Sprue Cutters

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Tools
1

Hi. I need to get a new pair of sprue cutters and I am looking at either a Squadron Tools or Xuron pair. Which one would you recommend?

Thanks

Rich

2

The Squadron cutters work fine for me.

3

I have the squadron sprue nippers, and they work great. Much better than the wire cutters I was using before! [:)]

4

I’m a bit biased since I designed the 2175ET Pro Sprue Cutters for Xuron. Made in the USA!

!(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t320/hawkeyes_bucket/Modeling Tools/sscwithsprue.jpg)

http://hawkeyes-squawkbox.com/2008/11/19/review-xurons-2175et-professional-sprue-cutter/

I stock them too!

5

i use my poscket knife’s huge amount of tools

victorinox swiss champ scissors, pliers, pen knife, file and large knife.

6

The Xurons I am looking at are the 410T. Someone has them for $10.79 and $3.25 to ship. I couldn’t find any prices on your site.

7

my cat bites the pieces off for me. XURONS i use.

Ron

8

Thanks for the input folks! I just had to send a pair of Model Expo cutters back because they fell apart the first time I tried to use them, so I wanted to get some input so as not to make the same mistake twice. lol

Rich

9

I’d go with the Xuron’s. You may not be aware of it, but most Xuron clippers actually don’t cut flush. One edge meets about a mm in from the opposite edge. This prevents the edges from hitting each other and dulling out. It also does a good job at preventing you from cutting off too much, e.g., cutting into the piece itself. Just FYI

10

Thanks for the additional info. I did order a pair of the Xurons yesterday. Hopefully they won’t take too long to get here.

11

Though the 410T were the standard of their day, you’ll find the 2175ET much better, hence the reason I designed them…I wanted more precise and cleaner cuts as well as the ability to remove very small delicate parts which were tightly packed on a crowded sprue.

check this LINK for more about pricing from my site. They are also available from Sprue Brothers and other hobby retailers that stock Xuron products.

12

Toe-nail clippers work fine for me…

13

Thanks for the info but If I spent $19.97 plus whatever shipping would be on a pair of cutters, my wife would probably go all Bobbet on me… She wasn’t very unhappy with me getting the 410T pair, even at the 10.25 price. It may not seem like a big difference to most folks, but we are living on a tight budget and I had already used my allotment for the month on an HO229 kit so the sprue cutters were pushing it a bit. But, as I pointed out to her, I can’t cleanly remove parts with an Xacto like I used to. So she caved and allowed the extra. I may be hen pecked but I prefer it that way. She keeps me from going broke on kits. lol. She did learn something though. As I said, I bought a pair of those el-cheapo Model Expo cutters for like $5 and they fell apart the first time I took them out of the package and tried to use them, so she learned that you get what you pay for with tools, and cheaper is not necessarily going to save you money in the long run. So I won’t be getting anymore kits supplies or even paints for quite a while. Luckily I stocked up on Tamyia Liquid orange top glue last month… lol

Rich

14

Tight budgets I understand. But I also understand what happens when you spend good money on a model only to have a part broken and/or damaged during the process of removal by a poor tool choice.

Like any durable good, you get what you pay for. A $20 investment that lasts and is guaranteed for life works out to be pennies per kit built. You actually spend more in paint than you do in a tool you use for each build project.

The tool can be shipped first class mail so that doesn’t add much to the cost. You should be able to get them from a LHS, they can order them from their distributors if they don’t stock them.

It amazes me how many modelers (not picking on you) out there will drop $20-$100 on aftermarket accessories that will never been seen once the model is assembled, yet they balk at purchasing something such as a tool they will use all the time. Ask your wife, does she purchase the cheapest of everything or does she know that somethings require a little extra to get quality. Just make sure you’re not in sight, she might have second thoughts about…[whstl]

15

I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately my Wife isn’t into the hobby and fails to understand the quality difference since they “All look the same” to her. I got the 410T because it’s a good brand with quality products. I hardly ever spend any money on aftermarket parts unless it is something essential to the build. The one exception being a 1/48th. scale British FGR2 Phantom Hasegawa kit I am working on for a group build. And even then I shopped for weeks to find it at a good price.

I haven’t been able to work for some years now due to a brain aneurysm, so the hobby is all that keeps me sane, since I only really get out of the house for Doctor Visits nowadays. And we are currently looking for a fixer upper house since our Mobile home is falling apart and is really beyond repair. So the budget is tighter than normal now. Luckily my Wife knows that I need Something to do to keep me out of the rubber room.

I know what you mean about finishing supplies. Every time I ask my Wife to run down to Hobbytown for some thinner or paint, she winces then when she gets back home and I see the receipt she sticks under my nose, I wince… If these prices go up much more, I will have to stop building and find a less expensive hobby. like collecting gold coins or something… sheesh…

Rich

16

Actually, liquid cement andf sprue cutters are the two things that revolutionized modeling for me personally…

17

Same here. At least on the Liquid glue. I first used the old blue label Testors back in the mid seventies. I can’t count how many times I got that stuff splashed in my eye, Ouch. I am amazed I didn’t go blind. But it was a big improvement over tube glue.