Cutting PVC With a Circular Saw?

[SMS]

I have a lot of 2" PVC to cut. Using the big PVC manual cutting tool with a blade is a lot of work and the cuts are never flat. I need the cuts to be pretty precise because the pipes are for replacing a pool pump and the existing pool equipment and pipes are fixed into place or coming up out of a concrete base, and can't be moved.

Reading various articles I have seen recommendations for using a circular miter saw plywood blade with a high tooth count. I tried to buy such a blade yesterday but I only have a 12" miter saw and these blades (100 teeth or more) are very expensive and are not sold at big box hardware stores. Also I'd like something a little more portable than my

12" miter saw (mounted to a saw table) since I need to do some of this cutting away from my house.

So I'm thinking about using this: . I can try to use the 6" cut-off blades sold by Harbor Freight, but Sears has a 5

1/2" circular saw blade with the proper size arbor (5/8") . Apparently this is an unusual blade since almost all 5 1/2" circular saws and blades have a 3/8" arbor.

Has anyone cut PVC using a cutoff blade? Should I just get the saw blade?

Any other suggestions for cutting a lot of larger diameter PVC and doing it cleanly with a flat end?

[gfretwell]

I cut PVC on my table saw all the time, using a combo blade.

Just go slow so it doesn't chip.

[nestork]

I cut 1 1/2 inch ABS pipe with a miter saw all the time, and I get good cuts.

I just have a 40 tooth 10 inch blade with tungsten carbide teeth, and I get good cuts.

After cutting, I sand down the sharp outside edge of the pipe with a sanding screen for sanding joint compound, and cut off the sharp inside edge of the pipe with a small razor knife.

[Dean Hoffman]

One of these

might be handy if you have to cut a pipe in a tight spot. I've cut PVC with just a cut off saw blade for cutting metal. It looks like others have as well.

[trader4]

Yeah, that should work real well for giving him the precisison cuts he thinks he needs.

[HerHusband]

I used my old 10" Delta miter saw (with a regular 40 tooth crosscut blade), to cut PVC pipe up to 4". As long as you make the cut slowly and don't try to rush it, it makes a nice smooth cut. It's kind of messy, but it works well.

Of course, the power miter saw isn't very useful when you're crawling around in a crawlspace under a house (dragging tools and supplies along with you). For me, a sharp handsaw works nearly as well. I make the cut, deburr it with a utility knife, and it's good to go. With a little practice, you can make almost perfect 90 degree cuts without a miter saw.

Of course, you could always make or buy a manual miter box to ensure perfect 90 degree cuts if you feel so inclined.

For smaller diameter pipe up to 1", I use a ratcheting cutter. It's quicker than sawing and produces a perfect cut every time. The only time I have to fall back to a saw for small pipe is when I need to cut a short piece. The cutter tends to deform the pipe if it's too close to the end.

Anthony Watson Mountain Software

[trader4]

Count me in the ones that say you're crazy. Let's say there is 6" of pipe above grade. Cut it off, put on a coupling. If that fails in 10 years, cut it off, and repeat. I could do that for 40 years or so and still be above grade. And then, with a shovel and removing a few inches of soil, the process continues. Does your pool plumbing fail twice a year?

=A0So I got 2" compression couplings from Lowe's and

Replacing a pump should never require cutting pipes. If it was installed correctly, there would be UNIONS or other means of disconnect at the pump.

[gfretwell]

You roll the end against the fence to make a square cut, the right length and you roll the pipe along guiding with the miter gauge. Hook your thumbs behind it and roll the pipe under your palm

[krw]

Unless I misunderstand you, that sounds *really* dangerous. The fence will tend to twist the pipe against the blade. Using both the miter gauge and the fence isn't a good idea. Ever.

[Vic Smith]

If you use your table saw for crosscutting a crosscut sled is easy to make up. Easier than reattaching fingers.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

and handy as hell for a multitude of jobs-- I'd say perfect for slippery PVC.

Jim

[krw]

OK, but you *don't* use it in conjunction with the fence. I don't like the idea of loose stock as it's being cut, either. Bad mojo.

[gfretwell]

Why is it loose? You hold it tight to the miter and roll it against the front of the blade. All of the rotational force of the blade is down and toward the miter..

[krw]

If it's not loose, it's not going to roll. If it does roll...

It doesn't matter, the material is loose against the miter fence. Go ahead, but it's *not* recommended. I like my fingers too much to play games like that. Four passes, cutting in quadrants, maybe.

[gfretwell]

Maybe 45 years of practice makes it easier. My hands are nowhere near the blade. Maybe I should shoot a video because we are not going the same way.,

[krw]

Four decades of sloppy is the way people lose fingers. The hands don't have to be near the blade to have an accident. Your fingers.

[gfretwell]

Why does everything become a crusade with you. Lighten up.

[krw]

It is important that newbs don't pick up bad habits. This is a *BAD* habit.

[sms]

I agree, when I'm doing sprinkler pipe the ratcheting cutter is fine. But on the 2" pipe my large ratcheting cutter is not fine.

What I ended up with is this:

$32: $8:

Even though the Harbor Freight saw specifies a maximum blade diameter of

6", the 6.5" blade has plenty of clearance within the blade guard, and doesn't extend below the bottom of the saw when the blade is all the way down. It's also got the proper size arbor.

[DerbyDad03]

Perhaps the 6? specification wasn't about space for the blade. Maybe it was about motor strength/speed.

Perhaps the physics behind spinning a 6.5" blade are beyond the long term capabilities of the machine.

I'm just speculating.