How to cut mule tape?

[Rustyiron]

I had to finally goooble mule tape. The "tape" threw me off in the direction of an adhesive, duct tape came to mind. Then guy's are pulling cable with it......
wondering how you'd get it through a conduit for a pull with all that sticky glue:laughing: It's funny the different terminology used around the country.

 

[k0ua]

I had to finally goooble mule tape. The "tape" threw me off in the direction of an adhesive, duct tape came to mind. Then guy's are pulling cable with it......
wondering how you'd get it through a conduit for a pull with all that sticky glue:laughing: It's funny the different terminology used around the country.

Rusty, I think they call it a tape, because it is flat. Think something like a seatbelt, a flat nylon or polyester of some kind of flat pull strap, usually smaller than a seatbelt, but somewhat similar. You attach it to your "mule" to pull with. whether that mule is you or a pulling machine called a mule is up to you.

 

[coldsteelva]

I had to finally goooble mule tape. The "tape" threw me off in the direction of an adhesive, duct tape came to mind. Then guy's are pulling cable with it......
wondering how you'd get it through a conduit for a pull with all that sticky glue:laughing: It's funny the different terminology used around the country.

Think measuring tape or even cassette tape or VHS tape, not sealing tape - never been any glue on those 'tapes'

 

[Rustyiron]

Oh I have some of it in my shop and in several trucks, It was usually left on the job by the power Co. after a pull and too handy for me just to walk by it on the ground. Good stuff but hard to make a knot in it that will come out I just didn't recognize the name.

 

[oosik]

OK - I had to Google also, but still only have limited idea what its used for. I've never seen or heard of it in this part of the country. Is this stuff called something else in the PNW??

 

[Pilot]

My friend who gave it to me works for a phone company, so I suppose they use it for pulling wire or fiber optic cable thru conduit. This kind has copper colored insulation over the wire and at first I thought I'd just be cutting a copper wire but soon found out it looks like steel under the insulation. I have no idea why they have insulated steel wire in it for pulling cable.
I like the die grinder idea.

I have a problem with bats in my hangar pooping on my plane so I plan to staple visqueen to the rafters, which has worked for others to keep the critters out. The guy who gave me the mule tape stapled thru the mule tape on top of the visqueen to make sure the staples didn't pull thru the visqueen.
So far I have used mule tape in the woods to help in piling slash. I'm cutting drought killed Douglas-firs which have a lot of small branches 1/2" -1 1/2" diameter relatively straight. So I lay out some mule tape with loops at each end, lay the limbs on the tape, run one end thru the other end loop and pull tight. Second end goes to a hook on the tractor bucket. Do again for hook on other side of the bucket. Raise bucket and back up to the piling area. Much easier than lugging them by hand. Works great with the mule tape and as others said, easy to untie the knots, but they stay tied if you want them to.

 

[Soundguy]

A friend gave me 250 foot sections of mule tape they throw away at work. Mule tape for those who don't know is a combination of a wire and nylon (or polyester?) and it lies flat. Very strong. Pretty handy stuff, but it is very difficult to cut with the combination of a wire (steel?) and nylon. Anybody have a good way to cut it? Knife doesn't work unless you have already cut the steel-and it takes a sharp knife at that. Band saw grabs it, pulls it out of your hands. Chop saw doesn't work. Sheet metal shears cut the wire, but not the nylon.
What does work?

harbor freight sells a scissor looking shear with titanium or stainless blades. ( item#62507 ) I cut electrical fencing tape that has embedded thin strand SS wire and then polyethelyne tape for visibility. Cuts easy..

 

[kcflhrc]

The mule tape we use at the Telco can be cut with snips, not scissors, we call them snips. Snips can cut a penny in half if you have the muscle.

 

[k0ua]

The mule tape we use at the Telco can be cut with snips, not scissors, we call them snips. Snips can cut a penny in half if you have the muscle.

We used them all the time to cut 25 pair cable too.

 

[Soundguy]

I bet a cable shear might work too.