Tool help ... don't laugh too hard LOL

[capewind]

So yesterday, we ran around getting the PVC fittings hubby needed for his filters, and I grabbed a few more of what I use for my fry baskets too since we ended up at Lowes (almost an hour away) and they are the only place that carried my parts in half inch ... So now I want to start on my project, but I cant find hubby's irrigation pipe cutter ... you just tighten this wrench like thing, and spin it around the pipe several times and it cuts the pipe ... takes a bit of effort, but I can use it on half inch PVC ...

So first, this is what I am making another of ...



I know he has used MY SAW to cut big PVC ... yes, I do mean my saw, but I am not 100% on the name of it, so here's pictures of that ...



and a picture of the blade on it ...



First, dont worry about me and this saw ... Hubby bought it for me when we were building the house. Finish carpenter couldnt get here, I got tired of the excuses, and asked hubby "how hard could it be?" ... Long story short, WITH THIS SAW, I have over 6000 LF of experience with 3.5" and 5" stain grade oak (I personally did 90+% of all the windows/door trim and base moldings - cut, sanded, stain/poly, predrilled and hung LOL) ...

Now my concern ... I am comfortable using this saw FOR WOOD, but even though I know hubby has cut big PVC with it, don't know if I can cut half inch without it shattering ...

The only other tool I can find that I am comfortable with is the skill saw, but I need to make more cuts (need 12 pieces) than my shoulders are going to take (have been through frozen shoulder in both, have the use back, but holding weight away from my body is still an issue), but that blade has smaller teeth on it ...

Is MY saw, with the blade in it, okay to use, or am I SOL til hubby gets home? I'd like to get the frame together sooner than later ... I also know how to use the PVC cleaner and glue, so all good there ... Just trying to come up with options to cut the dang pipe LOL.

 

[addy1]

The teeth are too big for 1/2 pvc, it can grab it make the pipe jump your hand jump, I use a chop saw to cut pvc all the time, but mine has smaller toothed blade. If you cut very slowly you might be ok. I use a hack saw quite often, never can find the pipe cutters.

I would not use that chop saw with that blade for 1/2 pvc.

 

[capewind]

I cant even remember the last time I saw the hacksaw. I know there are nice tiny teeth on the sawzall, but I dont think my shoulders will let me hold onto that long enough to make one cut. I cut a nail off of studs (between studs) out in the shop last fall (making a 30" passage way into a 6' opening) and couldnt handle it, and doing that, I could hold it with both hands...

 

[addy1]

The sawzall you would need to make sure the pipe is well secured, it too will grab the smaller pipes. We use one quite often to cut in place pvc pipes, 2 inchers.

I can handle the sawzall but it will grab the smaller pipes.

If you have a jig saw with a fine toothed blade, a way to hold the pipe that would work. Esp if multi speed, start slow

 

[capewind]

Going to go see if I can find a decent sized 2"x4" scrap ... thinking of trying to pinch the pipe between the back of the saw, and the 2"x4" ...

 

[addy1]

Make sure you wear safety glasses, those saws throw pieces of pvc everywhere.

 

[HARO]

Funny, but I just DID cut some 1/2" PVC with a miter saw. I cut verrrry slowly, but two or three of the pieces were ejected from the blade, and several of them were badly chipped around the cut, so unless you have a finer blade to swap out for the coarse one, I would advise you NOT to use your saw for the task. Most workshop accidents happen when a tool is used for a job it wasn't meant to do!
John

 

[capewind]

I survived ... with the exception that I only bought two 10' lengths of pipes, as I was SURE, I still had a piece here ... ummm ... nope (ohhh did hubby steal my other piece???) ... off to the hardware store to get one more length LOL ... At least THAT i can get close to home.

I made the first cut with a scrap of 1"x6" butted up against it, no problem ... got brave, and then tried just the pipe ... with my left hand holding it firm against that backer plate/guide thing ... no problem ... I was a little worried with a scrap of pvc I cut ,,, it was 31" long, and I needed it 30" and the scrap end didnt fly...

I dont know if it makes a difference, and excuse my description, but I used another saw like this one, before I got this one, and the "head" didnt slide, just went up or down. With this one, the "head" (the saw blade assembly) slides forward as you pull the head down, and goes back as you cut ... I want to say hubby told me my saw is called a sliding compound mitre saw, but I really dont remember. Could that make a difference?

 

[capewind]

As far as accidents, that is why I asked .. I had only used it as it was meant to be used ... I will admit I was a bit nervous cutting it, and even put on safety glasses, which I didnt wear when I cut all the trim (dumb, I know) ... and the ends are pretty clean



Now to go get that other piece

 

[capewind]

BTW... I forgot to say THANK YOU for the input. I got the frame together, with all fingers and both eyes still intact/uninjured. Expecting hubby to scold me when he gets home, but what's done is done.

Now to get sewing

 

[Waterbug]

Chop saw is often used to cut PVC by professionals when clean cuts are needed, high volume. The ends hardly need to be deburred. Knife type cutters often flare the cut requiring a lot of sanding.

Thicker walled pipe is much less likely to blow up. I won't cut thin wall on a chop saw any more.

Newer pipe is much less likely to blow up than older pipe. Gets more brittle with age.

When it does blow up it is scary. Very long pointed sharp pieces. And it jerks the pipe you're holding so if you fingers are really close to the blade they can suddenly be a lot closer.

When I manufactured Muck Mops I had more than a few blow ups. I wear my chainsaw helmet, long sleeve shirt, long pants and gloves. And I keep my chin down so the face mask protects my throat. Gloves are a double edged sword. They can catch on the blade and pull your hand in so you have to be extra sure of where everything is at all times.

The blade in the picture is carbide tip finish blade or maybe a combo blade. Perfect blade for cutting PVC as long as it's not dull. Just because the teeth appear large doesn't mean they're more likely to catch, not at 5000 RPM. Some respected builder say more teeth are better, something like a plywood blade. Never worked very well for me. Just as much grabbing and pipe blowing up plus more burning.

Cutting slower...the slower you cut the longer the process the greater the risk. But you don't want to go too fast because the thicker the shavings the higher the risk of grabbing. If you look at the "saw dust" they should look like little bitty curled flakes of PVC. If they look more like dust you're cutting too slow (and that dust isn't good stuff inhale either).

Safer to cut with any hand saw. They make saws for PVC which work very well, but any wood saw will work very well too. A hack saw doesn't work as well by a big margin, but will work.

But then so will nylon string. The string thing is handy if it happens to be there and your saw isn't. But the string is really great in 2 cases I know of. One is for cutting pipe that's inside a wall. Just about impossible to use any other cutter. The other great use is for getting a free lunch by betting fellow workers you can cut a PVC pipe with a string. The string thing does require a little practice because it cuts using heat, it melts through the pipe (but cleanly). Trouble is nylon string also melts. So there's a certain speed and amount of pressure that's needed, or a couple of passes. I've only had the string break on 2" and larger pipes, so there you have to kind of move which part of the string is doing the cutting as you're cutting. For 1" and below no problem.

 

[capewind]

Thanks Waterbug ... it did a good job cutting. I did have a death grip on the pipe holding it against the back guide plate thing, making sure it stayed secure and didnt bounce, etc, but otherwise just took a bit of care as if doing a mitre cut for butting base trim into a corner, as I have had those small ends fly when I've had to retrim them (learned fast that there are no such thing as perfectly square corners in a room) .. Cutting fingerjointed pine was no big deal, as small gaps could be filled with caulk and then painted. Cant use that trick with stained oak. But anyways, I survived, and even if cutting pvc can be done on this type of saw, I think in the future, I'll stick to wood. WOOD is in my comfort level, the pvc still isnt.

 

[HARO]

Next time you have trimwork to do, try coping it! It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, you get a much neater look, especially in those less-than-perfect 90 degree corners.
John

 

[capewind]

I dont have the patience for a coping saw LOL ... Hubby got me one some years back (before we built this house), and if my memory is correct, I didnt even finish ONE cut I needed to make. Maybe I would have more patience if someone was here to show me how to take advantage of what they can do, but otherwise, not a tool for me LOL.

I seriously hope to never trim out a house of this size again (large colonial) with stain grade oak. Not to toot my own horn, but I really did do a nice job. All my corners look great, which aside from being a novice, I only had one working arm at the time, so it really was a feat. My right shoulder was seized solid at that point (frozen shoulder). My elbow was literally stuck at hip level, so all arm rotation was as if my upper arm didnt exist, and just had a lower arm protruding from my hip.

Hanging oak is a lot of work. I came up with my own system. Cut, sanded, stained and polied by the room. I had labled piles everywhere.



This picture shows 3 out of the four items that I didnt/couldnt trim out ... My arm span wasnt enough to install the top/bottom oak panels for the bay windows, and hubby helped me with the trim around these same windows ... and the cased opening going from the kitchen to family room was 16' wide .. hubby hung the top trim board, and top flat stock for me ... and I wanted NO PART of learning how to do stairs LOL.