Cutting stainless braided hose

[TonyMadrid]

Another one for the gurus. What is the easiest and best way to cut stainless braided hose. I did a google search and found a site where they give a tip to tape the hose and then use a fine tooth hacksaw. I tried that but the hose end still frayed.

Any input, as always, will be greatly appreciated.

Tony

[TomH]

Be sure to use a "fresh" fine tooth hack saw and wrap the tape tightly. It works.

[jams]

I tried the hacksaw technique as well and failed. The only success I found was using a pair of good lineman pliers to cut the hose. The hose still needs to be taped. Using lineman pliers is only half the story. Once I squeezed as hard as I could by hand, I put the cutting end of the pliers in my vise and let the vise do the rest of the work. If you hit the handle with a hammer while it is on something solid the extra force will cut right through as well. It is a little more dangerous than the vise routine.

Good luck

[oleyellar]

There are many methods of skinning cats and cutting hose.
Die grinders with a cutoff wheel work the best for me.
If you wrap tape around the braid, then cut clear through with a high speed cutoff wheel, you get a clean cut, and no fraying of the braid. But, what you DO get is tons of black burned neoprene dust inside the hose, that has to be flushed and washed before useing.
So,
Wrap the tape, Mark a line so the cut is square to the hose, cut through JUST the steel braid with the high speed cutoff wheel on your die grinder, then complete the cut through the hose with a sharp knife. The rubber is thick enough to get through the braid without going clear through. That produces a clean cut with no junk inside the hose. Remove the tape and install the hose end.

[Edley Rondinone]

I have used two hose clamps around the hose I planned to cut, (with a short section of pipe on the inside of hose), then used a new fine hacksaw, sawing between the hose clamps with no problems.

[ENTDOC]

regular cutoff saw worked great. chuck

[ac andy]

cut off saw or dropsaw works well. Tape the ends first.

Andy.

[trularin]

Tape across the area to be cut with a few layers of good tape. Masking works.

Use a nice pair of cable cutters that are two opposing "Cs". Works well.

[Tinker51]

The chop saw method worked best for me. I made a ton of hoses restoring an airplane so I got pretty good at it. Two wraps of tape, a quick trip through the chop saw, then as previously mentioned clean out the hose. You would be amazed at the amount of gunk that comes out. Someone mentioned a die grinder with a cutoff wheel, my guess is that it would work just as well.

[Chifo Jr]

Just as an adder to the comments above. I found electrical tape wrapped very tightly will help in bringing the cut hose down enough to make installing the fitting over the end much easier. Also a bit of WD-40 to the inside of the hose and on the threads of the fitting helps alot. With a little practice you'll become a pro.

If you havent purchased all of your hose and fittings yet, try G&J (or J&G) aircraft supplies in Ontario, California. They have the lowest prices I have seen on top quality components.

[Rick Bagley]

I have to say a Dremmel Tool and the abrasive cut-off wheel is hard to beat. You can buy them at Home Depot, Lowe's ect. Good for any size hose building a Cobra and work like a charm on welding or battery cable as well as Grade 8 bolts. Just like everyone else states, "tape the area to cut".

[GeorgiaSnake]

I used my die grinder and cut off wheel. Tape the ends and cut around the hose not from top to bottom. If you use a hack saw get the finest blades you can find. Put two blades in the saw * one in each direction) so you cut in both directions this will minimize the dreaded frayed end. I left the tape on and installed the fittings.

Randy

[renaissance man]

I used a pair of "Wiss Metal Shears". They cut through like butter in one pass without any strain on you. Just tape immeditely behind the line that you wish to cut on. Just electrical tape will do to keep the ends from unwinding. Home Depot has them for about $12 bucks. Then you can use them to cut aluminum, steel flashing or whatever.

Cheers.

[TonyMadrid]

Thanks for all the replies!

I tried using my Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and it works great. I took the advice of one of the posters and only cut through the stainless barid and then used a sharp knife to cut through the hose. It Works!!!

On another note. I'm using a C-4 Automatic tranny and I'll be installing a tranny cooler. Should I have any concerns about what kind of hose to use for the tranny cooling lines? Will stainless braided rubber hose stand up to the tranny fluid or should I consider using steel lines?

Tony

[hcollado]

The stainless hoses will work perfectly. That way, you keep the plumbing looking consistant.