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#1980 by roma847 on 25 Feb, 2021 14:48
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Hello everybody,
and with that once more back to the connection of the Track Shoes of the Truck chains with suitable pins, for which my friend Arno (McPhönix) now had sent me lots of wire ends (57 pieces, approx. 17 cm long) of his silver-plated copper wire (Ø 0,4 mm), which I had already tested and found to be good.
And for the squeezing and bending the "barbs" on the wire ends to adumbrate the safety split pin, he also sent the already discussed adjusting pliers, which he has specially modified for precise working accordingly, for which I would like to thank him again.
Because he's meant well and wanted to make sure that the amount of wire required both for experimentation and is also sufficient for making the required 456 (8x57) connecting pins for the 8 Truck chains , he has sent an ample supply that would easily be enough for two more Crawlers.
In order to get a better feel for the processes involved in the production of the pens, I made further preliminary tests, especially for a good fitting of the pens in the Pin lugs,
and determined the required length of the pins (with barbs) through 4 Pin lugs, which should be approx. 6 mm.
In order to get away from the stressful piece production, the exciting question now was to find a technique that could be reproduced with as little effort as possible to handle with this Sisyphean task
and its handling in order to ultimately create connecting pins (6 mm) to be able to produce at least partially in small series with a short, squeezed and bent barb, which wanted to be carefully considered. 
With this technique, it should be possible to handle as many pens as possible at the same time in sections of the making process, so as not have to make the same hand grips 456 times as in a medieval manufactory, which would horrify me,
although this cannot be avoided for the squeezing and bending. 
Strictly speaking, several questions had to be clarified in advance in the order of the operations.
- To which lenght do I cut the wires before squeezing and bending the wire ends, each wire individually, or several at once?
- Is it worth buying such a not very cheap Miter Cutter,for cutting plastic profiles, balsa wood and soft metals, whereby I had flirted with a similar model, The Chopper, already oftener?
Source: rai-ro.de
It would be conceivable that with this cutter a row of wire ends lying next to each other could be cut to a certain length with one cut if their position was fixed with tape to prevent them from slipping. And I suspect that these thin and relatively soft copper wires could also be cut with this robust device.
The more I think about it, the more I'm tending to buy this solid Cutter guillotine, especially since for the Crawler a number of plastic profiles (including with miter) are to cut reproducible, especially since the very convincing video gives cause for justified hope.
- How do you bring the squeezed flat and bent barbs reproducibly to a uniform length of only approx. 0,5 mm?
Certainly this does not succeed in one step, which is why one would need a small overhang of the squeezed end, which one would have to cut to this final length in the bent state, whereto a tiny defined stop of approx. 0,5 mm would be required.
After pondering for a longer time, I came up with the idea,
to use a suitable tube with approximately this inner diameter for holding the pins (Ø 0,4 mm), which if possible should have a wall thickness of approx. 0,5 mm, which would correspond to the length of the bent barb after it has been cut.
Since brass tubes in this diameter range usually have a wall thickness of approx. 0,2 mm, I had to select two tubes that fit into each other,
whereby I've glued the thinner tube (Øa 0,7 mm) into the outer tube (Øa 1 mm),
in order to get a handy holder of 30 mm length in this way.
Since the bent end of the pin is still a bit too long in this state,
I've cut off the overhang along the pipe wall with the chisel cutter,
whereby this shortened barb was created, which I am content with.
Then I've laid the pin with the barb into this steel ruler angle set to 6 mm and have cut off the overhang at the end of the pin to the final length.
Also for this the Miter Cutter would also be suitable for this purpose, which has an adjustable stop, if it were possible to glue the pens next to each other on a strip of tape and to fix stable at this stop when cutting, and additionally to be fixed from above with a hold-down device. This may sound quite adventurous, but it could be feasible and might have to be tried out. 
Now I would be interested to know if anyone of you has any experience with this Miter Cutter/Chopper, if so, hopefully not a negative one, because I'm almost on the point of buying such an interesting tool.
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#1981 by roma847 on 27 Feb, 2021 12:32
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Hi Guys,
now I had so high hopes that someone here in the forum would be able to report about experiences with the Chopper, but apparently none of you have it in use, which is hard to believe ...
Pity, whatever! I've bought the RP Toolz Cutter in the meantime and I'm already looking forward to it.
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#1982 by mike robel on 27 Feb, 2021 17:56
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Hi Guys,
now I had so high hopes that someone here in the forum would be able to report about experiences with the Chopper, but apparently none of you have it in use, which is hard to believe ...
Pity, whatever! I've bought the RP Toolz Cutter in the meantime and I'm already looking forward to it.
Hi Manfred,
I only tend to come to NSF about once a week now, mostly to look onto your thread, other modeling, and current events.
