What tool/method do you use to prevent Fraying when cutting cable sleeving?

L

Liquid_Cooled

Gawd
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
793
So what do you guys use to prevent your cable sleeving from fraying when you cut them?

i know the best/easist tool to use would be a hot knife, but those thiings are too pricy (upwards of $50). some people heat a knife over a stove until its red hot, but id like to try something a little safer. some people use a heat gun to melt the ends after it cut, but i heard its too hard to control where it melts.

what if i cut the cable sleeving with a scissor, then touch the ends with a soldering iron to melt the sleeving fibers?
 
you're just trying to prevent unravelling, right? Why not just fold the end of the sleeve back over itself a 1/2" or so. That'll keep it from catching on anything while you're installing it... and then you can just trim the excess off after, and put heatshrink over the trimmed end to finish it off.
 
i tried that before. after a few months (Even with the heatshrink on), the fibers unravel making the heatshrink slip off.
 
how about heatshrinking over the folded-back edge then? It might give you a better "seal" on the heatshrink. When it's heated properly, heatshrink should become soft enough to adhere to the cable and sleeving... Maybe it just wasn't heated up enough? If you can pull the wires through the heatshrink, it hasn't bonded properly.
 
Get some of the adhesive heat shrink tubing. It's got glue on the inside that melts when heated.
 
ive been thinking about using that adhesive heatshrink, but im afraid itll be stuck to the sleeving and wire once its melted, or leave a very sticky residue if i plan to remove or change the sleeving.
 
anything you can do to seal off the end would come undone as soon as you stretched it over your cables. cableorganizer.com sells hot "scissors" which is basically a 3 inch long red hot wire that you cut sleeving with. might be worth it if you are going to do this a lot. other wise, after you are finished pulling it over your cables, use a small piece of electrical tape the same color as your heat-shrink to cover the frayed end. then cover that with the heat shrink, which sticks to electrical tape way better than it sticks to sleeving.
 
Ok...this is how someone on a BACS budget cuts cablesleeving:
1. Go to the store and get the cheapest scissors you can find, that are WELL insulated on the handles...you'll need it!
2. Go home, and set the scissors on the eye of your stove (hopefully electric!)
3. Turn the stove on high.
4. Let the scissors heat up.
5. After a few min, test touching a bit of the sleeving to the scissors. If it melts, they are hot enough to cut with. If not?...back on the eye they go.
6. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Note: I'm NOT responsible for personal injury, ect that comes from this. It worked for me...YMMV!

-Ghent

p.s. BACS=Broke Ass College Student
 
Ghent915 said:
Ok...this is how someone on a BACS budget cuts cablesleeving:
1. Go to the store and get the cheapest scissors you can find, that are WELL insulated on the handles...you'll need it!
2. Go home, and set the scissors on the eye of your stove (hopefully electric!)
3. Turn the stove on high.
4. Let the scissors heat up.
5. After a few min, test touching a bit of the sleeving to the scissors. If it melts, they are hot enough to cut with. If not?...back on the eye they go.
6. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Note: I'm NOT responsible for personal injury, ect that comes from this. It worked for me...YMMV!

-Ghent

p.s. BACS=Broke Ass College Student
Click to expand...
lol
Great advice, though. You could also just grab yourself a pair of oven mitts or gardening gloves to use for insulation.
 
Ghent915 said:
5. After a few min, test touching a bit of the sleeving to the scissors. If it melts, they are hot enough to cut with. If not?...back on the eye they go.
Click to expand...

that's a fine idea, thanks! the 'Ove Glove finally comes in handy!
;)
 
Hrmm... Now that I think about it.... It might be worth a shot.

Buy some nichrome wire off of eBay. Use a model rocket igniter/batteries +wire to heat up the wire and cut. :D
 
oh dear, all these methods sound so risky....

i think im just going to use a fire place lighter and melt the tips...
 
Finally someone with some sense.... Hot knives... Hot scissors... Hot anything... Sheesh, way too complicated...

.5 seconds or less at the end of a elongated 1.99 fireplace lighter and you are done, simple...

Let me go over the steps for you...

1. Cut sheething to desired length and dont release the end
2. Expose frayed end, to end of flame of lighter for about 1/4 to 1/2 second (not long enough to keep it on fire of course)
3. Done

(also note that if you plan on doing quite a lot of sheething, use common sense and use an area with some ventilation - burning plastic = toxic fumes, wouldnt want you losing too many brain cells)... :)
 
and when the wire becomes frayed again, after stretching it over your cables and such, wrap the ends with small piece of electrical tape (same color as heatshrink). this will prevent them from fraying more, and "heatshrink sticks to electrical tape better than it sticks to sleeving". and you can leave out the step about burning the ends with cigarette lighters.
 
darn_it said:
Ya a normal lighter usually does the trick for me.
Click to expand...
Same here. A quick pass of the flame and the ends melt together nicely. They will be
covered up with heatshrink anyway. Takes less time & effort than the electrical tape IMO.

Brain cells?! Blah, they are highly overrated. :D
Seriously though, good to see that mentioned here. NEVER take your health for granted.
Without it you have nothing.
 
i cut the stuff with my soldering iron, if i am not soldering that day ill just use a lighter, if im at work i use this badass thing called a hot knife.
 
Darkala said:
i cut the stuff with my soldering iron, if i am not soldering that day ill just use a lighter, if im at work i use this badass thing called a hot knife.
Click to expand...
yeah soldering iron works good for me as well
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top