I have a chore for a friend who gave me a 2 ft section of
3 inch PVC pipe to ripe lengthwise. I can make the first cut by taping the pipe to a board and run it thru the table saw, with the board against the fence. Then there's the problem of cutting the opposite side, so both halves are the same. Do one of you wizards have an idea that can help ?Smitty
Maybe you could fill the cut with a piece of 1/8" scrap and re-tape the pipe back together, re-tape it to the board again? If you don't take it off the board after ripping the first cut, you could flip it over so that you have both cuts the same distance from the fence.
I would just run it through a bandsaw. I had one explode in a CMS and would approach it carefully.
So would I.
No bandsaw? Build a quickie "gutter" jig and use a jigsaw and straight edge. Tape it back together for the second cut.
PVC that's of the wrong formula or slightly UV destabilized can do ugly things when the teeth of circular saw blades slam into it.
I tried to rip 6" PVC pipe on the tablesaw once. I found that the cut closed up fast enough to seriously bind the blade before it could even get to the spiltter. I ended up cutting two circles of plywood to plug the ends and prevent the kerf from closing and binding the blade.
I hot melt glued the plywood circles in place, and this let me turn the whole thing 180 degrees after the first cut to make the second cut.
3" probably isn't as bad, but the same technique should work.HTH,
Paul
Why not mount it to a 1/4" piece of plywood and run your blade all the way up? A 10" table saw should be able to make that cut, right?
-Nathan
I had to do this a couple of times to create substrates for veneered half columns and did the following:
Take a piece of 1X material that is the same width as the diameter of the pipe and hot melt it to the side of the pipe.
Use a triple chip blade on the tablesaw and set it to not quite come through the thickness of the pipe wall. (leave about 1/32")
Make one rip and then flip it over.
Finish off the cut with a handsaw and clean up the edge.
Regards,
Tom Watson
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: > I have a chore for a friend who gave me a 2 ft section of > 3 inch PVC pipe to ripe lengthwise. > I can make the first cut by taping the pipe to a board > and run it thru the table saw, with the board against the fence. > Then there's the problem of cutting the opposite side, so > both halves are the same. > Do one of you wizards have an idea that can help ?
Make some plywood plugs and glue them in both ends of the PVC.
When dry, set blade to 1" depth and rip, then flip and repeat.
A word of CAUTION:
If this is white PVC water pipe and has been exposed to sunlight for any length of time, FORGET IT.
Throw it away and replace with a piece of PVC conduit (gray color).
Lew
Use a bandsaw.
############################################################
Thanks guys, for all your input. I WAS thinking bandsaw, but wondering how to *halve* it so each half would be the same size & not wander. I could scribe the top and run it thru the bandsaw, but what about the bottom ? By the way, this is a new pc. of black PVC. I did tape it to a board & set a square against the ends to mark a verticle center line. This should make each half the same. Right ?
Another thought. . . using the bandsaw, should I freehand it thru the cut, or lay it against the fence ?
Smitty
#################################################################
Doug Miller wrote:
Safest way is to not cut all of the way through the wall. Leave 1/16" of material. If you attach it to a board like you said, you can then just flop the assembly end for end and run it though again on the other side. Use a razor knife to cut the remaining 1/16" inside the kerf, and use a block plane to clean up the edges if you want it to look perfect.
RReading Paul's suggestion, reminded me of some rigs I've seen for fluting work with a router,
If the disks used to plug the pipe ends were in turn glued to squares of about the same or slightly larger length/width, they would index the pipe to exactly 180d when the pipe was flipped to cut the opposite side.
Why didn't you say you had a bandsaw? :) What about making a wooden "channel" or "U" with inside dimesion just big enough to let the pipe slide through, maybe a foot or 2 long. Push it through the bandsaw about 1/2 way, so the blade is cutting right through the middle of the bottom. Clamp it in place on the bandsaw table, then use it to guide the pipe.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: > ############################################################ >
Forget it.
What you have is ABS used for sewer pipe.
It consists of outer skins with a foam center.
If you rip it you will expose the foam core.
I'd use electrical conduit.
Lew
I cut PVC pipe on my table saw all the time. Use a sharp carbide blade, cranked down so it only comes through about 1/4". Set the fence so it sits directly over the blade at the bottom and clamp another board on the other side as a guide. The only problem is holding things together in the last inch or so. Start with a work piece about 6" to a foot too long and don't cut it all the way. It will not fall apart that way.That also keeps you away from the blade. Then crosscut to size. I first started doing this to make "C" shaped clips to hold a polytarp on a PVC frame. If you use the next bigger pipe size for the clip and cut out about 160-170 degrees of the circle it makes a "C" crossection that will snap over the tarp and pipe. I use a piece about
3" long for each clip. You rip a bunch of pipe at one time, cut off the "handle" and pop off the 3" pieces after it is the right crossection. I find a 7.25" blade in my 10" saw works best. The slower blade tips and narrower kerf don't seem to chip out the cut as much.A bit hard to explain- fairly easy to do... If you can get the pipe overlength it is better. also do you need two halves? or one? Drill a hole 1/2" in from each end through both sides. Stick a screwdriver through one side to fasten a screw through the other hole to attach it to a board. If possible, use a 2x4 trimmed to a width equal to the O.D. of the pipe. Then rip one side (or both at once if the blade goes up far enough), using a fence with the wood between the fence and the blade. If needed, flip boarf over and cut other size...
As others have mentioned, bandsaw. Clamp your beveled blocks either side of the blade to guide the pipe, or one block and a strip along the side of the pipe to ride the block.
Had to do a 6" x 8' chunk for a Science Olympiad water racing event one year. Hollered to high heaven about the absurdity of specifying 6" PVC when the Scouts had been racing in easily obtainable gutters for years, to no avail.
Academic versus "technical" all over again....
Back when I flew lots of r/c airplanes, I used to build modular truck racking from PVC water pipe, so I could load more planes with less damage. At the field, I'd slide the who rig(s) out of the truck and leave it out as I accessed the aircraft. The racks would spend the day in the sun, and I'd reload the rig at the end of the session.
Most of the planes were in the 8-15 pound range, so PVC seemed like a light, cheap, easy to work with solution for the rack. I didn't paint the pipe, as the planes often leaked small amounts of gasoline, alcohol, and oil, so finding one paint that would stick to and not attack the PVC and resist the leakage was a pain.
One day, I hit a rather small bump and my load turned into a pile of broken PVC and airplanes, with the sharp PVC edges slicing nice, clean holes in some of the aircraft covering. 8^( UV damage had turned the PVC extremely brittle after only a few weeks!
nobodys gonna mention an alternative abrasive wonder wheel rather than a blade
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.