Hacksaw blade for cutting carbon fibre steerer

pprendeville

Could anyone advise me where to get a Hacksaw blade for a carbon fibre steerer and what type. Have read 32tpi Carbide is the way to go? This right?

lennymc

im interested in this aswell.

Holyboy

pprendeville wrote: »

Could anyone advise me where to get a Hacksaw blade for a carbon fibre steerer and what type. Have read 32tpi Carbide is the way to go? This right?

Sounds about right to me,there are special ones out there for carbon but any fine toothed blade will do,i always wrap some electrical tape around the steerer and cut through that,it stops it splintering,then a light rub with some fine wet and dry paper to smooth it off.

pprendeville

Holyboy wrote: »

Sounds about right to me,there are special ones out there for carbon but any fine toothed blade will do,i always wrap some electrical tape around the steerer and cut through that,it stops it splintering,then a light rub with some fine wet and dry paper to smooth it off.

cheers. any idea where i canget the:
1: specific blades for cutting carbon
2: wet and dry paper (haven't come across this).

another tip i picked up from reading is to put epoxy or nail polish on the top of the steerer where it has been cut to seal it from water penetration. wife has the nail polish but i imagine the eopoxy would be better. again any idea where i could pick this up? based in dublin.

pprendeville

reply from old boards mechanic.

Yes a high tooth count hacksaw blade is best 32 tpi is the one I use, make sure that you use a full size hacksaw not one of the junior ones. Also recommend that you use a proper saw guide and put a bit of masking tape around the steerer before you cut to prevent damage to the steerer tube.

Be 110% sure that you have the correct dimension before you cut, you will need to take into account the 3 - 5 mm free space below the stem that the headset top cap will need in order for you to be able to tighten the headset correctly. My advice is to always put at least 5mm of a spacer on top of the stem.

Holyboy

Interesting......http://www.carbonfibertubeshop.com/cut%20&%20bond.html

Park tools make carbon specific blades, any LBS should be able to order one for you, but you really don't need one.

bcmf

pprendeville wrote: »

reply from old boards mechanic.

Yes a high tooth count hacksaw blade is best 32 tpi is the one I use, make sure that you use a full size hacksaw not one of the junior ones. Also recommend that you use a proper saw guide and put a bit of masking tape around the steerer before you cut to prevent damage to the steerer tube.

Be 110% sure that you have the correct dimension before you cut, you will need to take into account the 3 - 5 mm free space below the stem that the headset top cap will need in order for you to be able to tighten the headset correctly. My advice is to always put at least 5mm of a spacer on top of the stem.

I would be of the opinion of putting at least a 5mm spacer between the headset topcap and the stem as it acts as a loadbearer as well as creating space for the the tightener bit piece that i cant think of the name of now and at least a 5mm spacer between the top cap and stem for the same reason.

doozerie

pprendeville wrote: »

cheers. any idea where i canget the:
1: specific blades for cutting carbon
2: wet and dry paper (haven't come across this).

Wet and dry sandpaper is basically sandpaper that can be used wet (useful in certain applications) or dry. Wet and dry sandpaper is usually, perhaps always, silicon carbide, much better quality than the "glass" sandpaper of old. It's quite widely available from places like motor factors (e.g. Halfords), some woodworking suppliers, and even the likes of Homebase. Not everywhere will stock the same range of grades, but motor factors tend to go to quite high grades (higher the number = finer the sanding) as it is used to smooth car bodywork before painting. I'm not sure what grade would be recommended for carbon fibre but I'd imagine P400 or higher would be fine (I've found as high as P2000 in a motor factors near Terenure, which basically polishes whatever you apply it to). The likes of Homebase might only stock as high as 240, which would probably do too in a pinch.

As for the saw blade, if you plan to use just a standard fine blade then you should be able to find those in the likes of Homebase too, or in McQuillans on Capel Street (or Blanchardstown).

cdaly_

pprendeville wrote: »

cheers. any idea where i canget the:
1: specific blades for cutting carbon
2: wet and dry paper (haven't come across this).

another tip i picked up from reading is to put epoxy or nail polish on the top of the steerer where it has been cut to seal it from water penetration. wife has the nail polish but i imagine the epoxy would be better. again any idea where i could pick this up? based in dublin.