I have a version of the chopper, similar to this: https://www.micromark.com/Chop-It. I don't think it is suitable for cutting metal since it just uses a single edge razor blade, tends to lose its positioning, and the mount for the blade allows it to wobble. I primarily cut plastic and chipboard (think cardboard) with it.
This works well, but is not so precise, for tubing and wire: https://www.micromark.com/Micro-Tubing-Cutter
If I am cutting a lot of wire, this works pretty well and uses a razor saw, but I don't think it will give you the precision you are known for.
Happy bending and cutting my friend. Your craftsmanship remains incredible.
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#1983 by roma847 on 27 Feb, 2021 20:54
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Thanks, Mike, for your response and your experience with your Micro-Mark Chopper, which I've also looked at, but which does not seem so stable due to its construction.
The videos about the RP Toolz Cutter, however, convinced me more of its solid structure and quality, so that I've bought it in the meantime and I'm already looking forward to it.
Maybe I'll have to swap out the cutting mat for a harder one, but then I think this cutter should be able to cut the thin copper wires reliably.
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#1984 by EG on 01 Mar, 2021 18:42
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Hi Brother,
The real issue as mike says is consistent results, at the size of wire your working with as long as it is soft it will cut it no problem....
Most of these "Chopper" tools aren't worth the powder to blow them, well, you know where.....
I use a larger blade type paper cutter myself for repetitive rod cutting, with a tray under the drop edge to catch the cutoffs....
Plenty of solid metal and strength, but even with that the issue becomes repeatability, the most I've been able to do at once was 5.... not cause the cutter couldn't handle more, I couldn't devise a way to hold them securely for accurate cuts....
Good luck, if anyone can find a way to make it work, you can my friend....
EG -
#1985 by roma847 on 01 Mar, 2021 20:04
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Thanks my friend for your expertise,
I've also considered for a while whether the purchase would be worthwhile and this tool would be suitable for my purposes, but then I listened to my gut feeling and bought the thing, which I can now report on.
A key consideration was also how many wires one could cut with it at once.
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#1986 by roma847 on 01 Mar, 2021 22:17
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Hello everybody,
and now here is the thing, and as expected and hoped for, it also makes a really solid impression, with a high rigidity of the blade fastened with Allen screws, which is very important with such precision tools!
Contrary to my assumption, the cutting blades are not only sharpened on one side, but on both sides (1 mm). I also still had ordered 5 replacement blades (0,25 mm and 0,3 mm).
After looking at the part from all sides, I've of course also tried it out with different Evergreen profiles, such as:
- Tube Ø 5,6 mm
- Rod Ø 4,0 mm
- Box profile 3 mm x 3 mm
- Strip 3,2 mm x 1,5 mm
And as one can see, the quality of the cuts is really impressive.
Here is a Miter cut (45°) through a H-Column (3,2 mm), as well as a cut through a Balsa strip (2 mm), across the grain, which is also completely problem-free, as one can see.
In addition, according to the description, this cutter should also be suitable for soft metals, which I've tested with my silver-plated copper wires (Ø 0,4 mm).
For this I've put 5 wires next to each other and set a length of 10 mm with the side stop. So that nothing could slip, I've only temporarily fixed the wires with a steel ruler, that could also be clamped if necessary, and then did cut with one cut, which is easily feasible with this diameter. Maybe it is possible that the number of wires per cut can also be increased, which should be tested.
With it nothing should stand in the way of producing the needed Connecting pins for the Crawler chains.
On closer inspection, I noticed these the two yellow circled additional threaded holes on the back of the lever, which there are probably not without reason there.
Since the dealer (Rai-Ro) could not answer that, I will inquire about it at the producer RP TOOLZ.
So much for my first impressions of this great tool.
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#1987 by EG on 02 Mar, 2021 01:44
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You mean someone has finally made a chopper tool worth having?
No wonder it's so pricey.....
Glad it worked for ya Manfred....
EG -
#1988 by roma847 on 02 Mar, 2021 07:01
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As you know, quality has its price! But the end justifies the means.
How good that we've compared.
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#1989 by roma847 on 03 Mar, 2021 14:32
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Hello everybody,
hardly asked, and the answer came from RP Toolz already, according to which other blades can also be used.
While for the Miter Cutter German Martor blades are used, one can also use these Stanley trapezoidal blades, which with 0,65 mm blade thickness are somewhat more robust and suitable for coarser material.
And for clamping these blades the two central threaded holes are provided.
Source: amazon.de
With it one could probably cut thicker wires made of soft material too.
