The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Has anyone got a good tip for the best way to cut a neat "square" end to a piece of rubber hosing, typically the type used to connect a soundbox (Pathé type) to end of tone-arm / horn?

With several attempts to get a tidy cut using an X-Acto (Brit. "Stanley Knife") blade, all I get is an uneven and jagged appearance to the cut edge with soft flexible material. There must be a relatively straightforward way to get a successful straight clean edge?

Many thanks!

You need a hose cutting tool like the one below, Steve

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4 ... L1100_.jpg

I have one similar to the above, but I bought it locally in Luxembourg. The tool will make a smooth cut, but the challenge is to have it perpendicular to the tube, I lost some length of tube until I got right angle cuts on both sides.

Thank you, Carlos!

I might have known there was a dedicated tool for just this job. I have now ordered one from Amazon. No doubt I'll use up and waste a lot of tubing with trial and error cuts as you have done.

Best wishes,

Steve

You may want to lap the end of your razor knife to finish getting it sharp. My brother does that for me and it makes a HUGE difference. Most of that stuff is made in China, and it's not done very carefully, and he says they are rough on the edge. You can lap it on some 2000 grit sandpaper (or finer) on a piece of marble or plate glass. It should slice through that stuff almost without effort.

I gave up on knives when I discovered a new sharp pair of scissors gives a clean square cut. I buy the rubber tubing by the yard. I lay one end into the reproducer and feed the tubing around and mark ⅛ inch overlap with a Sharpie pen. Snip with the scissors and the first gasket in made within seconds. Repeat procedure to make the second gasket. When I install the gaskets with ends butted, that junction is tight and invisible. No special tool is needed. Sacrifice a few inches of tubing and practice making square cuts.

VintageTechnologies wrote:I gave up on knives when I discovered a new sharp pair of scissors gives a clean square cut. I buy the rubber tubing by the yard. I lay one end into the reproducer and feed the tubing around and mark ⅛ inch overlap with a Sharpie pen. Snip with the scissors and the first gasket in made within seconds. Repeat procedure to make the second gasket. When I install the gaskets with ends butted, that junction is tight and invisible. No special tool is needed. Sacrifice a few inches of tubing and practice making square cuts.

I think you might have possibly missed that I was asking about horn connector rubber hosing and the material traditionally used to connect Pathé soundboxes to the tone-arm ie. not the very small diameter / soundbox diaphragm gasket material.

A good pair of sharp scissors works for the bigger tubing as well. I've cut the cylinder machine reproducer to horn rubber tubing with a larger pair of scissors and get very clean edges with little effort. Russie

Steve wrote:

VintageTechnologies wrote:I gave up on knives when I discovered a new sharp pair of scissors gives a clean square cut. I buy the rubber tubing by the yard. I lay one end into the reproducer and feed the tubing around and mark ⅛ inch overlap with a Sharpie pen. Snip with the scissors and the first gasket in made within seconds. Repeat procedure to make the second gasket. When I install the gaskets with ends butted, that junction is tight and invisible. No special tool is needed. Sacrifice a few inches of tubing and practice making square cuts.

I think you might have possibly missed that I was asking about horn connector rubber hosing and the material traditionally used to connect Pathé soundboxes to the tone-arm ie. not the very small diameter / soundbox diaphragm gasket material.

Oops! That's what I get for posting in the morning before having several cups of coffee. Sorry.

BTW, what kind of rubber hose are you planning to use, and where did you buy it? I have a Pathé or two that could be improved by replacements.

When cutting rubber, you'll find that applying neat washing up liquid or similar detergent to the blade helps a great deal.

Another idea would be to get a length of wooden dowel that matches the hose's inner diameter. Slip the hose over that, and cut around it with a single edge razor blade. (Just an idea - I haven't actually tried this).

Bill