Recommend a pipe slice?

[James]

My much-used ten-year-old automatic pipe slice has just been knackered by a "friend" who borrowed it and tried to cut steel pipe with it. It's not just the cutter he's buggered but the opposing drive wheels as well.

The original was from B&Q but it seems to be only available from one guy on eBay now:

my one criticism of it is that it wasn't the best for cutting pipes close to a wall or joist.

Before I buy another, I wondered how other versions compared.

What are the benefits or otherwise of these two versions from Monument - does that yellow part make it easier or harder to use?

used one of the ratchet versions like these?

know we're only talking about a ten quid pipe slice but I'm just about to replumb the house and it'd be nice to have something that lasted as well as the previous one.

Thanks in advance.

[Stuart]

[Christian McArdle]

You can actually go the wrong way, but you need to hold it firmly.

The advantage of the door type is that you don't have to grip so firmly. The spring loading keeps exactly the right amount of pressure on the pipe, whilst the open type has to be squeezed, which can be a problem in a tight space.

I've never used a ratchet type, but they look like fun!

Christian.

[.]

kopex here and those ratchet jobbies are excellent where you can get them in, just as annoying as a kopex when you can't.

[dom]

Kopex good. Monument not quite so good.

[Autolycus]

many, many cuts, but I bought a red/yellow Monument cutter in a moment of weakness when I knew I had some pipes to cut in a very confined space.

Useless is perhaps too strong a word - it produces a marginally better result than a hacksaw blade - but closing the yellow bit produces a dent in the pipe, and the generally excessive cutting force burrs the pipe end more than I like.

I wouldn't tackle a big job with _just_ a Monument automatic cutter.

YMMV.

[Jim Alexander]

Check out Toolstation 88156 Pipe Cutter, Cleaner & Strap Kit @£9.98

Its a great value kit, the big cutter cuts clean and true, the small one is hopeless and just wanders. For confined spaces I found my small Draper worked OK but now where space permits would always use the larger size.

Jim A

[Harry Bloomfield]

James expressed precisely :

You put the pipe in the C part, then completely close the yellow part against a spring, making the C an O. Easy one handed operation. Then just spin it round a few turns to cut the pipe.

[Andy Hall]

loss - don't last long at all

I've had an older type Monument cutter similar to this

about 25 years. Very solid and I often come back to using it.

confined space, but for that application and for microbore, I have one of these Rothenberger gizmos

a slightly larger version as well. They also last well and one can replace the wheel.

For the larger format, I bought one of these Ridgid ones in the U.S. some years ago. I haven't seen them here, but they speed things up considerably because you can just press a button to release rather than winding the screw out each time

[Gav]

most of the people i know use the automatic type, personally i use the kopex brand of the above, just have to keep buying new blades as they get alot of use!

[Lobster]

Kopex. I bought the red and yellow job (22mm) only quite recently - it works OK, but the other one is much better - works more smoothly and with less effort.

David

[Brian Sharrock]

FWIW; I purchased a 28mm slicer from monument -which didn't have the 'yellow' portion.It's a 'C' configuration . The slicer push-fits onto the pipe and hand rotated. It cuts beautifully with littlel effort. and right up close to a wall. I was so pleased with it's performance that I bought -well. not qyite the company, but - a 22mm and 15mm version to add to the other cutters in my toolbox.

[Doctor Drivel]

Make the pillock pay for anew one.

[Andy Burns]

I have obne of the 10/15/22mm plastic Unicut ones like yours, and also a fixed 15mm metal one literally called "pipeslice" I think which is better for close to wall pipes.

Years ago I had problems getting a replacement wheel for the metal one, but eventually I found them, on inspection the metal one is the same as the one you're proposing

[Matt]

I've not really had a problem with my red and yellow monument cutters, having probably done a few hundred cuts so far. I prefer them to my conventional wheel cutter which really only gets used on brake pipe and the like now.