That bender is worthless for bending stabilizers. It is meant for softer metal.That's what I am thinking too, maybe I should just use a hammer and vise.
The only way that I've been able to produce working stab wires is to use a bench vise with good pliers and a hammer.
Cheap bladed wire cutters will cut it, but will get dulled fast. They'll still cut while dulled though provided you distribute the cutting along the entire length of the blade. Wire cutters with tungsten carbide inserts will also cut it and won't get dulled as fast, but they are much more expensive. If you don't mind a little loss in cutting accuracy, you should get shear cutters. They last a long time and are cheap, but it's hard to cut with high accuracy. Shear cutters look like this:Show Image(http://img3.wfrcdn.com/lf/79/hash/3918/3507730/1/Hard+Wire+Cutters+-+cutter+music+%26+piano+wire.jpg).
They squeeze the wire between the jaws which move in opposite directions passed each other, creating shear force on the wire which breaks it.
Bladed cutters come in different grades of how flat they cut the wire:Show Image(http://www.tronextools.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/edge.png).
This is only really a concern if you need a smoother end or if you want to reduce shock when cutting. The most flush cut is usually called by a trademark name like in that picture. Since you'll be cutting music wire which is much harder than normal wire, this amount of pinching will increase as the blades get dull, which makes choice of flatness irrelevant unless you pick something that won't dull fast like carbide cutters. I still recommend shear cutters for this application however.
also keep in mind that flush cutters, even carbide ones are generally only up to 2mm wire. if you go past that, you want hammer/anvil style cutters. they aren't as accurate when trying to flush cut, but you can sand the wire down flat after you cut. i know the wiha professional pair was on sale recently and i got one for fairly cheap (and it wasn't wiha thailand, it was either wiha italy or wiha germany), and i've been pretty happy with it. it's definitely my go-to for really thick wire.Do you have a link of the full carbide flush cutters? I have checked edsyn, but I can only find carbide coated
also keep in mind that flush cutters, even carbide ones are generally only up to 2mm wire. if you go past that, you want hammer/anvil style cutters. they aren't as accurate when trying to flush cut, but you can sand the wire down flat after you cut. i know the wiha professional pair was on sale recently and i got one for fairly cheap (and it wasn't wiha thailand, it was either wiha italy or wiha germany), and i've been pretty happy with it. it's definitely my go-to for really thick wire.
Actually I have thought this before. ^-^. But seems too much for a tiny wireShow Image(http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/propane-torch-10368389.jpg)
Actually I have thought this before. ^-^. But seems too much for a tiny wireShow Image(http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/propane-torch-10368389.jpg)
If you don't want to go full size propane torch, you could probably manage the same result with a butane lighter. Lots of heat, much smaller form factor!
also keep in mind that flush cutters, even carbide ones are generally only up to 2mm wire. if you go past that, you want hammer/anvil style cutters. they aren't as accurate when trying to flush cut, but you can sand the wire down flat after you cut. i know the wiha professional pair was on sale recently and i got one for fairly cheap (and it wasn't wiha thailand, it was either wiha italy or wiha germany), and i've been pretty happy with it. it's definitely my go-to for really thick wire.
I wouldn't go to 2mm with carbide cutters. Max wire diameter for cutters also depends on the hardness of what you're cutting. Full flush cutting reduces the max wire diameter even more since the blades will have a finer edge. I've looked everywhere for cutters that could flush cut medical wire, and found that the max rating was 0.508mm diameter wire. Any larger and the blades are likely to chip.
also keep in mind that flush cutters, even carbide ones are generally only up to 2mm wire. if you go past that, you want hammer/anvil style cutters. they aren't as accurate when trying to flush cut, but you can sand the wire down flat after you cut. i know the wiha professional pair was on sale recently and i got one for fairly cheap (and it wasn't wiha thailand, it was either wiha italy or wiha germany), and i've been pretty happy with it. it's definitely my go-to for really thick wire.
I wouldn't go to 2mm with carbide cutters. Max wire diameter for cutters also depends on the hardness of what you're cutting. Full flush cutting reduces the max wire diameter even more since the blades will have a finer edge. I've looked everywhere for cutters that could flush cut medical wire, and found that the max rating was 0.508mm diameter wire. Any larger and the blades are likely to chip.
welllll i have a semi-flush i cut 2mm COPPER wire with sometimes, but i also hand sharpen my cutters and blades, and generally i use one of the various gigantor cutters i have for anything over 14ga solid of any alloy
what is medical wire made out of?
Quote-- snip --
Copper wire or music wire harder? If they are the same size?
Thanks! I asked this question because I an thinking of use copper instead of music wire for the stabilizerQuote-- snip --
Copper wire or music wire harder? If they are the same size?
Copper is much softer than steel/stainless. That is to say, music wire will be harder than copper if they are the same size.
I should clarify: copper is much softer than steel/stainless, or whatever music wire is made of. It is probably not durable enough to stand up to being a stabilizer for very long.Um..maybe I will make one by copper and one by music wire, and get a compare