tool help please

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hardworkingstiff

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Wilmington, NC
I need to cut some 4" schedule 40 steel pipe while it is in place in the ground. Tight working conditions, pipe not conduit (no wires to be concerned with). A 4-wheel cutter is too big use.

I heard from a friend that he thought he had seen an internal cutter for this pipe (steel schedule 40). If anyone has seen one, can you help with a link or a direction?

Thanks,
 
possibly ?

possibly ?

hand held electric grinder with a cutting wheel ?
 
augie47 said:
hand held electric grinder with a cutting wheel ?
Click to expand...

I should have told you the application. 4" steel riser coming off of an underground gasoline storage tank. New spill containment buckets being installed (double wall buckets with sensor) need the riser to be 2-3" lower than existing.

We have engineered a tool that will remove the existing riser, but it takes using sono tube pushing down through the pea-gravel/stone while vacuuming out the inside of the sono tube. It would be much better if we could just cut off the required amount of pipe square and rethread in place.

I found inside cutting tools, but just for PVC.

Concrete is between 8" and 14" thick, so less removal is better.
 
I thought Saw zas - cured it all ... Diamond blade on a hand grinder,
seems both would be slow going... ! ? ? No welder's on the short list?

You need one of those gas powered portable cutter that the mason uses. (blade by other)

Maybe I'll ask the Forman of Year, who's the fitter, who pocketed 5K for his effect...:rolleyes:
 
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If you don't have room for a 4 wheel cutter to make partial swings, how do you have room for the threader?

Can you unscrew this section from a sweep?
It would give your sono-tube contraption a try.
It may work out easier than you think.
 
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tkb said:
If you don't have room for a 4 wheel cutter to make partial swings, how do you have room for the threader?
Click to expand...
The hogs head is smaller than the handle from the 4-wheel pipe cutter.
Can you unscrew this section from a sweep?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I understand this question.
It would give your sono-tube contraption a try.
It may work out easier than you think.
Click to expand...
It works, we've done it. It just takes a bit of time. We also have some sites that have spilled some gas in the stone making vacuuming out the stone rather dangerous (using a traditional vacuum).

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Mr. Stiff,
Have no fear. I have actually examined and held such a device as you desire. It was at something like Mission Plumbing Supply on Mission Gorge Road in San Diego.
It was mainly red and cost ~$150. It had a number of cutting wheels and some mechanism for pressing against the internal walls of the pipe.
I did not notice any mention of them in my Ridgid or Rothenberger catalogues. Perhaps you could check out a good plumbing supply house.
~Peter
 
hardworkingstiff said:
I need to cut some 4" schedule 40 steel pipe while it is in place in the ground. Tight working conditions, pipe not conduit (no wires to be concerned with). A 4-wheel cutter is too big use.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you can use a straight grinder...(6" DeWalt DW882 pictured)
DW882%25_1.jpg


If space prohibits use of a 6", perhaps a die grinder might work... (DW887, DW888 pictured below)
DW887%25_1.jpg

DW888%25_1.jpg


EDIT: Forgot you are working in a potentially combustive/explosive area. Scratch the thought if unsafe to use.
 
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If you are going to thread the pipe in place a four wheel cutter is not that much bigger to use. By the time you cut the pipe with a grinder or sawzall you'd wish you had just used a pipe cutter. Any type of grinder is going to need way more room all around the diameter of the pipe than a standard cutter. Ever notice trying to do a job in an unconventional way often turns out to take 6 times as much effort?
 
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