I've got an fence around a pool I need to remove. It looks like
It isn't solid metal, the horizontal pieces I'd cut are probably about 1/8th inch thick.
Short of a blowtorch, what's the best way to cut this into pieces? Would a grinder or sawzall work best?
thanks.
I'd go with a Milwaulkee Sawzall, the real deal, not a cheap imitation. Next choice would be cutting torches. Unless you know how to use them, it is dangerous.
Well, a sawzall, but it doesn't have to be Milwaukee--1/8" stuff is pretty light, any such tool would do the job, even one from Harbor Freight. Buy a good blade, however. A circular saw with an abrasive wheel would be faster but it is really messy and noisy and not at all fun.
Depending on if you want to keep the fence or not, my first choice would be a towchain and a stout bumper. Then you could cut it up with a sawzall, or a circular saw with a metal cutting blade. The portion in the ground may be a problem at a later date, due to landscaping or sprinkler lines, but if you do not intend to place anything there, then the fence could be cut off at ground level, and the bases left alone.
I would use a combination of a sawzall and circular saw. If I had to choose only one tool, it would be a sawzall, any brand. The blade is the important factor.
Steve
My cheap sawzall clone takes Milwaukee coarse blades just fine, really cuts up old galvanized pipes. A LOT better than the blades that came with it. I'll buy the Milwaukee when I wear this one out.
:I'd go with a Milwaulkee Sawzall, the real deal, not a cheap imitation. :Next choice would be cutting torches. Unless you know how to use them, :it is dangerous.
Thanks for all the replies, gentlemen. Since I don't have a blowtorch, it sounds like a sawzall is the ticket. I don't have a sawzall either, but can rent one and buy the blades for about $20.
I don't need to deal with anything underground as it's bolted onto a small retaining wall. So, I'll just cut it up into manageable pieces, unbolt it and haul it off to the dump.
Thanks for the advice.
Hi, And it can hurt your knuckle, Ouch! Tony
If it is in sound condition, I would think someone would remove it to reuse; that stuff is expensive.
Only if you buy it. If you make it, it doesn't cost a lot.
Steve
Wear out is a bit of a mis-statement, worn out to me means, "I use this enough, lets get a good one", at which time the old tool gets garage saled, or handed down.
Sometimes experience with a cheap tool is valuable, for example I've got a cheap Skilsaw, which if I was to replace, I'd get a decent left cut saw, something I didn't know about when I got what I got.
Look for a scrap metal dealer, you could get paid (not much maybe a penny a pound) for the scrap.
I live in a major city suburb, and there are guys who drive around in a truck, picking up scrap metal to take in for recycling. I'd rather see my old pipes and such get re-used, than landfilled.
This is more likely a symptom of obsessive-compulsive mental disorder than economic activity.
According to Joe Bobst :
The "right tool" sometimes _is_ the "el cheapo":
ie: anybody using a high grade wormdrive circular saw to cut lots of cinder block or brick is _crazy_. You don't feel nearly as bad when the drive shaft on the $30 SkilSaw falls out because the bearings have disintegrated.
ie: you want me to pay how much for a tool I'll use once in my lifetime?
Sure, the $10 chinese-made 24" pipe wrench is a piece of junk. But since buying it, I've only needed to use it twice - to undo "hand tighten only" (ha!) threads (basin nuts and a camera filter).
ie: if you need a high quality tool for a single job, and are unlikely to need it much again, now's the time to rent. Heck, my electrician friend does this - when he needs to drill a hole through concrete, he rents a Hilti from a friend for a case of beer. When it's thru brick or cinderblock, he just uses a hammer...
Good idea Steve. Anyone that prices out that type of fence will find it costs a fortune. The base often just screws to a plate or cement or wood. I would expect to disassemble it in short order with hand tools, but I have good hand tools. Wouldn't it be great to have someone come and pay to take it away?
Unless you intend moving to an apartment soon, or you don't plan on doing any fix up work yourself, I think you would find the sawzall a good investment now. Any kind of tearing down goes a lot quicker with one. Your situation is a good example.
Gary Dyrkacz snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+
I have also bought the "el-cheapo" tools at times, too... I have bought them with the intention of "altering" them, like bend a wrench to fit a particular application.
However, most of the time, I do shell out and buy the quality tool in the first place.
I got a whole toolbox full of "specialty" wrenches..
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