Cutting PVC on a bandsaw

[Anthony Whitesell]

If you had a woodworking bandsaw (I have the G0513x2 specifically), and need to cut some PVC tubing, what TPI blade would you use? I need to cut pieces both to length and along the length (making half- and quarter- round pieces). I'm not sure if I will be using Sch40 or thin-wall S&D (probably the S&D).

P.S. I know I've seen this discussion before, but I can't seem to find it. Sorry about the re-post.

[Jeff Miller]

Use the finest/most teeth blade you have otherwise the blade will catch and can be dangerous..........DAMHIKT





JEFF:D

[Lee Schierer]

Yes you can cut pvc tubing on your band saw, But you need a fine tooth blade and a V-block to clamp the tubing into while it is being cut. Without the V-block the tubing is going to roll and pinch your fingers and probably mess up the cut.

The other down side to cutting pvc is the sawdust sticks to everything, you, the tube, the saw and anything else you come in contact with. I would advise have a good dust collection right under the table to collect the pvc shavings.

[keith ouellette]

If you had a woodworking bandsaw (I have the G0513x2 specifically), and need to cut some PVC tubing, what TPI blade would you use? I need to cut pieces both to length and along the length (making half- and quarter- round pieces). I'm not sure if I will be using Sch40 or thin-wall S&D (probably the S&D).

P.S. I know I've seen this discussion before, but I can't seem to find it. Sorry about the re-post.

I don't know about the band saw but I have done a lot of work with pvc. The thin wall is very very brittle. Cutting it they way you describe I would use the sch 40. With a fine blade you could probably cut the thin wall without it cracking but it would be extremely weak.

[Prashun Patel]

Personally I wouldn't do it. Ever seen a hacksaw blade after cutting pvc? It's such a pain to clean. All that static electricity makes the dust stick to everything. On a bandsaw, yr just asking for gunk on yr tires and blade.

Also, pvc melts easily under friction; that can't be good for yr blade.

How many cuts do you need to make? Yr better off just using cheapo miter box and a hacksaw. I plumbed a whole bathroom this way, and it didn't get tedious.

Are you plumbing?

[Anthony Whitesell]

Personally I wouldn't do it. Ever seen a hacksaw blade after cutting pvc? It's such a pain to clean. All that static electricity makes the dust stick to everything. On a bandsaw, yr just asking for gunk on yr tires and blade.

Also, pvc melts easily under friction; that can't be good for yr blade.

How many cuts do you need to make? Yr better off just using cheapo miter box and a hacksaw. I plumbed a whole bathroom this way, and it didn't get tedious.

Are you plumbing?

No. I have a request to make some curved baffles and their thought was to use 4, 5, or 6" PVC. After being cut to length 2-4', the pieces will need to be quartered. If I was plumbing or cutting up to 4" I wouldn't worry about it. It was the larger stuff (5" and 6") that I was curious about.

[Rob Russell]

Rather than gunking up my bandsaw, I'd use either a Sawzall or jigsaw.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Anthony.

I have plumbed my dust collection system using S&D 6" pipe. For the sections I needed to cut, I just took the pipe over to the Mikita 10" miter saw. It does a good job , but you have to be slow and deliberate. On a 6" pipe, you only get a cut that this half way through the pipe. You then roll the pipe around, carefully position the blade in the previous slot. Then remove the blade from the slot and continue to complete the cut as if it were your initial cut. It sounds worse than it actually is. When cutting the pipe it is important to keep a strong grip on the 'good' end of the pipe as if you were a clamp.

The key is cutting slowly and a strong grip on the good section of the pipe.

It works for me, use at your own risk.

[Charlie Jones]

I was cutting a couple of peices of S&D 6" on the bandsaw the other night. The first one went well and then the 2nd on exploded. I wasn't hurt but now its back to the jigsaw. 2" or smaller pipe would do better.

[Prashun Patel]

If yr ripping pvc, then there's really no clean way to do it besides the bandsaw or tablesaw. For safety, I'd probably do it on the bandsaw. The pvc is so squirelly and round, I bet it's MADE for kicking back on the tsaw.

Maybe you can prelube yr blade with something to prevent gunking all those nasty shavings.

[Mike Seals]

I've cut a ton of PVC on the bandsaw, chop saw and jigsaw. The bandsaw works great. Do not use a fine blade unless you want to trash it up. I'm not at home now so I can't tell you the tpi, but I belive it's about 14.