what to use to cut brass?

[hammerandanail]

Allow to say first, I am not terribly technical but I'm reasonably handy and I have a decent set of tools.

I am removing a POS drain out of a bathroom vanity sink. Unlike the drain I am replacing it with, the flange is made of silver coated plastic. The major malfunction is that the previous owner didn't putty it or seal it properly when it was installed and a decade of corrosion and goo is sealing it completely to the drain body.

The sink is a fairly soft material, maybe a fiberglass or plastic shell. I can't - despite using vise grips, channel locks, anything - get the flange off the drain body. I don't want to damage the sink but I think I'm going to have to cut the drain body off.

What can I cut through the brass with? This is a thick drain body, not just copper pipe - I have something that will work for that. I'd be cutting it through the threads above the lock nut. I don't know if my reciprocal saw would work and a hack saw will take forever (plus the space in the vanity is pretty compressed).

Any ideas are appreciated.

[Speedy Jim]

IMHO it's a good place to use the recip if you can squeeze it in there. Use the finest blade you can get. Variable speed would be a big plus.

Another approach is to cut the nut. Might be tricky to saw thru the edge of the nut. Better is to drill a small hole thru the nut, then enlarge it with a larger bit. Eventually, you will be able to split the nut and remove it.

Jim

[S. Barker]

a die grinder or dremel tool with a thin wheel should allow you to split the jam nut.

s

[hammerandanail]

Unfortunately, the nut isn't the real issue. There is a rod port for the plunger that will prevent me from just cutting the nut and pulling it up through the drain. I suppose I could cut the nut and slice the rod port off - it's a smaller diameter than the drain though it's also pretty thick. This is my situation - and of course I can't find my recip saw. I probably loaned it to my brother.

The advice to use the finest blade possible seems very sound, though! There is enough room for that.

[S. Barker]

after you get the underside jam nut off, you should be able to raise the assembly up enough to get ahold of the popup flange on the topside and unscrew it (or destroy it off) from the tube.

s

[Joe]

Watched a pro tackle a situation like that years ago. He disconnected the taps and cut off the drains (which needed replacement anyway) and lifted out the whole sink assembly. After a few swipes with a hack saw on the corroded drain fitting, he installed new braided lines, quarter turn valves and drain fittings. Took him about an hour and the clean up was minimal as he did the dirty work on the truck. Don't know if this typical or an example of 'thinking outside the box'. HTH

Joe

[aemeijers]

Works for me. I've only got so many years left, and plumbing parts are cheap. If I have the damn thing apart anyway, may as well replace it all, and reduce the odds of ever having to mess with it again.

aem sends...

[scott21230]

An angle grider will make it quick work...

[Jim Yanik]

[e-mail] wrote in news:fc13a9d5-7a37-413a-843a- [e-mail]:

brass is soft enough that it would clog the wheel quickly.

hacksaw,jigsaw,reciprocating saw. perhaps even a circ saw with an aluminum cutting blade.(check the blade package first)