Cutting pipe with the Sawzall

[tbakelis]

If you are working with conduit that means there is a bender on the job. Slide the conduit in through the hole in the pipe bender and lean your weight on the side not being cut. Now cut away and the conduit is trapped in place solidly.

 

[ActionDave]

When I used to run a lot of 1/2 and 3/4 EMT we used the makita cordless sawzall. This tool was small compact weighed little. Could use in a holster and cut very fast equal to the bandsaw. Worked great with one hand. Try that with bandsaw

My boss has one of those and it is great. Need to keep a lot of spare blades around; they crack every once in a while.

For 1/2 and 3/4 EMT I use a tubing cutter. Score the pipe halfway through and snap it over your knee.

 

[JJWalecka]

E

A Sawzall is not your best choice for repetitive cuts on conduit. The best tool is a bandsaw. I use the Milwaukee M12 cordless band saw and love it. Some of my co-workers use a metal cutting blade in a cordless 5 1/4" circ saw, but they are noisy and throw a lot of metal chips. Get a bandsaw and you wont regret it.

I agree, a bandsaw is great. I have used a chop saw before to cut emt and strut but it tends to burn the material

At the beginning of my post I wrote "if you have to use a sawzall" I was implying that if he had to use a sawzall and the issue was holding it, then perhaps my suggestions might help

 

[templdl]

I always have been taught that if you enough cut metal with a saw of any type, sawsall, band saw, sabresaw, that there should be at least two saw teeth in contact with the metal at any time. What you never want to happen is to have the metal get caught between the teeth of the saw. If the metal gets caught between the teeth either you will tare the metal or you will chip some teeth from the saw ruining the saw blade.

 

[coffeebean]

Try the Madison Ladder Horse

 

[Flex]

keep fingers on pipe and thumb on sawzall. Pull pressure on the pipe toward the guard not the blade. Let the blade fall through the pipe. Keep a firm grip is all

 

[Ohms law]

I have been having a lot of trouble cutting pipe with the Sawzall. Even the small stuff. Just started a job doing commercial work, and we have 1/2 and 3/4 emt to cut. We're told to use the Sawzall with 1 hand, pipe in other. No mounts or anything are really available.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong, maybe its a strength issue. The pipe vibrates, the saw moves, I really don't get any progress. I get very annoyed and just use my hacksaw to get through it. It is a bit slower, but it gets the job done.


I want to get better at my job, and am willing to invest in to tools. I would like to be able to cut pipe a lot faster. Any tips on what I could be doing wrong, or tools I could get that are faster than the hacksaw.

One thing I was taught is to use a copper pipe cutter. What you do is score the pipe and stick it in your pipe bender at the beginning of the bender and then pull down like your going to bend a piece. The pipe will separate at the point you scored it and it will be smooth in the inside. You probably don't have to reem the pipe, once you get use to doing this method. But I would still reem it.

 

[cowboyjwc]

These posts always make me feel old. I just always used a hacksaw. Sometimes a tubing cutter.

 

[eric9822]

Back when I did real work we used these.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/b...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CJKpvNSDirkCFZBAMgodmwgAAQ

 

[GoldDigger]

Back when I did real work we used these.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/b...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CJKpvNSDirkCFZBAMgodmwgAAQ

Works great for PVC too, and often can even be used on tubing that is in place. They also make very stubby ones that do not require as much room to swing. Pretty much guarantees a square end.

 

[gadfly56]

These posts always make me feel old. I just always used a hacksaw. Sometimes a tubing cutter.

I've always used a tubing cutter and reamed the tube and broken the outside edge, but I've never had to do any serious production work. I could afford to be finicky.

 

[Little Bill]

I've always used a tubing cutter and reamed the tube and broken the outside edge, but I've never had to do any serious production work. I could afford to be finicky.

Why do most of the people who said they used tubing cutters only score it then break it?

I know pipe cutters leave a semi tapered hole and maybe a little sharp. Is that the reason?
If so, wouldn't take much effort to ream it a little after cutting.

 

[Sierrasparky]

Ya know what, I think someone hit the poroblem on the nail but did not know what it was!
GoldDigger

"1. The foot on a Sawzall can get damaged to the point where it does not provide a solid support for the workpiece any more. Or the orbital path of the blade may have loosened up through wear. Either of these could make starting (and continuing) harder.


