bolt cutters aren't much good for cutting bolts

[Roger Feeley]

I have a sort of swiss army knife crimping plier that include a shear for cutting bolts up to 10-24.
https://www.zoro.com/sk-professional-tools-crimper-wdie-22-10-awg-8-12-in-l-7699/i/G4535562/

For years I used a Radio Shack one and finally broke down and bought one from Klien. The RS one was better. What I like about these things is that I thread my bolt through, it shears it off and then when I back the bolt out, the threads are chased and pretty much ready to go.

But what I would really like is a similar device that I can bench mount or put in a vise that would go up to, say, 3/8".

Why is this not a commonly available product?



(https://www.zoro.com/sk-professional-tools-crimper-wdie-22-10-awg-8-12-in-l-7699/i/G4535562/)

[robert wiggins]

I have a sort of swiss army knife crimping plier that include a shear for cutting bolts up to 10-24.
https://www.zoro.com/sk-professional-tools-crimper-wdie-22-10-awg-8-12-in-l-7699/i/G4535562/

For years I used a Radio Shack one and finally broke down and bought one from Klien. The RS one was better. What I like about these things is that I thread my bolt through, it shears it off and then when I back the bolt out, the threads are chased and pretty much ready to go.

But what I would really like is a similar device that I can bench mount or put in a vise that would go up to, say, 3/8".

Why is this not a commonly available product?



(https://www.zoro.com/sk-professional-tools-crimper-wdie-22-10-awg-8-12-in-l-7699/i/G4535562/)

It looks as if this may be a good time for Roger Feeley to patent one.

In the meantime you can do the same on those larger sizes, chase threads plus relieve the first 3-4 threads of the screw so a nut starts every time without any aggravation, even in difficult to reach blind areas. You probably already have the tools to do that while working on your new patent.:)

[Lee Schierer]

They make tools for cutting threaded rod (https://www.reedmfgco.com/en/products/general-pipe-working-tools/threaded-rod-cutters/) in the sizes you mentioned.

407730

[Frank Pratt]

They make tools for cutting threaded rod (https://www.reedmfgco.com/en/products/general-pipe-working-tools/threaded-rod-cutters/) in the sizes you mentioned.

407730

And they work very well. For 10/24 & under, Ideal or Greenlee make good ones. Klein tools are generally very good, but for some reason their wire strippers & screw cutters just aren't very good.

[Roger Feeley]

It looks as if this may be a good time for Roger Feeley to patent one.

In the meantime you can do the same on those larger sizes, chase threads plus relieve the first 3-4 threads of the screw so a nut starts every time without any aggravation, even in difficult to reach blind areas. You probably already have the tools to do that while working on your new patent.:)

ha! It’s a running joke in my family that I should patent some idea. If you grow up in a family of problem solvers, coming up with a unique solution is SOP. We just figure stuff out and move on. Patenting something would just be an interruption.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have a Stanley cutter that does thru 1/4-20. Handles are about 18" long. Two halves of body are made from 1/4" thick hardened steel. We refer to it as "the hardware maker," as we can cut bolts and screws down to any length we need, as long as it's at least a 1/4".

[Roger Feeley]

I have a Stanley cutter that does thru 1/4-20. Handles are about 18" long. Two halves of body are made from 1/4" thick hardened steel. We refer to it as "the hardware maker," as we can cut bolts and screws down to any length we need, as long as it's at least a 1/4".

Bruce, can you give me a model number or something? With the cutter I have, it's my habit to buy just 2" bolts and cut them down to size as needed. Works great with 8-32. I wish I could do that with bigger stuff.

[Roger Feeley]

Well, this is maddening.

Dewalt makes a cordless threaded rod cutter that's very close to what I would want.
https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/cable-cutting-and-crimping/20v-max-threaded-rod-cutter/dcs350b

But no manual version. The ones posted appear to be for a specific diameter. I would like something with a series of holes for different sized bolts. Just like my crimper but a lot bigger.

I get it. These gizmos are for people hanging electrical or hvac all day who have a lot of all-thread to cut.

