Side cutters are pliers intended for cutting wire and the leads of components in electronics. Are you looking for high-quality side cutters to support your next job? Here, you will learn what side cutters do and how they can be used.
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What Do Side Cutters Do?
Side cutters can be used for a variety of professional jobs and tasks. These specialized pliers make it easy to grip, bend, splice, and cut wires, as well as strip insulation.
Knowing what side cutters do and how they work is important, as it can help you improve your professional process and produce a higher standard of work when completing industrial and construction tasks.
If you're wondering what side cutters do and how they can be used, here's everything you need to know!
What are Side Cutters?
Side cutters are pliers designed with a cutting blade on the side of the jaws. This blade makes it possible for side cutters to be used for a range of applications, including electrical and construction work.
What are side cutters used for?
Side cutters, also known as diagonal pliers or wire cutters, can be used for many purposes. Commonly, they are used to cut and skin wires or to cut and remove pins, nails, and fasteners.
Most commonly, side cutters are used to cut copper, brass, iron, aluminium, and steel wires. Advanced tools have strong jaws that are capable of cutting tempered steel, such as piano wires. However, this should old be attempted with higher-quality side cutters.
In some cases, side cutters can also be used to cut rivets and bolts or to strip insultation. In electrical installations, they can be used to cut soft copper and aluminium electrical conductors.
What types of side cutters are available?
There are many different types of side cutters, with different models better suited to different tasks.
For electrical work, it is best to use specialised side cutters that are ground flush to the apex of the cutting edge on one side of the jaws. This can allow you to trim flush wires, avoiding sharp tips.
Other variations of side cutters include those designed for high leverage, with these cutters able to be used for cutting hard wire materials, including dental wire and electrical fence wire.
It’s important to ensure that you choose the right cutters to suit your needs, ensuring that your tools are safe and well suited to your work goals and environment.
How do side cutters work?
Side cutters work by making it easy to firmly grip objects with the jaws of the pliers while holding on to sturdy parallel handles.
The strong grip that is possible with side cutters allows for the turning, bending, cutting, or other manipulation of an object.
Instead of shearing objects like scissors would, side cutters cut by creating an indent in a wire, then wedging two halves apart.
What are side cutters made from?
Side cutters are often made using tempered steel, making the pliers strong and resistant to damage. They also often feature inductive heating. In many cases, side cutters have insulated handles, protecting against electric shock.