Photo Description

Building a KIS Cruiser

by

Bill Schertz, December, 2001

Spiral Tubing Cutters

A handy tool that costs very little (next to nothing) is a spiral tubing cutter to make polyethylene tubing into a spiral wrap that can be put around wires to hold them in a bundle, or around tubing as an anti-chafe covering. You have to make them, as follows.

1. Take a scrap of wood, and drill a hole near the edge that is slightly larger than the tubing you wish to cut,
2. Saw a thin kerf in the edge of the wood, to intersect the hole at an angle, bond a razor blade into the slot such that it protrudes into the slot enough to cut through the wall of the tubing.

To use – just start feeding tubing into the hole with a twisting motion, and pulling it out the other side. I have made two of them, one for ¼" and one for 3/8" tubing. The angle of the razor slot establishes the frequency of the spiral cut. You will have to experiment to get what you want. Pictures shown below.