Flush Cutters for plastic welder staples

[sweetolbryan]

I have searched and read all of the previous posts about cutting the “staples“ used to repair plastic. The staples are steel and are heated and melted into the plastic and then the legs are cut or ground off. Seems like flush cutters all specify soft wires and plastics only. Grinding is problematic as it is slow and hard to get flush without surface damage. I was hoping there have been some advances since the last time this was asked. Maybe a pair of “distal end cutters” would work?
thanks

 

[tojen1981]

Nippers maybe? I use side cutters then finish with flap wheel to smooth things out.

As far creating some surface damage from grinding, the fact that you're hot stapling kind of presupposes damage in the first place and and it's generally acceptable at that stage of the repair.

I've repaired many items with hot staples to keep things "functional", but you'll need more finish work anyways if you want the item back to original condition.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

I was looking at flush cutters recently, but no steel involved.

As I understand it, flush cut and steel are competing opposite demands on how much bevel the blade should have. So any cutter would be a compromise. Not sure about staples but I'd guess they're made from drawn wire so would be particularly hard.

My intuition would be to look towards Japan. They're really keen on these things, have the biggest ranges of options, and publish detailed specs about cutting capacity in multiple materials. For example you can go to Fujiya and filter their nippers for straight blade https://www.fujiya-kk.com/en/products/categories/46/list-products/ - many of them do steel wire.

 

[gregs]

The staples I use are made to have the legs break off after use. Sometimes I still need to cut off a couple but generally after some wiggling back and forth the leg snaps off.

 

[FlaGman]

The electronic flush cutters work well and are designed to cut wire

 

[Rabid Badger]

The electronic flush cutters work well and are designed to cut wire

They aren't designed to cut steel.

 

[Firebrick43]

They aren't designed to cut steel.

+1. Flush cutters edge geometry is always going to be quickly damaged by steels and harder materials.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Fujiya 77A-175, rated for 2mm steel wire. Bigger and smaller versions available.



But still, what we said above about flush vs. steel will apply.

 

[WWheeler]

The cheap plastic welding kit I got off Amazon came with the welder gun, assorted plastic fill rod, staples and the cheapest little side cutters (flush cutters?) I've ever used and they have been fine going though all of the staples that came with it and had to order more.

 

[tak1313]

They're pricey, but carbide

https://swanstromtools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Swanstrom-Tools-M-Series.pdf

Edit - I don't know if you can find a FLUSH cutter, but if you can find one that cuts piano wire, it will have no problem with what you are trying to cut.

 

[Rabid Badger]

They're pricey, but carbide

https://swanstromtools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Swanstrom-Tools-M-Series.pdf

Edit - I don't know if you can find a FLUSH cutter, but if you can find one that cuts piano wire, it will have no problem with what you are trying to cut.

Don't do it. I've destroyed not one, but two pairs of Swanstrom cutters trying to cut hardened steel. They are designed for very precise cuts. They can do thin steel wire, but I don't use my remaining pair for anything over 0.5mm.

 

[sweetolbryan]

thanks for the suggestions. I may try some of the distal end cutters. The staples sometimes have to show on stuff I repair, so I would like to not have grinding marks on top of that. It is also much faster to just snip the ends off
thanks again