Wet and dry paper is the black stuff (not the sandy coloured stuff) You can use it wet which helps it to remain unclogged. Not relevant for smoothing off a carbon steerer. You'll get it in any hardware shop or motor factor. Use around 400 grit or finer.

I would have thought nail varnish would be the better choice myself but you'd want to be sure you got the shade right...

gman2k

When cutting a carbon steerer, always cut towards the centre of the tube, never from centre of tube back to the outside (prevents splintering of the fibres)
If you need to file down the cut, just file towards the centre only in light strokes.
There is no need to put epoxy etc on the cut, unless the fibres are starting to delaminate.
Some carbon fork manufacturers (and AFAIK Parktools) recommend placing one spacer above the stem, so this amount should be added to your cut length.

triggermortis

whatever methods you're using, remember to MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE

DCU lad

pprendeville wrote: »

Could anyone advise me where to get a Hacksaw blade for a carbon fibre steerer and what type. Have read 32tpi Carbide is the way to go? This right?

breadknife will do as long as you have one of these,
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=10222

if youre not using a saw guide youll make a balls of it awful easy.

otherwise youll be wantin a very steady hand, the 32th blade another steady hand good eye hand co-ordination and a bench vice

Murph100

A junior hacksaw with a new blade will do fine IF its just needed the odd time. The blade is finer than the standard hacksaw blade.

Get yourself a jubilee clip, and use that as a guide. Start at the side opposite the jubilee clamp, and then when you're over half way through, loosen the clip and rotate it 180, line it up with the cut, tighten and finish cutting from the other side.

Simple, works a treat and cheap as chips.

Use a file or some wet sandpaper as mentioned above to finish off the edge. Dont go crazy if its not 100% straight, a 1mm dip makes no difference, just as long as the expander plug has a decent purchase.

Are we nearly there yet....

McQuillans Tools in the retail park beside Blanchardstown SC sell 32TPI blades.

Just go easy as you cut the steerer as its much easier to cut through it than you may think so let the saw do all the work and dont put too much pressure on it.

Measure twice....mark it....then put the kettle on and have a coffee and then go back and measure it again and then cut it.

pprendeville

Murph100 wrote: »

A junior hacksaw with a new blade will do fine IF its just needed the odd time. The blade is finer than the standard hacksaw blade.

Get yourself a jubilee clip, and use that as a guide. Start at the side opposite the jubilee clamp, and then when you're over half way through, loosen the clip and rotate it 180, line it up with the cut, tighten and finish cutting from the other side.

Simple, works a treat and cheap as chips.

Use a file or some wet sandpaper as mentioned above to finish off the edge. Dont go crazy if its not 100% straight, a 1mm dip makes no difference, just as long as the expander plug has a decent purchase.

Mr.Skeff told me not to use a junior Hacksaw. Have the frame and just need a blade. Was in Woodies yesterday in Glasnevin and they only had 24tpi blades and 300 grit sandpaper so might head out to Blanchardstown later so.

pprendeville

Are we nearly there yet.... wrote: »

McQuillans Tools in the retail park beside Blanchardstown SC sell 32TPI blades.

Just go easy as you cut the steerer as its much easier to cut through it than you may think so let the saw do all the work and dont put too much pressure on it.

Measure twice....mark it....then put the kettle on and have a coffee and then go back and measure it again and then cut it.

A few Irish coffees maybe?

Murph100

Skeff is right, if you can get a full size 32tpi blade, then great use that definitely, however if you cant find one, a junior hacksaw ( it has a 32tpi blade ) with a jubilee clip will do the trick if its just the odd cut you need.

pprendeville wrote: »

Mr.Skeff told me not to use a junior Hacksaw. Have the frame and just need a blade. Was in Woodies yesterday in Glasnevin and they only had 24tpi blades and 300 grit sandpaper so might head out to Blanchardstown later so.