2" OD Pipe Cutter - Harbor Freight

[ng_reader]

Peeps,

I have this 2" copper pipe that I want to cut into sections for some decorative/restorative reasons.

Shopping at my local (yep, local) Harbor Freight store, I picked up a $12 gigantic pipe cutter.

Everyone who knows Harbor Freight, knows it's junk. Even the Chinese who make their stuff probably have their own special word for that junk they produce.

But my question is this: Would a quality one work just the way it supposed to? I can feel the pipe flexing a little as I score it with the cutting wheel, but no matter how hard I try I'm just making concentric circles either up or down the tube.

Just wondering.

The other solution is to clamp it in my miter box and use my hacksaw. Which, come to think of it, is a pretty good solution.

Cheerio.

Mr Curious

[zxcvbob]

Do you have a table saw or a radial arm saw?

Bob

[Backlash]

I'm not sure what you mean by concentric circles on the OD of the pipe, but if you are getting spiraling cuts while attempting to use the cutter on the pipe, try turning the tool so that the cutter wheel follows the rollers, relative to the tool frame, not the rollers following the cutter wheel. It can make a difference in tracking, especially depending on the amount of wear or slop in a particular pipe or tubing cutter.

RJ

[DanG]

When a Ridgid brand cutter spirals on the pipe, it is a sure sign that someone has screwed the cutter into the pipe too far and/or too tight and sprung the frame. The cutter has been ruined. Number 30 cutters are not cheap. For a few cuts, I would try a saw.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Dave Morrison]

Put cutter on pipe, advance feed screw till cutting wheel touches pipe plus 1/2 turn, Run cutter around pipe once, advance cutting wheel feed screw 1/2 turn and run cutter around pipe in opposite direction , repeat till cut, do not just circle around the pipe endlessly. Dave

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

When the roller wheels are worn out or messed up , the cutting wheel will travel down the pipe. Bring it back to Hobar Freight place. I have a 1 to 3 inch cutter from H.F. and it works fine. Now I only use it about 2 times a year and can use the cheap-0 stuff on this type of tools.

Using a hack saw is not bad but use a 24 teeth blade.

TURTLE

[BobK207]

I cut aluminum all the time on my makita or dewalt miter saws.

Any one think copper wouldn't work?

cheers Bob

[aol]

You just flushed $12 down the toilet. For double the money you could have bought a quality tool that you could have used for the rest of your life. Instead you got a piece of useless junk which might be worth 25 cents at a scrap metal yard. Harbor Freight does not sell tools, they sell expensive scrap metal and plastic garbage.

[ng_reader]

Well, I kept the receipt, so I can return it. No problem.

And as for OP, yes, I think I alluded to that. Even making a joke about it.

[George E. Cawthon]

It could be that your tool is bad, or you are simply using it wrong. Starting off without the too exactly perpendicular to the pipe, tightening too fast, and turning the wrong direction will lead to bad results. But the previous writer is just full of it and is unwilling to recognize that everyone sells stuff made in China. Other stores do sell the identical tool for twice the price as HF, but it is still the same tool made by the same manufacturer and that includes Lowes, Home Depot, Sears and a bunch of hardware stores. If you want high quality, you will, in general, be paying four or more times the HF price.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

It you can cut Al. with it and come out good. Copper would even be better to use or cut it.

TURTLE

[ng_reader]

Agreed.

Not sure if you heard this or not, but there's a saying: Winning an argument on Usenet is like winning the special olympics. Yeah, you've won, but you're still retarded.

[KLS]

Nice insult; I'm sure the mentally challenged people of the world appreciate your demeaning of them. But just in case you're capable of learning, here are some alternative insults that aren't derogatory of entire classes of people: idiot, asshole, stupid, deviant, d*****ad (oh, pardon me, that demeans men, so let's remove that from our list), birdbrain, I'm sure you get the idea.

[ng_reader]

and this post belongs on alt.home.repair because..... ?

[George E. Cawthon]

True, but the point isn't to win an argument, just to present the other side.

[George E. Cawthon]

Not an insult, just an illustration and a true one. Apparently you can't stand the truth. Short people are short, tall people are tall, old people are old, and retarded people are retarded. No matter how much you don't like it, people are not equal and I can't hold a basketball hanging down by one hand, and I can't and never will be able to fire a 5 shots from a pistol in 44/100 seconds. Reality keeps the 4 foot 5 inch guys from wasting there life trying to perfecting their 30 perfect football throw in the hopes of becoming a national league football player.

[KLS]

I don't believe for one minute that you consider the words "short," "tall," and "old" to be insulting and demeaning in the same way and to the same degree as "retarded," used in the same context and manner that the original insulter intended. Derogatory language is not necessarily the same thing as "the truth." Would you, for example, feel similarly comfortable telling someone on this group who was considering shopping at Mr. Seconds instead of a local cabinet supplier, "Don't be such a Jew! Spend the money on better quality," just because it happens to be true that Jewish people frequently are frugal money managers?

My point is that the original insulter has plenty of other choices that do not cast aspersions on a particular, innocent group of people.

[George E. Cawthon]

Your argument is a straw man as the OP didn't cast aspersions on any innocent group of people. He said special Olympics which indeed is mostly for people with lower intelligence. Not innocent, not guilty, just is.

[KLS]

And used as an insult, the point of my objection.

[ng_reader]

Not really sure there is a *side* to insulting. Just bad manners. As for the "right direction", little confusing. Does that mean the wheels would hit the spot before the cutter? (I know I ran it both ways, neither of which seemed to work)

And as for HF, yeah, I got some quick clamps, 4 of 'em for less than $20. That's why I went. Worked fine, just what I needed.

Since when did HF open up stores? Always?

And thanks for trying to understand my post. It takes a little higher level intelligence here on Usenet. So kind of if you're here, maybe you already qualify for higher level intelligence.