[lowell holmes]

Here is my idea of proper bolt cutters.:)

https://www.homedepot.com/s/bolt%2520cutters?NCNI-5

[John K Jordan]

If you have metal-working capability you could make one. I have a hand-operated shear with maybe a 4-6" cut, don't remember. It has a long handle and will cleanly shear surprisingly thick steel strip/plate.

I can imagine converting such a shear to a bolt cutter: duplicate the fixed blade in unhardened tool still, drill and tap holes as desired, harden, and grind/lap flat.

I do have some old cutters that do a passable job on smaller machine screws. They are not perfect but a touch with a file either before or after they are removed from the tool makes the threads perfect. I like to bevel the end a bit anyway.

A Dremel with one of those thin abrasive metal-cutting disks works well too, either with or without first threading a nut on the bolt/machine screw. For removing just a bit on the end, I use a bench grinder.

JKJ



Well, this is maddening.

Dewalt makes a cordless threaded rod cutter that's very close to what I would want.
https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/cable-cutting-and-crimping/20v-max-threaded-rod-cutter/dcs350b

But no manual version. The ones posted appear to be for a specific diameter. I would like something with a series of holes for different sized bolts. Just like my crimper but a lot bigger.

I get it. These gizmos are for people hanging electrical or hvac all day who have a lot of all-thread to cut.

[Lee Schierer]

The one I posted ships with 3/8" dies; purchase other dies to cut 5/16" or 1/4" threaded rod also .

[Myk Rian]

I use a hacksaw and dress the end with a fine grinding wheel. Then I remove the nut I put on it before cutting.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Ridgid makes a manual one - - not the Ridgid stuff you find at Home Depot - -the Ridgid stuff you see people in the plumbing trade sue. Same company, but, huge difference in quality....

Expensive though. Probably run around $500 or so.

Me?
I use a $9.99 angle grinder from Harbor Freight & chase the threads with, again, a Harbor Freight cheapie die.

[John K Jordan]

Me?
I use a $9.99 angle grinder from Harbor Freight & chase the threads with, again, a Harbor Freight cheapie die.

For general interest: When cleaning up existing threads, I find a thread restorer easier to use than a die or tap. (not good for cutting new threads) A The kits come with thread files for larger or odd sized bolts, I used one recently to clean up a bolt on a shock on my diesel truck.

I use a kit similar to this one: It may cost more than something from Harbor Freight, don't know, I don't shop there.

https://www.amazon.com/Kastar-971-Metric-Thread-Restorer/dp/B003QHQEPE

JKJ

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Why not just buy the correct length bolts and skip the cutting step?

[lowell holmes]

Sometimes, the thickness being clamped does not allow this. I want 1/4" of threads showing after the bolt up.

[John K Jordan]

Why not just buy the correct length bolts and skip the cutting step?

That's a good question! It may depend on what you are doing, how you work, the urgency, and how far you live from the perfect bolt store.

For me, I will often cut bolts and machine screws since I keep a big stock on hand but don't have one the right length for what I'm building or fixing. Cutting one is a quick and simple operation. Driving and shopping and finding exactly the right bolt is not.

Some other reasons I cut bolts and machine screws:

Fixing something at 10pm an night, need to use the equipment in the morning, and the only bolt I have is too long.
Making a stud threaded on both ends.
Welding a bolt head to something to make a very short stud.
Trimming excess to fit in a tight spot.
Reducing the length of a set screw to fit a special application. (I grind these shorter rather than cut)

JKJ

[Rich Engelhardt]

Thanks for that tip John.

& yes - it does run a lot more that the basic thread cutting kit I picked up at HF. That ran me about $10 on sale about 15 years ago. Since I've used it a total of three times, I think the cost was appropriate.

Re. The Dremel wheels....I found them too fragile for any real work - such as cutting off old toilet bolts. Any minor deflection of the spinning disk causes them to shatter - sometimes explosively. My wife was standing next to me & got hit in the forehead by a piece - that's what sold me on the idea of a cheap angle grinder.

Anyhow, I'll keep an eye out (bad choice of words! :D ) for a thread cleaner.

