufacturer, but they are exactly the same as the rebadged Holmatro ones that some riggers sell. I think I found the ebay ones listed under industrial tools or similar.

Edit - just had 1 minute look on eBay, there's a place in Canada selling them at $105 on a BuyItNow and they've got 8 sets available. The head is slightly different to minr but looks like it would still do the job. That would probably work out around £200 when delivered to UK and VAT paid.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hydraulic-S...634?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item4d0929af7a
 
Last edited:
I fear I must explain that those were the recommendations of YBW from the article which the video was for. All were tested at sea after a dismasting on purpose, and the results are those I posted (buy the back issue, worth £4.99 on Zinio for sure).

Adonnante, the pliers and hacksaw were the most effective in a real situation so why no confidence?

One of the issues with bolt croppers is that to use them you need to lean on them. You can do this at home no problem, but could you in the conditions which brought your mast down? Extending the handles is probably not wise - you'd then be far less likely to get them anywhere near the thing you're cutting, and less likely to be able to hold still to cut it.

As I said above, buy the mag from http://gb.zinio.com/browse/issues/index.jsp?skuId=416177333&prnt=&categoryId= as very few if any people commenting here will have tested any of this in a real situation, let alone tested more than one of them!

(I don't work for IPC etc. just recommending because this article was so very useful)
 
Adonnante, the pliers and hacksaw were the most effective in a real situation so why no confidence?




These questions are requiring me to consider the issue in more detail than I had previously, a good thing. If a stay is laying across the deck and largely motionless a hacksaw would be a good solution, hanging down the side of the boat and swinging with the best part of 350kg rig on it I doubt if it would be feasible. Removing a 20mm clevis pin would involve the removal of an equally chunky split pin which would be cut and bent to ensure the ends were not exposed to cause damage or injury. The clevis pin would be easy to pull out if unloaded but near impossible with the rig hanging on it. There is no space between the end of the clevis pin and the coachroof to enable a drift to be used, I guess mole grips would be better than pliers. With the forestay the only option would be to remove the clevis pin due to the roller reefing gear or cut it with a disc grinder.

Peter.
 
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