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#1990 by roma847 on 04 Mar, 2021 13:07
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Hello everybody,
yesterday I've received this photo from RP Toolz showing one of the matching Stanley trapezoidal blades with a blade thickness of 0,65 mm,
Source: RP Toolz (Peter Horvath)
which you can order here at amazon,
Source: amazon.de
which I've done right away too.
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#1991 by roma847 on 06 Mar, 2021 15:00
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Hello everybody,
to try out these Stanley blades, I've ordered 10 pieces, which have already arrived.
While the holes (Ø 2,9 mm) of the Martor blades fit exactly to the threaded holes of the Miter cutter,
surprisingly there were problems when clamping the Stanley blade because the distance between the two recesses does not quite match that of the threaded holes in the new cutter.
As a result, the blade can only be screwed tight with difficulty and does not sit optimally too, which would be problematic regarding the tool life of both the Allen screw and the threaded hole of the cutter.
Since a complaint regarding the Stanley blades would not be expedient, I could try to widen the left recess (3,4 mm) a little, which I've also successfully done at the first go with a small diamond round file,
whereby this blade could now also be screwed tight,
and is therefore ready for testing on the 0,4 mm copper wires.
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#1992 by roma847 on 09 Mar, 2021 22:42
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Hello everybody,
in the meantime I have fiddled around with the production of the connecting pins and, among other things, and have tried, brave as I am, to cut 10 wires all at once to test the limits of what is feasible.
I came to the conclusion that 10 mm would be a sufficient length for the cutting and have set the side stop accordingly. In order to be able to slide the bundle after each cut against the stop and to prevent the wires from flying away, I fixed it with several strips of tape and placed it at the stop.
When cutting I had to exert a noticeable pressure with the lever, but then it made Crack,
and most of the first 10 pins had disappeared, 
which then gradually found themselves scattered on the tile floor. It's just good that the silver-plated pins are shiny and were relatively easy to find.
So I was just too quick with the matter and hadn't thought of the downholder, which I had actually thought about exactly for this purpose beforehand.
And since adversity is the school of wisdom, I've put an 8 mm wide steel block next to the stop for the second cut and hoped for its help, what then also proved its worth.
And then it went on easily the same way ...
And these first 50 pins are now waiting to be bent and then trimmed.
BTW, in this video that I came across by chance, I've seen (I didn't understand anything because I don't speak Japanese)
that there is obviously also a double stop for the Miter Cutter, which would of course be helpful for certain things. 
After that I've asked at RP Toolz and found out that this stop was made for the Sujiborido Company and is only available in Japan.
And since I meanwhile have a good rapport with Peter Horvarth due to my interest and inquiries about the blades, he graciously wants to send me such a stop for free , which of course surprised me and pleased me.
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#1993 by roma847 on 11 Mar, 2021 07:58
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Hello everybody,
in the meantime I have also learned from RP Toolz (Peter Horvarth) that the trapezoidal blade from Martor 5233.70 is a blade with 1-sided sharpening and 0,63 mm material thickness, which fits the Miter Cutter, as one can see in this image, so I have ordered 10 pcs. of which at rs-shopping.
Source: RP Toolz (Peter Horvarth)
The same blade is also available with a TiN coating, but for twice the price (10 pcs. 16,55 €).
And therewith the next steps are now the bending & cutting down of the wires, whereby I will proceed as I've described it in my Reply #1980.
For fun, I've counted the number of hand movements per pin and came up with 11 just for bending & crimping, which I hadn't suspected initially!
- Holder tubule into the left hand
- Pin into the right hand
- Threading pen into the tubule
- Taking crimping pliers
- crimping the pin end
- Putting pliers aside
- Placing the tubule with the pin onto steel ruler and bending the crimped end
- Taking chisel cutter
- Cutting off crimped overhang (2x)
- Putting chisel cutter aside
- Ejecting the pin from the tube
Next please!
In addition there are now still approx. 5 further hand movements during cutting off the crimped barb to the final length of 6 mm, which I will do, however, as a precaution, using a single-cut process so as not to produce too lots of waste.
However, I had to give up my previous variant of cutting off on the cutting mat, since my chisel cutter has probably become too blunt and has therefore only bent the overhang,
which is why I had to use a sheet of steel as a base, which then enables cutting off even with the blunted chisel cutter, 
at least until my re-order of new chisel blades has arrived.
That is then in total approx. 16 actions, which have to be carried out 456 times, so more than 7.296 in total, in case nothing falls out of my hands during this stressful fiddling.
And if I'm honest, I have to admit that I am now shocked myself at this number and thinking about whether I should really do this to myself?
I have already been asked about this whether it would not be sufficient to glue the chain links together, at least in the straight areas of the chains.
But as a crazy lover for details, I will probably make this extreme effort and not shrink back for fear of my own courage.
