Cutting Rigid metal conduit.

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For a large amount of RMC you should have the threading machine that Bob posted AND a Rigid 700. Anything that can fit in the threading machine goes in it where is cuts, threads and oils very quickly. Short elbows or threads near bends get done with a pony. A pony with a band saw or Sawzall is way too slow for running large amounts of RMC even if it's only 3/4".
 
Metal cutting blades on the chop saw and even in a Skilsaw all work great if you aren't going to be doing it all the time.

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Cow said:
Assuming they get the proper amount of threads engaged in the fitting, how would a cut that isn't perfectly straight affect the installation? I'm curious, because we run a lot of rigid conduit and sometimes we'll use a tristand and portaband for small projects. I know not all cuts end up a perfect 90 on the end with a portaband, but I've yet to have any wire pulling or conduit installation issues come from it.
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I am not sure it causes any real world problem, but I don't permit the use of a hand held saw to cut rigid conduits on my jobs....even the rare smaller job where we are using a hand threader or a hand held power threader the conduits are cut with a pipe cutter.
 
infinity said:
For a large amount of RMC you should have the threading machine that Bob posted AND a Rigid 700. Anything that can fit in the threading machine goes in it where is cuts, threads and oils very quickly. Short elbows or threads near bends get done with a pony. A pony with a band saw or Sawzall is way too slow for running large amounts of RMC even if it's only 3/4".
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That is another tool I really try to avoid. It is a very rare case when you really need one. You can cut and thread the conduit before you bend it for the very short lengths. It seems every time I had one on the job along with a 300, productivity went down.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
That is another tool I really try to avoid. It is a very rare case when you really need one. You can cut and thread the conduit before you bend it for the very short lengths. It seems every time I had one on the job along with a 300, productivity went down.
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That's the way I learned, add the shrink for your offsets, subtract the gain on the 90's, cut it, thread it, then bend it! Just a little extra number grinding saves alot of hand treading:)
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
That is another tool I really try to avoid. It is a very rare case when you really need one. You can cut and thread the conduit before you bend it for the very short lengths. It seems every time I had one on the job along with a 300, productivity went down.
Click to expand...

There is always a few inches before the start of the elbow bend that can be removed and re-threaded when you need a very short 90°. For that the 700 is great. Also at times shortening offsets by cutting/threading requires a threading method that does not rotate the conduit.
 
infinity said:
There is always a few inches before the start of the elbow bend that can be removed and re-threaded when you need a very short 90°. For that the 700 is great. Also at times shortening offsets by cutting/threading requires a threading method that does not rotate the conduit.
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My experience was that the electricians always wanted to make conduit with multiple bends when I had a pony on the job....work that took much longer than the same pipe installed in more than one piece using the 300 threader. So I did not keep a pony on the job. Once in a great while there would be an application where that was the only possible choice, but that was very rare.
 
iwire said:
I should know the answer to that but honestly I do not.

I have rarely used one.
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The plants I used to work at had HW permits issued all the time, but I dont recall one for a tool like I described. I would think anything capable of sparks would need one. I've used a Hilti DX 351 on commercial sites, never had to get a permit, I just made sure I had the proper safety gear and notified trades on that floor I was operating a gun. I dunno if it's required, but I kept a 20' 'exclusion zone' when shooting it so any busted concrete chunks or pin blow-outs/ricochets wouldnt be a danger to other workers.
 
Cow said:
Assuming they get the proper amount of threads engaged in the fitting, how would a cut that isn't perfectly straight affect the installation? I'm curious, because we run a lot of rigid conduit and sometimes we'll use a tristand and portaband for small projects. I know not all cuts end up a perfect 90 on the end with a portaband, but I've yet to have any wire pulling or conduit installation issues come from it.
Click to expand...

it won't make a difference.
if you are using a porta pony, the die will self guide just fine.

what i found was a lot more versatile (and cheaper) than a
tri stand is a jawhorse, made by rockwell.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockwell-RK9003-JawHorse-Material-Support/dp/B007XRFQKW/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

as far as cutting GRC, the milwualkee porta band is my odds on favorite for cutting
most everything. the 18 volt one cuts 4" GRC faster than the corded one. go figure.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
I am not sure it causes any real world problem, but I don't permit the use of a hand held saw to cut rigid conduits on my jobs....even the rare smaller job where we are using a hand threader or a hand held power threader the conduits are cut with a pipe cutter.
Click to expand...

I'm curious, do you allow them to cut strut with a portaband or do you require them to use a chop saw or shear for a perfectly square cut also?

Fulthrotl said:
it won't make a difference.
if you are using a porta pony, the die will self guide just fine.

what i found was a lot more versatile (and cheaper) than a
tri stand is a jawhorse, made by rockwell.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockwell-RK9003-JawHorse-Material-Support/dp/B007XRFQKW/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

as far as cutting GRC, the milwualkee porta band is my odds on favorite for cutting
most everything. the 18 volt one cuts 4" GRC faster than the corded one. go figure.
Click to expand...

Our small project setup is a corded portaband(either Milwaukee or Dewalt, we have both), tristand, pony, and an oil bucket. We have a reamer also, but it's quicker and easier for jobs using smaller conduit to just use a cordless drill and unibit for reaming.

We've been doing quite a bit of rigid for the last year or so on projects, so we're definitely trying to get our process as streamlined as possible. The Makita LC1230 we picked up a few months ago works great for cutting mild steel strut as well. Stainless strut....not so much.
 
I looked at the jawhorse. It doesn't look like it would work well to thread pipe with. I don't see any tool holder slots or holes for a reamer handle,oil dispenser, or to hang the portaband hook on. The jaws aren't grooved to hold round stock(conduit) plus a tristand has a shelf under it to hold rags, couplings, etc.

It looks like it would work well for the purpose it was designed for, carpentry, but I don't think it can touch a stand Rigid has built for years catering to the market of running pipe and conduit.
 
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