Cutting 6" PVC?

[Dylan Smith]

Now that I've got a pile of 6" PVC, thanks for a tip from Eric G., here's another question:

How to cut this stuff?

I'd like to get nice square cuts, to minimize disturbing the airflow once it's assembled. But none of my techniques thus far is succeeding very well.

This thin-wall stuff is far more flexible and shaky than the Sched. 40 I'm used to working with. And, at 6", that flex is magnified by the size.

The bandsaw gets me a non-square cut. I've tried both sliding and rolling techniques, and either way, something's going wonky. Add in the flex of 10' of this stuff and ;(

The hacksaw is, if anything, worse. Since just pushing on the pipe causes some deflection, trying to cut into it leads to a line that's a bit... meandering.

I'm sure somebody out there has some genius technique that isn't popping into my head, so...

Thanks!

[jason lambert]

I don't think it really needs to be stright it gets glued anyhow in a sleve. But I usally use my miter saw to cut. But it make s a mess so here is the kicker, try to use dust collection ;)

[Dylan Smith]

I don't think it really needs to be stright it gets glued anyhow in a sleve. But I usally use my miter saw to cut. But it make s a mess so here is the kicker, try to use dust collection ;)

I've got a flexi hose rigged up for the moment, actually ;)

The problem w/ rough cuts is the potential for creating more turbulence inside the fitting. I'd like to get things nice and tightly fitted, if possible. The closer the edge can butt against the shoulder inside the fitting, the better. Or so I figure.

[Jim Becker]

Do NOT cutoff anything round on the band saw without it being secured in a sled! You can get hurt really bad if the product rotates and catches the blade. A simple hand saw will cut the PVC pipe easily and quickly and will be more than accurate enough to do the job. Don't push down on the saw...let the teeth do the work.

[Peter Quadarella]

I have a Ridgid PVC hand saw from Home Depot. It does a passable job.

[Rick Gifford]

I used a sawzall. Just mark a line around the pipe and take your time, it will be straight.

[Tom Hargrove]

Like Rick, I marked a line all the way around the pipe and cut it with a sawzall. A handsaw also works. You can also make a saw guide similar to the plastic miter boxes they sell at the BORG. Make it three sided with a straps across the top and snug to the outside diameter of the pipe. That way, when the pipe tries to deflect, it will have no where to go.

[Eric Gustafson]

I took a 6" strap clamp, like the radiator clamp type and screw it on right where I want my cut. Then you can use like a guide with a PVC handsaw. I used the hand saw until I got my Multimaster. That thing works so well with the 6" clamp that is really a breeze. But the pvc saw works good, too.

[Chris Padilla]

Sawzall with one of those "grit" type of cutting edges. 12" long one!

I took two pieces of scrap 3/4 plywood (oh, 12" by 20" roughly) and pocket-screwed them together to form an L (connecting the longer edges together).

I then cut a saw kerf at the 2/3, 1/3 point. This would be my guide to hopefully getting a reasonably square edge.

Slid the PVC into this makeshift "miter box", clamp the (I happen to have a 7" throat, 16" long Bessey clamp) PVC to the miter box. Yeah, you'll squish it a little bit but you'll just have to play with the amount of pressure you need.

Cut away and for the most part, you'll get reasonably square cuts. Or, put it this way, it'll be good enough for your ductwork.

Do not GLUE your PVC together. Just slide the fitting on dry, pop a small sheetmetal screw into it to keep it from falling off/moving, and then CAULK the edge to seal it. QED!

[Jim O'Dell]

Ok, I'm with you on the square cuts. I tried and tried. What I ended up doing was using a sled on my TS with a plastic/laminate blade. It did fair, but still not square. In comes my Dad's RAS.:eek: No, I didn't cut it with the RAS, but I put a home made sanding disc on it (thick fiber blade with sand paper glued to the face with spray on contact cement), made a V-shaped trough for the pipe to sit in, clamped to the table square to the sanding disc and sanded it square! Worked great.
Now if you are as anal as I can be sometimes on this stuff, bevel the end of the pipe so it matched the bevel where the connector and pipe hit!:rolleyes: And if you really want to cut down turbulence, take a Dremel with a cone shaped grinding bit, and smooth out all the seams in the fittings.:p (You'll have to come to my shop to verify if I actually did that.:o ) Jim.

[Charlie Knauer]

Dylan, use a thin piece of aircraft cable on nylon string. The friction from rubbing it on the pipe will cut right through it. Dont rush it and you will get a nice square cut.

