James River Branch: Tools and Supplies

Tools: Flush Cutters

Without a doubt, flush cutters are one of my most frequently-used tools. They may look like plain old wire cutters, but they're quite different. The jaws are ground in such a way that the cut leaves a nearly-perfectly smooth surface on one of the two parts; their most frequent use is in cutting rail because there's no need to file or otherwise dress the cut afterward—and as a consequence, they're often called "rail nippers". But I use them for much more than just cutting rail; they're great for removing plastic parts from sprues, and etched metal parts from frets. I also use them to trim strip styrene, wood or soft metals such as brass into finished parts, since one side of the cut is always clean. They're so useful, in fact, that I have a few different pairs in different sizes to best suit the parts I'm cutting.

Important: Do not use flush cutters to cut anything made of steel; it will instantly ruin them. They should only be used on soft metals such as brass and copper. Of course, they're perfectly fine to use on plastic and wood.

Just getting started? Flush cutters are available at most good tool supplies, but because they're easily confused with ordinary diagonal cutters, you need to pay extra attention to what you're buying. Therefore, it's often better to order them from tool specialty suppliers, such as Micro-Mark, so you know you're getting the right tool.