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#1994 by roma847 on 11 Mar, 2021 22:26
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Hello everybody,
today the continuation of the pin cutting off was on the program, i.e. patience and perseverance were required for this monotonous work ...
The box with the pins looks relatively harmless in itself,
But the job is pretty stressful, not only for the eyes, but also the back (lumbar spine) because of the constantly stooped posture.
But the first 104 of 456 pins are now finished, at least the beginning has been made.
Now I can start the next small series, for which I first have to cut off pin-bundles on the cutter to 10 mm and then crimp their ends and bend them into barbs, i.e. the same procedure as before ...
The squirrel has a hard time feeding itself ...
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#1995 by roma847 on 12 Mar, 2021 23:33
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Hello everybody,
Peter Horvarth, RP Toolz, quickly kept his word, because yesterday his package arrived from Hungary with the promised Double stop for the Miter Cutter, together with two trapezoidal blades, franked with 2270 Forints (6,18 €), which he did post on Tuesday (03/09/21) in Balatonfüred. Look here, that's what I call Customer Service - Made in Hungary! 
Of course, I installed the Double stop right away, and also the 0,63 mm thick Martor blade (5233.70) with a 1-sided cut.
With that I am now also prepared for somewhat stronger things.
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#1996 by roma847 on 15 Mar, 2021 21:42
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Hello everybody,
after completion of the first 104 connecting pins it went now to the 2nd Round at which I've used the longer copper wires (Ø 0,4 mm).
After testing the 0,6 mm thick Martor trapezoidal blade (L=52 mm), I've decided however again for the thinner Martor blade (0,25 mm) belonging to the cutter, which seems to me to be more suitable for cutting the wires due to its shorter length of 38 mm.
For this I've again put 10 wires close to each other and fixed them as a strand by using tape strips,
which I've then positioned on the cutter, whereby weighting down again the first bundle for the cut with the steel block as a hold-down.
And then it was cut successively by sliding the strand again and again,
which worked again without any problems until the last cut.
With it another 150 pins have been cut now,
and then stowed away safely.
But as one can see from the furrow along the cutting line of the blade, the cutting mat is already quite overused by this ordeal, which is why this inevitably arises the question of the lifetime of the mat with this heavy use.
That's why I have already considered whether a cutting plate made of Acrylic glass (Polymethylmethacrylate, PMMA) would make sense, which I had bought as pad for cutting photo-etched parts some time ago. 
There were no problems with the test cut, it shortly made crack, and the wire was through!
Since the blade of my little chisel cutter has reached the ripe old age of and has suffered quite a bit, I've found slightly wider blades at Martor and immediately ordered them together with the appropriate holder, 
which of course I've tested on the acrylic glass pad on a 5 wire strand, but to my astonishment has failed.
Although I've pressed down the new chisel cutter with all my might,
I haven't managed separating these 5 wire strand, which rather surprised me. 
Obviously, when cutting with the Miter Cutter, by the principle of lever shears a significantly greater cutting force is generated that is sufficient to cut the wire strand.
Since I was interested in the length of time per pin in the single-cut method anyway, I then ran the stopwatch at 15 cuts on a single wire and came up with 90 seconds, which is 6 sec./pin corresponds.
Then I made a suitable cutting mat made of acrylic glass for the Miter cutter, but which with 2,9 mm is slightly thicker than the original mat with 2,75 mm, although I was hoping that this could be arranged to fit by using the blade's seat.
But as one can see in the image, my hope has unfortunately not been fulfilled because the blade no longer lies flat on the pad. What such a few hundredths are making up ... 
Therefore, before the 3rd Round the original cutter mat was inserted again and with it another 130 pins were cut, whereby I also determined the time. In doing so, I came to 210 seconds for 10 cuts of the 10 wire strand, which means 2 sec./pin and is much faster than the individual cuts, which was to be expected. 
This means that a longer round of crimping&bending&cutting off is about to happen again soon.
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#1997 by mike robel on 16 Mar, 2021 10:02
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Excellent, Manfred!
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#1998 by roma847 on 16 Mar, 2021 10:45
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Thanks Mike for your great compliment!
In order to protect the cutting mat from excessive wear and tear, I will use its back side for the last hard cutting round of the still missing pins, wherefore I've already retooled the cutter.
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#1999 by roma847 on 17 Mar, 2021 13:44
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Hello everybody,
somehow I must have lost track during my cutting orgy, because as I've discovered to my surprise, over 400 pins have been cut already so that I only still needed to cut two wires what was done in a trice on the back of the cutting mat. 
So the remaining approx. 350 pins only have to be crimped, bent and cut off, which will take a little bit longer ...
Nevertheless, how good that I have compared again.