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as per title. don't currently have access to a vice to clamp forks to cut steerer. whats the hive mind view on easiest way to do it to get a clean straight cut?
Sword
I use a cutting guide and tend to just wrap them in a towel and rest them on the work bench. With a good blade it's not like you have to use a great deal of force. Tend to just leave them in the bike if trimming once already fitted.
Edit - so wish I'd said sword 😆
Forks on something knee height, like a chair or a tree stump. Foot on the forks, left hand on the steerer tube.
Pipe cutter from DIY shop. Leaves a fairly smooth cut.
I used an angle grinder when I did mine, with a diamond cutting disc on it, and then belt sanded it to smooth it off. Just held it down on a workbench. I'm sure this was completely wrong but it seemed to work fine....
Do you have two stems that will fit the steerer? Clamp them one above the other with a 2mm gap at the height you want to cut, they should keep the saw blade running fairly straight. You'll probably need to tidy it up with a file after and you may mark the stems, but it works pretty well.
I just wrap and tape a piece of paper around the steerer as a guide then use a hacksaw...slowly and steady cuts, no need for a vice
http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-record-handicutter/84140
I have one of these (from building my house) and have used it a dozen times to cut steerers. See if anyone you know has one you can borrow as many diyers will have one in their tool box
The only time I was 'careful' about doing one was cutting my Condors carbon steerer, (it's a material I don't really know anything about so didn't know how much I could recover with a file if I missed).
That one had sacrificial headset spacers in place as the template (and a slow, very careful cut with a fine hacksaw blade). You could use a couple of stems either side of the spacers to constrain the movement a bit too.
I normally just do mine freehand with my disc cutter, then use hand files to tidy them up, usually with them just sat on the edge of the kitchen table for the support. Draw a quick line with a bit of french chalk and away you go!
😛
Remember, from a functional AND an aesthetic point of view, the cut doesn't HAVE to be perfect! Not only is it hidden, but nothing butts up against it that requires a straight edge.
I've always cut mine by hand, resting the forks on something soft, metal blade junior hacksaw. I've always ridden my bike without dying.
Sword is a great answer, imagine if you could open champagne whilst at the same time shortening your stem, happy days.
Much as Glasgowdan . Last one I did was over the edge of the garden decking with a hacksaw., to be honest it was probably a couple of mm off square . That was a couple of thousand miles ago.
You mean you don't. What on earth do you drink then.
I've always just used a stem and a spacer. Spacer is there to stop me damaging the stem. If you are careful you only need one straight edge to guide you. Just put the fork on a bench. File down a bit afterwards.
Doesn't need to be perfect. I normally have a spacer above my stem in any case.
Remember though - measure twice cut once. If in doubt go longer. You can cut more off but can't stick it back on.
Pipe cutter, the ones with the wheel blades. Even if you don't use them to complete the cut they leave a n awesome groove to guide the hacksaw after. If you use hacksaw at any point, wash off the filings.
pipe cutter. don't go at it like a bull at a gate and it won't flair. i have a vice and a hacksaw i can use, and i use a pipe cutter.
the cut doesn't HAVE to be perfect!
I like to file a nice chamfer on mine 8)
Pipe cutter definitely. When I first got one I was amazed at how much better it was than the old hacksaw method. Only cost around 7 quid too.
we have a pipe cutter in the workshop it just saves so much hassle,mess and space for such a small job
I use a pipe cutter which is the best tool for the job. You just need to file the inside wall back flat as the cutter can fold the edge in slightly meaning a hope head doctor type fitting is harder to install.
I use jubilee clip tightened onto steerer tube as a guide then nice and steady with hacksaw. Usually lay forks on a towel on bench to prevent marks
Stand on it on a chair. By eye is straight enough. Quite possibly one of the least important things to get right on a bike 🙂
+1 for pipe cutter - makes it so easy or buy a steerer cutter guide if you think you'll ever be cutting carbon....they seem to reasonably cheap nowadays.
The last one I did with an Evolution Rage 3 sliding mitre saw... I'd probably not suggest that as a sensible way to do it... but it was very quick... :OD
Usually just a hacksaw, old towel and a flatish surface though...
Junior hacksaw. I use masking tape as a guide. Wet and dry the edges. Twenty minute job if you want a brew in between.
Laser cutter
I've used old stems and pipe cutters (these tend to mushroom the end though) in the past, but recently invested in a cheapo X-Tools steerer tube saw guide; cheap and extremely useful (works on handlebars too) and well worth having in any bike toolkit.
I pop on an old stem and use it as a guide to cut against.
I've always done mine in the bike. take them stem off and lay the bike on the floor. hack away