Charlie

[Dylan Smith]

Now if you are as anal as I can be sometimes on this stuff, bevel the end of the pipe so it matched the bevel where the connector and pipe hit!:rolleyes: And if you really want to cut down turbulence, take a Dremel with a cone shaped grinding bit, and smooth out all the seams in the fittings.:p (You'll have to come to my shop to verify if I actually did that.:o ) Jim.

I believe I can resist the temptation to take things that far ;)

[Jim O'Dell]

I believe I can resist the temptation to take things that far ;)

Did you have to go to the seven step treatment program to have the power to resist? Or do you have that ability naturally? Sometimes I think I need help, and others are just Blessed! . :D Jim.

[Dylan Smith]

Did you have to go to the seven step treatment program to have the power to resist? Or do you have that ability naturally? Sometimes I think I need help, and others are just Blessed! . :D Jim.

Nah, just have another Guinness...

[Tom Berninghausen]

Sometimes I think I have toooo many jigs...

When I made my own gates for pvc pipe I made some spare pieces for cutting the sewer and drain pipes. I slide a pair on the 10 foot sticks and then use 18" bar clamps to clamp the setup on my assembly table.

I wrap cardboard around the pipe to mark it and use a pvc saw to cut the length I need.

Someday I'm going to enlarge the holes to let them slip on a little easier...

Tom

[Chris Jenkins]

If I remember correctly I did prolly the most unsafe method possible. I put it on my SCMS. Since you can't cut through it completly I brought the head out and "pinched" (not physically) the pipe between the fence and the head and then just rolled the pipe while the blade was on. I worked good enough, nice and square cuts.

Let it be noted that I only did this after using a recip saw with too short a blade on it and I bent the blade tip cutting through the center. Since I was too lazy to drive out the Home Center I gave the SMCS a try.

[Brad Noble]

If I remember correctly I did prolly the most unsafe method possible. I put it on my SCMS. Since you can't cut through it completly I brought the head out and "pinched" (not physically) the pipe between the fence and the head and then just rolled the pipe while the blade was on.

Chris! I would've expected much better from you. That sounds like something I would do.

Brad

[James Williams 007]

I used my Sliding compound MS and it did a perfect job just make the pipe is secure and not going to move or the blade will catch and shatter the pipe but this only happened once. It takes three cuts to even with my 12 inch saw but there square and clean.

[Ed Costello]

http://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc3.jpghttp://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc2.jpgHello,

I cut pipe almost every day. I use this http://www.pipefitter.com/existing_php/wrap.php

Make your mark and then score the entire line with a sawzall with a nice long, sharp blade. Then finish the cut. I also run a file along the cut edge to make a small chamfer. If you are gluing, put down a drop cloth and make sure you prime and apply a large quantity of glue. It is best to apply glue while the primer is still "wet"

This insures that once the pipe is made up into the fitting you can rotate the fitting so that the face of your fitting is plumb or level,which ever applies.http://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc1.jpg

["Gary Brewer"]

Dylan: Milwaukee makes ( or did ) an attachment for their sawzalls to cut pipe that I have used to cut large and small pvc. It has a chain that goes around the pipe and the sawzall bracket goes into the jig. There are two cylinders that screw into the bracket to guide the blade. It has worked great for me and is simple to use. I don't know if they still make it since I bought it around 25 years ago. I would give you the number off the box but my son adopted it when I gave him my old sawzall when he was building his house. I got it at a local plumbing supply house but you could check on line to see if it is available and worth the $$. It was actually made originally for cutting cast iron pipe but plastic is no sweat with it. It allows you to quickly get square cuts in pvc. Just FWIW
Gary

[Larry Fox]

I used my CMS.

[Dick Sylvan]

http://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc3.jpghttp://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc2.jpgHello,

I cut pipe almost every day. I use this http://www.pipefitter.com/existing_php/wrap.php

Make your mark and then score the entire line with a sawzall with a nice long, sharp blade. Then finish the cut. I also run a file along the cut edge to make a small chamfer. If you are gluing, put down a drop cloth and make sure you prime and apply a large quantity of glue. It is best to apply glue while the primer is still "wet"

This insures that once the pipe is made up into the fitting you can rotate the fitting so that the face of your fitting is plumb or level,which ever applies.http://members.cox.net/ecoz/smc1.jpg

Just out of curiosity, what do all those pipes do?

