Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi Guys, I'm starting my glasser build and need to cut my 4in pipe for the RC and the top / bottom of the stack. Trying to work out the best method (without a drop saw) to cut them nice and square. What have you guys been using?

You can mark a straight cut on pipe with some type of pipe wrap. A sheet of paper works well. I use a 5" grinder although you can buy clamp type pipe cutters at plumbing or hardware stores.

Wrap a piece of stiff gloss paper - a magazine cover works well. Tape it up tight around the pipe and you'll have a straight edge. Mark the pipe with pencil, move the paper further down the pipe and cut carefully with a 4" or 5" grinder, with a 1mm disc :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: thats what i did if i used the hacksaw my bubbler would be on the piss

I did the same as everyone else has suggested, but used a hacksaw to cut
I lightly worked my way around the pipe scoring along the line and working deeper and deeper until I was all the way through
It took quite a long time, but I ended up with a close to perfectly cut edge

So every one uses a grinder and not a pipe cutter??
I guess we are talking about larger than normal pipes but i would have thought that a large capacity pipe cutter would be the way to go.
No excess noise, no material loss, nice square cut.

That's how i'm looking to do it at least, and before you mention cost of pipe cutter there is always the odd plumber mate of a mate of a mate that i could borrow one from.
Plus the 2nd hand market for old pipe cutters is fairly cheap, especially when you think about the costs of buying a grinder plus discs (although maybe not if you buy ozito).

Maybe we need a tool loaning program or something.

scythe wrote:So every one uses a grinder and not a pipe cutter??
I guess we are talking about larger than normal pipes but i would have thought that a large capacity pipe cutter would be the way to go.
No excess noise, no material loss, nice square cut.

That's how i'm looking to do it at least, and before you mention cost of pipe cutter there is always the odd plumber mate of a mate of a mate that i could borrow one from.
Plus the 2nd hand market for old pipe cutters is fairly cheap, especially when you think about the costs of buying a grinder plus discs (although maybe not if you buy ozito).

Maybe we need a tool loaning program or something.

ive seen those clamp and wheel pipe cutters do a shite job..... totally out of square....

x_x

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go with the grinder and hopefully not Fork it up 8-}

I've built my entire 6" bubbler so far with an oxy and a 4" grinder, you don't need specialised tools if you use a bit of lateral thinking :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I borrowed a 3" pipe cutter from work and it has one flat side so no worky

Some of the cheaper small copper tube cutters can be a bit shitty.
I used to have one that would almost cut a 5mm pitch thread, got a new one and its all sweet now.

After a little look around ebay i noticed exhaust pipe cutters.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Kincrome-Chain-Exhaust-Pipe-Cutter-K8077-/311062109440?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item486cbf1d00
these look like they will do the trick nicely, only thing is that they don't go up to 4", so im thinking about buying 2 and modifying, or if i an find a source of the cutting hain i will make up my own tool.

I have one of those i tried it on smaller pipe it was a lot easier with the grinder mine is ten years old and has cut a few exhaust pipes

I have the expensive Ridgid brand pipe cutters, nice square cuts every time :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Ozito - $124 from Bunnings

Has a deeper throat than the Makita or Bosch.

Just need to be careful with cutting 6" as it can go off square.

But hey.... $124- - - 4" pipe? like butter and 15 seconds.

I know you said without a drop saw... but... at that price?
It's worth the lack of frustration and squaring up of the pipe.

May or may not be an issue, but pipe cutters typically roll the cut ends inwards reducing diameter a bit.
The ultimate tool is probably a horizontal bandsaw with a fine tooth blade.
1mm discs cut very well, both metal and flesh, but will not withstand overheating or side loading, so be careful. Actually, when cutting copper, a bit of candlewax probably wouldn't go astray as a lubricant to prevent the wheel loading up.
There was a gentleman actually killed by an exploding 1mm disc late last year.

I've been cutting 3" copper with a hand mitre saw and a fine tooth blade. It cuts perfectly square. I think it would probably work with 4" copper - haven't tried though. I got it used for about 15 bucks at a market. The pic below is basically identical to mine.

I finished up just coughing up for the Ozito cut off saw. It's $149 now but makes life easier. Another tool to add to the collection :laughing-rolling:

Generally off the shelf cheap cut off saw are terribly out of square, A good method is to wrap a piece of paper around the copper tube and make a score mark around the tube and slowly rotate tube to follow the score mark with a hacksaw or angle grinder.