What is the best way to cut PVC pipe (6")?

[Dick Sylvan]

What is the best way to cut PVC pipe (6")?

[David G Baker]

If the the PVC pipe is "NOT" thin wall, I use my miter saw. If it is thin wall I use a regular hand saw designed to cut wood. If you use a miter saw, be careful, I have had pipe turn into shrapnel. There are plier type cutters but I doubt that you want to spend the money for one if you only have a few cuts to make. Making a jig to assist in making the cut straight may help if you cut the pipe by hand.
Oh yea, I forgot about using a band saw like Bill suggests.

[Bill Lantry]

I think I'd cut it (long) with a sawzall, and then cut it clean on the bandsaw. It would take a while with a regular saw... ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[Jeff Lien]

I start the cut with a handsaw, then finish it off with a jigsaw, works great !!

[Eddie Darby]

Hacksaw does the trick for me.

[Tom Veatch]

One of these (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=pvc+saw&onlineStore=true&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&marketID=401&locStoreNum=8125) has worked well for me when the cut can't be made on the bandsaw.

[JayStPeter]

There's some answers in a recent thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63244

[Bob Aquino]

If the the PVC pipe is "NOT" thin wall, I use my miter saw. If it is thin wall I use a regular hand saw designed to cut wood. If you use a miter saw, be careful, I have had pipe turn into shrapnel. There are plier type cutters but I doubt that you want to spend the money for one if you only have a few cuts to make. Making a jig to assist in making the cut straight may help if you cut the pipe by hand.
Oh yea, I forgot about using a band saw like Bill suggests.
Amen. Same thing happened to me. It is very brittle stuff. Probably best to do it with a handsaw or portable saw.

[Brian Backner]

Another way to cut PVC pipe is by friction. I remember watching a DWV installer working in a trench just outside my neighbor's foundation. He was moving like the proverbial one-armed paper hanger. When I asked him what he was going, he told me to hold on for a minute until he was done.

Basically, he had to cut a length of 4" PVC drain pipe that came though the foundation wall. To cut it with a saw would have required a much larger excavation. What he did was to loop a length of mason's line under the saw, wrap both ends around some 1" diameter dowel scraps for handles and then to "saw" the cord back and forth under the pipe. Eventually the cord develops enough friction and heat that it starts to cut through the pipe. Once you start however, you can't stop as allowing the cut to cool would trap the cord in the reformed plastic thereby making it impossible to restart the cut.

I tried it once on a piece of 6" I had laying around. Gave a very clean cut, but what a workout!

Brian

[Tom Veatch]

...
I tried it once on a piece of 6" I had laying around. Gave a very clean cut, but what a workout!


Next time, try one of these (http://www.bestglide.com/Wire_Saw_Info.html). It'll be a lot less labor intensive.

[Doug Shepard]

I used a jigsaw then squared up the end against a 12" disc sander. This was on S&D PVC.

[keith ouellette]

If the lengths are no longer than your table saw you can start the cut and then roll it with one end against the fence (thats what I did with 4") but the shrapnel thing I read in the preceding posts has me a little concerned.

[Ken Garlock]

Next time, try one of these (http://www.bestglide.com/Wire_Saw_Info.html). It'll be a lot less labor intensive.

Man alive, I'll bet that would go through a neck in one pull.:eek:

[Prashun Patel]

Hacksaw. I wrap a piece of paper around the tube to mark the cut square. Then I support it in between 2 v-notched 2x4's.

For cutting in close quarters, I use a cable saw.

[Al Killian]

Nylon string will cut thru it and leave a smooth finish.

[David G Baker]

Brian,
I am going to give the string cutting a try. I have used stainless steel cable to cut a few things but never thought about cutting PVC that way. Interesting.

[Rod Sheridan]

Cutting a round object that is held by hand in a power saw is just plain unsafe. The work will capture a tooth on the blade and things will go from good to emergency room in a flash.

Woodworking bandsaws, tablesaws, mitre saws etc are not meant to cut material that can roll such as pipes, dowells, branches etc.

If you want to cut round objects, use a saw designed for that, such as a horizontal metal bandsaw where the work is held in a vise, a portable bandsaw or a sawzall with the work clamped in a vise will also work very well.


Regards, Rod.

[Larry Fox]

CMS here. I made 36+ cuts in 6" sewer & drain pipe this afternoon without any problem at all. Cuts were all nice and clean but you have to do it in two passes. Your mileage may varry!

[Howie French]

clamp it... then sawzall.

as mentioned, I would be careful cutting round objects with table saw and such.


Howie

[Matt Meiser]

I used my mitersaw too. Don't use your best blade as they get coated in stringy melted PVC. The Boeshield blade and bit cleaner removes the residue pretty easy though.

[Dick Sylvan]

One of these (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=pvc+saw&onlineStore=true&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&marketID=401&locStoreNum=8125) has worked well for me when the cut can't be made on the bandsaw.

Do they cut reasonably fast?