[JayStPeter]

I used a shop made u-shaped "miter box" for the sawzall when I initially installed my PVC piping. I put it on some cinder blocks and stood on it to use my weight to clamp the pipe while I sawed it. Now that I have a 12" CMS, I use that. It takes a slight spin while cutting to get all the way through, but I made 5 or 6 cuts without a hint of problem. I do have a good 8' fence for the CMS though. Oh yeah, I had to remove the blade guard also as it caught on the pipe on the way down. So take the advice with your personal limits in mind and check the limits of your CMS. It is about 100 times faster (and messier) though :cool:.

Re-reading it, I sound like a crazy man with both methods apparently dangerous. I can assure you that each is very mundane compared to how they sound :rolleyes:. The CMS does look pretty mean with no guard though.

[Mark Duksta]

This is the way I do it:

Take a sheet of paper long enough to wrap around the pipe.

Wrap the paper around the pipe and make sure the straight edge of one end overlaps exactly over the other end. Tape it.

Mark the line around the pipe using the edge of the paper for a guide.

Move the paper out of the way. Start the cut with a hand saw.

Finish cutting around the pipe with a jig saw.

[Duane Stolldorf]

Find a welding shop near bye that has an abrasive cutoff saw. Or buy one at most good outlet stores. The abrasive saw will cut this cleanly, plus it is a 14 inch wheel so it will cut I believe the entire 6 inch.

[Greg Narozniak]

I used two of the methods mentioned for my 6" PVC-SD. They both worked OK but not perfect so I am not sure it will help you but here goes...

1. I have used the 12" sawzall blade. It was a fine toothed blade and once you have the pipe stapped down (I used a tie down strap) the sawzall cut right through it.

2. I have also used (trying to get a perfectly square cut) my 14" metal chop saw. You do have to lift or rotate the pipe at the end but it worked better than method #1.

If i am doing a lot then I go with option 2 if it is one quick cut then Option 1 is in play. I have cut them on the band saw as well but with the lack of throat depth, it is only good for small pieces or trimming the ends.

I did not really worry about the squareness, just fit together and then foil tape the joint and they have been fine so far.

[Tom Daniels]

I too use my csmiter saw. I use a vinyl cutting blade and turn it backwards. I don't have the problems of the blade shattering it. Works great too.

[Jameel Abraham]

Ditto the above. U-shaped box and a sawzall. Great cuts.

[Kyle Costlow]

I used to cut Pipe at my old job. We used a cheap CMS with a 80 tooth blade. Cut pipe all day, worked great.

[Denny Rice]

Ditto the above. U-shaped box and a sawzall. Great cuts.

Jameel,

Nice jig... Looks safe too.:)

[D. Hunt]

Okay, cheapest and best way I have found is using a jigsaw and hose clamps. If you have a 6" pipe, make 2 marks on the pipe with a pencil. Slip your hose clamp, line up the clamp with your pencil marks and tighten it down. Now, use a pencil and trace around the clamp. You now have a nice line to cut on around your pipe. I use a jigsaw. I line up the blade with the mark and start cutting til I make a slit. Now, put your blade through the slit and follow your line around. Because the pipe is so big and awkward, I do all of this on the ground. Easy to control and safe.

I've tried a bandsaw and miter saw but both felt like they were controlling me. If I get that feeling in the shop, I find a different way. Ever have a 6" pipe explode on ya in either one of those tools? Scares the sh!t out of ya!!! Not a good feeling. So, I found my way. Cheap, easy and above all SAFE.

D. Hunt

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I've also used my CMS on PVC, but only on 4", not on 6". A tip I got from a friend was to install the blade *backwards*....it helps prevent the blade from grabbing and shattering the pipe. I just use an older comb blade I don't care about - and it works well.

[Prashun Patel]

Over 30 responses on how to cut PVC? Who'da thought there were people out there who thought as much about stuff like this as I do?

Man, do I feel validated.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Hey, it's friday - what else is there to think about other than cutting PVC? :)

btw - it **stinks** when you cut it.

[Prashun Patel]

Yeah, I notice that too. Perfect for DWV applications.

[Chris Padilla]

I think the reason is that that our 12" CMS/SCMS CAN'T handle 6" PVC...so innovation steps in! :)

[Jim Becker]

Today, the plumber installing the fixtures in our addition used a nifty piece of piano wire to cut through the pvc drain line under the wet bar sink. Fast and effective....