Hi fellas. Shortening bolts. Easy right? Just get a hacksaw, hold it in the vice and saw away. Although sometimes the length is critical, or you have a cheesehead that won't stay put in the vice, or you are trying to cut through a hard material like stainless and the blade is skipping across the threads and buggering them up.
![Roll Eyes ::)](http://forums.sohc4.net/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif)
You engineering types will know this, but for the more technically challenged or OCD types like myself, here's how I was taught to shorten bolts many years ago. Particularly handy if you need to shorten several to the same length.
First, select your patient.
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020116.jpg)
Wind a die down the thread to the amount you want to remove
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020117.jpg)
Hold the die in the vice - not too tight, but enough to nip up the die and hold the bolt tight
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020120.jpg)
Keep the blade flat against the die as you cut, using it as your guide
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020121.jpg)
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020122.jpg)
Turn the die down a couple of threads and reposition it in the vice,again nipping it up to hold the bolt secure
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020123.jpg)
Use a flat file to clean up the cut, hold it at 45 degrees to remove the burrs
![](http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dogsnuts99/P1020124.jpg)
Surgery completed!
![Smiley :)](http://forums.sohc4.net/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)