Topband: Looking for recommendation for cutting tool for RG-6 with CCS center conductor

[Steve K8LX]

My favorite cutting tool after many years as a SMATV contractor is the 
Thomas & Betts/Belden IT1000.

It's a prep tool and compression tool all in one, but that's not why I 
like it so much. It just does a great prep job.

There are two basic styles of prep tools - the cylinder style, where you 
stick the end of the cable into a cylinder and twist, thereby ejecting 
spiral shaped material out the side. These can work OK if the cable is 
sized just right and the blades are new, but in general they're a joke.

The other type is the clothespin style with a finger hole. These have a 
pair of parallel blades spaced 1/4" or so apart to make the two cuts 
that are needed as you spin it around the cable.

However this type of prep tool is available in two styles - one that has 
a cable stop so that you can NOT push the cable through in order leave 
the center conductor long. Don't buy that type.

The IT1000 (and others) do not have a stop, so you can leave the center 
conductor as long as you want. I usually leave an inch or so sticking out.

Two advantages to this.

1) You can make your initial cut of the cable with any old cutters, 
doesn't matter if they flatten the cable because you are prepping the 
cable up where the cable is still round.

PLUS - after the connector is push onto the cable, you can then cut the 
center conductor a little long (1/8"-1/4") and then compress. This makes 
the connector infinitely easier to mate with some female connectors.

Some of them seem to be sized for RG59 and it takes some force to 
insert. And in real cold weather the center conductor can pull back a 
little without going open. Cut the center conductor at an angle.

Don't worry that the longer center conductor will bottom out in it's 
mate - I've never seen a female F connector that couldn't handle 3/8".

I'll add the blades for the IT1000 last for hundreds, probably 1000's of 
cuts, and replacements are fairly cheap.

-Steve K8LX


On 2/4/2021 12:13 AM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
> RG-6 is a special case in that virtually all of it
> uses a copper clad steel (CCS) center conductor.
> Many fine wire cutting tools are designed strictly
> for copper, and can get ruined if used for steel.
> I also want the cutter to slice the end off of the
> RG-6 cleanly, rather than crushing it and distorting
> the circular shape of the coax.
> 
> Can anyone recommend a quality cutting tool for RG-6?
> 
> 73
> Rick N6RK
> _________________
> Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector