Avadon Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Does anyone here have any experience using heavy duty pipe cutters? I have qty 124 sch40 1.5" galv pipe set in concrete on my property and I want to cut them down so they are all 7.5' tall. There are just so many pipe cutters out there. From one cutter up to four. Seems like I can get most of them for $200 and under but I just don't know what is best or easiest. I was thinking something that had two handles would be good because i'll be up on ladders/catwalk doing this. I already tried sawz all on a test piece and I really dislike the look and feel of cutting them with that. I want a really clean cut like pipe cutters do. And yes I know this will take considerably longer ;-) I even saw the Rigid 2A, 42A, 4-S, etc. I'm probably going to resell it after i use it to recoup my money. But I might need it for some considerable time which is why I don't want to rent one. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Well I've cut plenty of pipe that size with pipe cutters but always on a machine with power feed. It shouldn't be too hard though, that is not a lot of material to cut through. Any of them will have the capacity you need as the smaller ones will still do 2" pipe in most cases... just don't get a tubing cutter as they are not made strong enough to do what you want. I would advise a decent brand like Rigid or Reed as some cheap imports are not real tools... they just look like they can do work! Unless you will be doing a LOT of this a multi cutter or two handed cutter will be overkill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Well I do have on average maybe 80-100 of these (figuring that most of these probably will have to be cut) out of the 124 installed. Is that a lot? Or should they go pretty quick with just your average cutter? Because right now i'm looking at the Ridgid 44-S but maybe i'm way over thinking the job? It's a 4 cutter with two handles. I'd just like to make the work easier rather than be out ther wrenching on each one for 20 mins. But maybe that's not really the case? I just don't have enough experience manually cutting pipe this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 One of the ridgeds will work very well, I have dozens of pipe tools and maybe 4 sizes of cutters all the way up to 4". I have cut 4" and down by hand many times. 1.5" should not be to hard to cut, but it does take a fair amount of effort and will take you at least a day to cut 100 if your having to climb to each one and work by yourself. These tools are heavy. Personally I would recommend a good quality portable band saw. This would cost in the range of 300$ and maybe another 50$ for a hand full of blades. This would be way faster and should not be a problem to keep a clean cut at long as your steady handed. And a porta band is a very hand thing around the modern blacksmith shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Yah I really looked into the portaband option and I think it's a great option if your on the ground cutting things. Being up in the air the stability issue and trying to get a really flush level cut seemed difficult. Also havnig to go back and possibly grind with angle grinder in my area (a super fire prone area) is somewhat of a no-go to me. I put a bid in on one of the ridgid's. :) Wish me luck. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I think that cutting 100 of these one at a time, by hand, on a ladder, with a pipe cutter would take days, and be quite a workout. Even if they are fairly closely spaced. Some sort of a vise-grip clamp-on blade guide and a portable band saw would be the ticket if you have enough heavy duty power cord. Cordless versions are pricier, but more convenient. That being said, a three or four cutter head is much easier to use than a single cutter. Singles are meant for open spaces, have to be walked totally around the pipe, (usually changing hands in the process, tricky on a ladder) then tightened slightly, repeat, repeat, repeat. Multi's are meant for tight spaces, and can be pushed a quarter turn, tightened, pulled back a quarter, tightened again, usually with one hand. A little grease makes the cut easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 I think that cutting 100 of these one at a time, by hand, on a ladder, with a pipe cutter would take days, and be quite a workout. Even if they are fairly closely spaced. Some sort of a vise-grip clamp-on blade guide and a portable band saw would be the ticket if you have enough heavy duty power cord. Cordless versions are pricier, but more convenient. That being said, a three or four cutter head is much easier to use than a single cutter. Singles are meant for open spaces, have to be walked totally around the pipe, (usually changing hands in the process, tricky on a ladder) then tightened slightly, repeat, repeat, repeat. Multi's are meant for tight spaces, and can be pushed a quarter turn, tightened, pulled back a quarter, tightened again, usually with one hand. A little grease makes the cut easier. Yah that was actually my first idea. A portaband with some sort of vice grip clamp. I seriously thought they made a portaband attachment for grabbing to vertical piping in order to use the portaband as a cut-off saw, because this is a very common way this saw is used. However after searching for a few weeks and asking around no one knew of such an attachment. I was rather stunned as I thought I had seen them. I guess it was just a good idea in my head. lol Someone needs to make an attachment like this. It's a million dollar idea.... a heavy duty rigid arm that clamps onto any size pipe and allows the portaband to swing over the area clamped making a true 90dg cut off. A cut perpendicular to what it is clamping. I put a bid in on a 44-S. They said the roller ones are cleaner cutting but I think that also means much slower. The 44-S rigid pipe cutter has 4 cutters. Also has two handles. I'm guessing that is about the best bang for the buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I'd definitely go with the bandsaw...... but I do like buying new tools and a pipe cutter would be nice to have. When I last had to cut some vertical 2" pipe, I made two V-blocks out of scrap lumber and hinged one side together. The V cut in the blocks wasn't large enough to fully enclose the pipe so I had to use a squeeze clamp to pinch the two jaws shut. Basically, I made a clamp-on shelf for the bandsaw's miniscule table to ride on. Measure up as high as you need, minus the difference for the offset of the blade/table/clamp, and cut. Took all the weight off my arms and made for a very clean, very square cut that didn't need anything more than a touch with a file to remove any burr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 i've used alot of ridged cutters,both 1 and 2 bladedi do recommend them..as for replacement cutters they are easy to find. saws and such are nice but you need blades cords, etc. and that might be a prob,with falling off the ladder, but the ridged "clamps" on and you can stop and rest with out taking it off. and you only need the muscle to run it, good luck and be safe doing that job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 i've used alot of ridged cutters,both 1 and 2 bladedi do recommend them..as for replacement cutters they are easy to find. saws and such are nice but you need blades cords, etc. and that might be a prob,with falling off the ladder, but the ridged "clamps" on and you can stop and rest with out taking it off. and you only need the muscle to run it, good luck and be safe doing that job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 i've used alot of ridged cutters,both 1 and 2 bladedi do recommend them..as for replacement cutters they are easy to find. saws and such are nice but you need blades cords, etc. and that might be a prob,with falling off the ladder, but the ridged "clamps" on and you can stop and rest with out taking it off. and you only need the muscle to run it, good luck and be safe doing that job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 i've used alot of ridged cutters,both 1 and 2 bladedi do recommend them..as for replacement cutters they are easy to find. saws and such are nice but you need blades cords, etc. and that might be a prob,with falling off the ladder, but the ridged "clamps" on and you can stop and rest with out taking it off. and you only need the muscle to run it, good luck and be safe doing that job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Thanks all for the advice. I'll let you know if I get stuck again :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosox Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I'd definitely go with the bandsaw...... Yes .! I'm with you . I'm using bandsaw , mostly , in cutting pipes and other metal stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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