What is the best way to cut braided line? I bought some some and some fittings. I tried putting tape on the line then using a hacksaw. Big time fraying. :(

Rock,

I tried many ways but the best was putting the hose in a vise and wrapping the end with tape and then using an air powered high speed cut-off wheel. Please wear eye protection it gets everywhere. Sometimes you need to straigthen out the cut a little afterwards. To do this I use a sacrificial wood chisel to cut the stray strands on the anvil portion of the vise. Works great everytime.

Hope this helps..Tom

I found that if I wrap the line with duct tape atleast 3 or 4 wraps really tight with the cut right in the center of the tape and then put it in a vise and put the cut line as close to the vise as possible and use the finest saw blade you can get 36 teeth or more per inch it works pretty good. I've also heard of people putting two saw blades in opposite of each other. if I have any fray's I use a tin snip to trim off.

dremel and a cut off wheel

Tape it with electrical tape as tight as you can and use a chop saw with a metal cutting blade. Works great. If you must use a hack saw get 2 blades and put them on the saw so the teeth are facing in opposite directions. Then clean up the frays with some side cutters.

I also wrap them in tape a few times around then put in the vise and cut with a fine bladed sawsall.
Good luck
bobh

Dremel and cut off wheel.

You can almost do it without any tape!!

I bought a chop saw that worked great. Then I saw what the guys were using at the speed shop where I buy it and it was a small chop saw from a local tool store. Kind of cheaply made but it works great for doing this. I bought it at a place called Harbor Freight. Chop saws the cleanest way I've seen to cut it though. And a word from experience, blow out the line. I forgot to and when I went to start my motor for the first time the rear float stuck. After taking apart the bowl, there was atleast an 1/8" of black rubber in the bottom! Lesson Learned to say the least. Hope that helps.

Matt

I use a die grinder and an abrasive cutting wheel when I do this at home. Works good, but puts a lot of debris in the hose that must be cleaned out.

Aeroquip sells a cutter rig that uses a steel cutter wheel similar to what you'd see in a food slicer. Its a solid steel wheel, perhaps 8" diameter when new, sharpened to a knife edge. Cuts the steel braid, cuts the teflon or rubber hose, all without throwing a lot of crap inside the hose. The company I worked for had two blades, so that one could be resharpened while the other was in use. I made 50-100 hoses a day, and the cutter wheel would last several weeks before needing to be re-sharpened.

I wonder if something similar is available for a chop saw.

Thanks, I bought a 3" high speed air cutter. Worked great. Again thanks for all the replies. Know what kind of prep for the hose before I put on the fittings?

large scissors works great, thats what spectre recomends on theirs, Rob...

http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/cabletol.jpg

I use Klein cable cutters and wrap the line with masking tape. They make a very clean cut, no debris in the line and they are very portable. You can make up the line right on the car. They are good for up to 8AN. You need to make a decisive cut, a quick firm squeeze and it's done.

All this with braided is why I like Aeroquip Socketless hose & fittings.