I need a better way to shorten bolts

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi guys.
I use bolts and screws that are between 1/8" and 5/16" in diameter. Seems like I never have the right length on hand and have to hacksaw-off a bit. The dang things never clamp well in the vise and the motion of the hacksaw makes it more bothersome to cut. Is there a better way - perhaps a special fixture for the vise, a different cutting tool, etc? (Other than "go buy the right size, silly." ) I tried a diamond disk in my dremel - surprisingly, that was slow and tedious.

How do you folks do this?

Thanks,
Fred

[lowell holmes]

I would double nut the bolt at the cut off point. Then I would put the bolt and nuts in a vise and cut the end off at the nuts.

[Sebastien La Madeleine]

I have to cut bolts on a regular basis and I use a die grinder with a really thin disk. Buy a good quality disk (I like Walter). They wear a little faster but they cut in a hurry! 1/4 inch bolt in about 5 seconds.

I like those: https://www.walter.com/en_CA/product...ng/zip-xxtreme

And then, when I need a fancy end, I take then over to the bench grind and put a 45 degree chamfer at the end.

[Bruce Page]

If I have several to cut I do it in the lathe with a parting tool. For 1-2, vice & hacksaw. I try to clamp on the waste end whenever possible.

[John Lanciani]

For up to #10 size, nothing beats a decent screw cutter; http://www.kleintools.com/catalog/co...rpose-6-1-tool

for 1/4-20 and up, a cutoff wheel in a grinder is the easiest. Thread a nut on first, clamp the cutoff end in the a vise, cut the bolt, and run the nut off to chase the threads.

[William Young]

All good advice above. Another good way, especially if the cut-off end is too short to hold in the vice, is to place a small softwood block against the threads on each side and squeeze this in the vice. Make sure the blocks are thick enough to keep the bolt head from contacting the vice faces. This allows even pressure against the threaded part of the bolt without damage to the threads. It is still a good idea to screw a nut onto the bolt above the cut. Grind or file the cut edges before removing the nut.

[Edwin Santos]

Hello Fred,
Have a look at post #99 in the Tips and Tricks thread here:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....s-Thread/page7

I hope this is useful to you. It's not my tip, but I think it's a good one so I saved it.
Edwin

[joseph f merz]

if your cutting alot get one of those electrician cutters previous poster showed .i have several .they work very well and fast. as a trim carpenter you always need to be trimming the screws for drawer nobs .

[Edwin Santos]

I would double nut the bolt at the cut off point. Then I would put the bolt and nuts in a vise and cut the end off at the nuts.

Good suggestion, but when I read it, the last part made me cringe.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys! All of these are good ideas. I'll try several to see what works best for me.
(I have some of those multi-purpose electrician's cutters but never thought much of them. Will try that too!) I appreciate everyone's help!

Edwin - darn good find. I missed that on in the Tips thread. Thx!

Fred

[Alan Schwabacher]

Drill some holes in a scrap of wood the diameter of the root of the thread, and turn in the bolts or screws so the amount sticking out is what you want to cut off. Now use an angle grinder to cut them all flush with the wood. You can clean up the threads by grinding a small chamfer on the end of the bolt. I find this more effective than threading on a nut before cutting, to clean up threads on removal.

[Andrew Hughes]

I just bite them off with my teeth

[glenn bradley]

I would double nut the bolt at the cut off point. Then I would put the bolt and nuts in a vise and cut the end off at the nuts.

I do as Lowell suggest and use a pair of bolt cutters. Then grind the tip on a bench grinder and back the nuts off. This works great for jigs and such as I can get just the length I want. Much faster than a hacksaw or a Dremel. That silly pair of Harbor Freight bolt cutters bought with a 25% off coupon have paid for themselves dozens of times around the shop and house.

[James Pallas]

If I have many to cut I drill and tap a hole in a 1/8 or 1/4 plate run the bolt through the plate. Pu the plate in the vise and take the angle grinder to it. Very quick unless you are cutting grade 8 bolts. Angle grinder cuts it off and you can smooth the end with the grinder and back the bolt out of the plate and done.
Jim

[Matthew Curtis]

I just bite them off with my teeth

Good idea Andrew aka. Chuck Norris.