[John K Jordan]

...Re. The Dremel wheels....I found them too fragile for any real work - such as cutting off old toilet bolts. Any minor deflection of the spinning disk causes them to shatter - sometimes explosively. My wife was standing next to me & got hit in the forehead by a piece - that's what sold me on the idea of a cheap angle grinder.


If you are not aware, Dremel sells two types of the small abrasive cutoff wheels, one about twice as thick as the other. They also offer fiberglass-reinforced cutoff wheels that won't fly apart.

And yes, you can't flex the small wheels while spinning, but with a little care it's not a problem. Safety glasses, of course, for bystanders too.

I probably use the cutoff wheels more than other bits - keep one on one Dremel all the time for precision cutting and sharpening bandsaw blades. I use angle grinders for larger things.

I also used the little cutoff Dremel wheels a lot when I had a pile of motorcycles in the '70s. The engine casings and such were often put together with philips head bolts/machine screws which would strip easily. I used a little cutoff wheel to cut a straight slot in what was left of the head and go at it with a wide flat-bladed screwdriver bit in an hand-held impact driver. Worked every time. At that time aftermarket was selling replacement bolts with hex heads.

JKJ

[Rich Engelhardt]

Why is it that - the bad toilet bolts always seems to be the one next to a wall, where you can hardly see & you have to bend like a pretzel to get at? :D :D <----why Dremel wheels snap!
Yeah I've tried both and the fiberglass ones also. I'll still take the HF grinder any day over the Dremel.

[lowell holmes]

I have a hack saw and a bench grinder that will deal with this (and has).

[Roger Feeley]

Why not just buy the correct length bolts and skip the cutting step?

Steve,
For me, it's a matter of convenience. For 10-24 and below, I just keep a large quantity of long bolts on hand and cut them to size. It only takes a minute with my handy-dandy shear to cut a small bolt to the size I want. Going to the store to get one bolt is time-consuming and kind of annoying. That's what prompted me to start this thread in the first place. I would love that same convenience with 1/4" to 1/2" bolts. It just struck me that there ought to be someone out there willing to take my money.

Presently I do what pretty much everyone else does: Thread a nut onto the bolt, hacksaw it to length, grind the end flat, chamfer it a bit, remove the nut to chase the threads, and clean it up with a triangle file if needed. Since I'm sort of lazy, I keep a nice variety of lengths of larger bolts around.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Steve,
For me, it's a matter of convenience. For 10-24 and below, I just keep a large quantity of long bolts on hand and cut them to size. It only takes a minute with my handy-dandy shear to cut a small bolt to the size I want. Going to the store to get one bolt is time-consuming and kind of annoying. That's what prompted me to start this thread in the first place. I would love that same convenience with 1/4" to 1/2" bolts. It just struck me that there ought to be someone out there willing to take my money.

Presently I do what pretty much everyone else does: Thread a nut onto the bolt, hacksaw it to length, grind the end flat, chamfer it a bit, remove the nut to chase the threads, and clean it up with a triangle file if needed. Since I'm sort of lazy, I keep a nice variety of lengths of larger bolts around.

Sure, I get it. I've been known to cut screws at times to. In my previous ag career I used tremendous piles of bolts. They are wear items on some machines, to the tune of 50# each time sweeps need replaced, nearly 1000#/year usually. This ended up making the need for a size I didn't have a constant issue. I went the large inventory system rather than make them fit route though. I had Fastenal stock a large bolt bin with a constant supply of all possible normal metric and SAE bolts in grade 5 and 8. This made for an impressive cabinet, and was surprisingly affordable. It also illustrated something quite well, that we used several sizes extensively, but that probably 80% of the bin never got used. To that end, if you wanted to do a scaled back inventory system you could probably get a surprisingly small assortment that covers 99% of your needs.

The main reason that I resist cutting bolts is that the corrosion proof plating on the bolt is compromised each time one is cut creating a rusty end quite quickly. I hate that, it looks amateurish in my opinion. Of course it's not a problem in all instances but pretty much all of what I cut bolts for.