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

  1. #1
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    What is the best way to cut PVC pipe (6")?

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

  2. #2
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    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.
    Last edited by David G Baker; 01-21-2008 at 10:50 AM.
    David B

  3. #3
    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

  4. #4
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    I start the cut with a handsaw, then finish it off with a jigsaw, works great !!

  5. #5
    Hacksaw does the trick for me.

  6. #6
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    One of these has worked well for me when the cut can't be made on the bandsaw.
    Tom Veatch
    Wichita, KS
    USA

  7. #7
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    There's some answers in a recent thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63244
    Jay St. Peter

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by David G Baker View Post
    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.

  9. #9
    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

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Backner View Post
    ...
    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. It'll be a lot less labor intensive.
    Tom Veatch
    Wichita, KS
    USA

  11. #11
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    I used a jigsaw then squared up the end against a 12" disc sander. This was on S&D PVC.
    Use the fence Luke

  12. #12
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    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.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Veatch View Post
    Next time, try one of these. It'll be a lot less labor intensive.
    Man alive, I'll bet that would go through a neck in one pull.
    Best Regards, Ken

  14. #14
    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.

  15. #15
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    Nylon string will cut thru it and leave a smooth finish.

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