nuts & bolts
shop talk
Make an Oil Filter Cutter
Here’s how...
MERVIN FRIESEN, EAA 349240
The EAA video series ( www.EAA.org/multimedia) offers homebuilders a wealth of tips for building and maintaining their homebuilt airplanes. One
segment shows how to inspect your oil filter and interpret
the results. However, the filter needs to be cut open first,
and for that, you need an oil filter cutter. These are available
for purchase, but homebuilders can easily make them.
Construction
I used leftover materials from building my Sonex. This
included 3/16-inch 6061 aluminum, high-density plastic,
bolts, washers, and nuts. Other materials would be suitable,
such as kitchen cutting board plastic or wood.
Base Plate—The base plate is used to mount all the
pieces of the cutter and to provide rigidity for cutting open
the filter. I used a 3-inch by 5-1/2-inch piece of 3/16-inch
