Rigging Scissors, Options Please?

[Dutch522]

Hi all, I've been reading Przemysław's wonderful rigging guide, and am wondering what folks use for trimming the loose ends of doubled monofilament where it comes out of the "turnbuckle" (and fine rigging tasks in general, for that matter)... I don't think I have anything precise enough to nip a single strand like that. My Xuron shears are 30 years old and the tips are pretty blunt, and my fly-tying scissors I doubt can get that close either. Some sort of surgical scissors, maybe...?

All advice gratefully accepted, and thanks in advance.

Dutch

[Dave Brewer]

I just use a fresh scalpel blade.

[FAf]

I use my normal sprue cutter - in my case a cutter from Model Craft (https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/modelcraft-side-cutters/). Works fine with monofilament.
/F

[Rookie]

I use this "snipper". Works great for me.
Don't know where I bought it though.

Hope this helps

Cheers,
Willem

[davec]

I use an iris scissor (very sharp, curved, short blades) when I'm OK with a very short stub coming out of the tubing and a new #11 scalpel blade when I want to cut more flush.

[DaddyO]

I go through the wing and only work in the smaller scale at the moment so a brand new scalpel blade works fine for me, but have you considered trying a pair of nail clippers? I've got a couple of pairs and use the larger ones for cutting thin brass wire and the smaller ones for all sorts of cutting jobs where a scalpel is not suitable.

Paul

[Dutch522]

Many thanks, Dave, Dave, Fredrik, and Paul, all useful info. And Willem, I'm a bit of a tool junkie, so I had to do a search on those awesome tweezer/scissors of yours... in so doing I stumbled across a wonderful company called Widget Supply, and ended up ordering not only a pair of something very much like them, but also a scalpel & blades, iris scissors, small hemostats, and a pair of those goofy right-angle forcep-things that they used to advertise in Fine Scale Modeler as the "Crocodile Ear Polypus", and which I will probably never find a use for (but have always wanted).

So thanks to you all I'll have a lot of options to explore. And a bunch of cool new tools :-)

Dutch

[AlbertD]

I use my Tamiya decal scissors. They seem to work well.

[Rookie]

Glad to hear you found what you wanted.

Sorry to hear it left such a dent in your wallet.

I'm a tool junky too. I have tons of handtools, all within arm's reach.

But the things I value most are the ledlight-loupe, the precision ruler and the little juwelers vice.

Cheers,
Willem

[KiwiZac]

Sorry to hear it left such a dent in your wallet.

I tell my fellow aircraft engineering students something equally applicable here: don't view it as "buying something/spending money" but as an investment. Good tools should pay for themselves in no time at all!

[Dutch522]

I agree absolutely, Zac! Having been a carpenter and cabinetmaker at various times I can vouch for that philosophy. I'm still using tools that were my Dad's that are older than I am.

I received two orders in yesterday's post, one from Widget Supply, and the other my second pair of incremental carbide bit sets from Drill Bits Unlimited. Quite happy with them both, particularly the mini-tweezer-scissor-thingies (thanks again, Willem!). Haven't used them for any rigging experiments yet, but I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Dutch

[Rookie]

Looks like an instrument table in an O.R.

Who's the patient?

 

Willem

[Dutch522]

Willem

It does, kind of, doesn't it? I'm a big fan of Patrick O'Brian's Master & Commander novels, and with them all laid out on a wooden table it looks more like Dr Maturin's improvised operating room on the orlop deck of HMS Surprise; all the midshipmen's sea-chests lashed together... I don't think he had the crocodile forceps, though :-D

And Albert, just realized I forgot to thank you for your input as well, I looked at the Tamiya decal scissors, which I'd never seen before. If none of these options really work for me I'll try them too.

Dutch

[Umlaufmotor]

Hello all,
I use this tool to cut off the ends of the wire or fishing line.
This is a pair of pliers which is very flat and sharply ground at the front. It is called cutting tweezers.
It fits very well in the hand and the cutting head is just the right size for our modeling needs (rigging specifically).
I let a cutting surface slide along the taut rope to the protruding end until it rests against the end to be cut and with a gentle pressure the cut is made exactly at the glued wire end, or wherever you want to cut.
The tool is relatively expensive, but I have never had anything better in hand for this work.
Possibly other manufacturers also produce these cutting tweezers.
Use Google ..... 











Greetings from Bavaria
Servus
Bertl

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[Umlaufmotor]

Here are two example images:
The wing of a 1/32 Fokker E.V which has been in my display case for about 15 years - The fishing line which represents the control wire to the aileron.
Good to see how close to the end the cutting tweezers can be applied.
(No, I have not cut the fishing line now) 





Servus
Bertl