If this was a supersawzall with the orbital feature then there lies the issue. You can't make good cuts on metal with a orbital sawzall. That feature is for wood. The saw will just bounce around. You need to turn that off on the side of the sawzall.




​

 

[rrr_usty]

I typically use the bender to hold the EMT in place while I cut with the sawzall, I put the pipe in-between the holes in the bender portion and kneel onto the bender handle and the pipe to hold secure, hand are clear & pipe get's cut- good luck.

 

[gadfly56]

Why do most of the people who said they used tubing cutters only score it then break it?

I know pipe cutters leave a semi tapered hole and maybe a little sharp. Is that the reason?
If so, wouldn't take much effort to ream it a little after cutting.

If you use a tubing cutter and go all the way through, I know it leaves an internal burr, just like a pipe cutter for Schd 40. Since I'm most used to pulling FPLP through conduit, this can be really bad news since the jacket is not robust. Reaming the burr leaves a cone-like surface, kinda like the inverted crown at the muzzle of a high-end match rifle. Doing that can leave a wire edge on the wall which I break with the edge of the reamer. No one ever showed me the score and break trick so I don't know how well it works.

Maybe my hands are just old and tired, but gripping the EMT hard enough so you can bear down on the reamer makes them ache something fierce after 20 or so. Holding the EMT with ChannelLocks helps, but you're still mashing the reamer in pretty good and that gets old quick.

 

[ActionDave]

No one ever showed me the score and break trick so I don't know how well it works.

It works great. Once you get a feel for it you can score and snap and leave a smoothe edge inside the counduit with no need to ream at all.

Maybe my hands are just old and tired, but gripping the EMT hard enough so you can bear down on the reamer makes them ache something fierce after 20 or so. Holding the EMT with ChannelLocks helps, but you're still mashing the reamer in pretty good and that gets old quick.

I have an old uni-bit that I can chuck up in my cordless drill should the need to ream occur.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Why do most of the people who said they used tubing cutters only score it then break it?

I know pipe cutters leave a semi tapered hole and maybe a little sharp. Is that the reason?
If so, wouldn't take much effort to ream it a little after cutting.

Again being kind of old school, I didn't have insulated Channel Locks, so I would just put those in the end and ream the pipe. Then I got a barrel reamer, but didn't always have it handy.

 

[JJWalecka]

Again being kind of old school, I didn't have insulated Channel Locks, so I would just put those in the end and ream the pipe. Then I got a barrel reamer, but didn't always have it handy.

Would rather use a file, threaded rod or barrel reamer. Though I know its common practice to use pliers to ream with, I dont care for it personally.

http://www.d-reamer.com/ just found this website for a different style reamer, but never tried it.

 

[Sierrasparky]

I once heard that is was impropper to use a tubing cutter for EMT. There was an inspector in Los Angeles that who would not let you use one. He even would tell you put that thing back in the truck if he saw you running EMT and it was visible in your pouch.
I suppose not an issue by all the posts.
One of those tales.

I did not care about this idiot inspector because I had my trusty Makita battery sawzall and I could cut faster than anyone on the job. I ran circles around the guy with the bandsaw. I would laugh at the guys who would try to use the Makita as they would break the blades all the time. I knew how to use the tool with breaking the blades. I also used this cutting wax stuff on the blade that acted like lubricant and kept the blades from dulling quickly.

 

[cowboyjwc]

I once heard that is was impropper to use a tubing cutter for EMT. There was an inspector in Los Angeles that who would not let you use one. He even would tell you put that thing back in the truck if he saw you running EMT and it was visible in your pouch.
I suppose not an issue by all the posts.
One of those tales.

I did not care about this idiot inspector because I had my trusty Makita battery sawzall and I could cut faster than anyone on the job. I ran circles around the guy with the bandsaw. I would laugh at the guys who would try to use the Makita as they would break the blades all the time. I knew how to use the tool with breaking the blades. I also used this cutting wax stuff on the blade that acted like lubricant and kept the blades from dulling quickly.

I don't recall his name, but I recall him. I really didn't start using a pipe cutter, until I was doing plant work.