Cutting tubes length wise

[xtremek]

Ok folks, I have a fun question, I think. I need to cut long stretches (think 10'-20') of tubing, 2",3" and 4" into halves and quarters, as I said length wise. I really need them to be fairly straight. I don't have a plasma cutter. Any ideas?

 

[ER70S-2]

What material and wall thickness?

 

[xtremek]

Steel and probably .180"-3/16" (isn't that pretty much the same thing?)

 

[Musicinabottle]

What sort of cutting equipment do you have on hand? What is available to you?

 

[ejabour]

Bandsaw?

Ok folks, I have a fun question, I think. I need to cut long stretches (think 10'-20') of tubing, 2",3" and 4" into halves and quarters, as I said length wise. I really need them to be fairly straight. I don't have a plasma cutter. Any ideas?

 

[Oldbear]

A jig and an angle grinder?

 

[garagelogician]

Bandsaw?

I think a bandsaw with some guides and outfeed support is going to be the only viable option.

 

[engineer2]

You need to keep the tube from rotating while slicing it. Clamping a level to the tube is crude but might work.

 

[nes999]

I think a bandsaw with some guides and outfeed support is going to be the only viable option.

Thats exact what I thought.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[brothernov]

Cut a "V" notch in a long straight board that's sized to help you hold the tube still. Some tape might help. then run it through the bandsaw? I've done that when splitting dowel rods before

 

[cmandp]

I cut 1/16 wall 1-1/4" box tube down its length before with an angle grinder. Worked fine but the piece bent on me and needed straightening after releasing the internal stresses. So keep that in mind if you want the pieces to be straight after cutting.

 

[readhead]

You are making channel and angle. Wouldn't it be easier to buy those shapes? Am I missing a step here?

 

[rusty1]

...find a piece of angle iron the right size, clamp to the tube, use the edge as a guide to cut with a cutoff blade in a 4" angle grinder.

 

[xtremek]

This would be round tube. Unfortunately I don't have a band saw . I do have a Oxy-Acetylene torch and a 4 1/2" angle grinder. I'll see if there's anyone in the area that has a good band saw. I think the torch would leave to ragged a cut and too much clean up.

 

[kbs2244]

Have you shopped for having it done?
20 feet is a long cut.

 

[MJD1]

Tack 4 pieces of angle to tube in quarters. Cut with some like the Milwaukee metal cutting circle saw. Plasma or oxy fuel will warp the **** out of it.

 

[xtremek]

Tack 4 pieces of angle to tube in quarters. Cut with some like the Milwaukee metal cutting circle saw. Plasma or oxy fuel will warp the **** out of it.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[RWorth]

What are you doing with the pieces you cut? I tend to agree that if you cut them they will warp. As far as cutting them, clamp an angle iron to them for a straight edge as previously mentioned and use your circular saw with a metal blade. I bought a Dewalt 18v cordless metal saw and have been amazed how well it has been cutting.

OOPS just saw MJD1's post. So nevermind.

 

[xtremek]

I'm thinking of welding them to channel and angle to make structural, yet decorative, supports for a dump truck box I have to build.

 

[Ironcrow]

I did this with 6 inch diameter 1/8 wall steel tube. Did 12 eight foot pieces, two cuts each to make half circle pieces. I placed an angle iron chunk on each pipe to draw a line down the side with a Sharpie (self positioning straight edge). Cut with an angle grinder cut-off wheel. Took a wheel for each pipe and some time.

I have a plasma cutter. Too much warpage.

 

[matt_i]

I was thinking of tack welding an angle iron to the tube ends as a guide to keep it squared up with respect to a vertical bandsaw's table. Infeed and outfeed support rollers would be a must then. Grind off or slice the welds at the end.

You might be able to use flat bar for quartering the halves.

Its probably going to take a blade or two, generally want 3 teeth into the workpiece, at 1/8" thick, .125 / 3 = .04166, which is also 1/24, so 24 tpi would be your best blade. The tradeoff is that is not going to be very fast.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Tack 4 pieces of angle to tube in quarters. Cut with some like the Milwaukee metal cutting circle saw. Plasma or oxy fuel will warp the **** out of it.

I have a plasma cutter. Too much warpage.

I have had lots of oddball ideas and projects but this is a new one for me.

If you made a frame from 2 X with no top and bottom and took some sheet plastic, you could make a water table to control warpage. A piece of flat spot welded to the bottom would keep it from rolling. I have only seen a water table needed for 14.5% manganese and high amp machine plasma (mostly for fume control).

I have yet to see a decorative dump truck. I hope the photos make their appearance in a thread named The Decorative Dump Truck. I would hate to miss them.

 

[ez-duzit]

...I do have a Oxy-Acetylene torch and a 4 1/2" angle grinder...

You are not equipped to do this. Redesign or sub it out.

 

[sberry]

They are going to warp no matter the method. I will agree this is somewhat of a brain fart and a lot of work. Find a better scheme.

 

[Lelandwelds]

They are going to warp no matter the method. I will agree this is somewhat of a brain fart and a lot of work. Find a better scheme.

I am still trying to get the decorative dump truck idea. Some of the artists I have worked with embrace the flaws and call it character or a feature. Rust, slag, and dross become pretty. Warping becomes a unique feature. Rope shoved in a gap where something doesn't fit is a design element.

You can sometimes pick where it warps. The beam and column shop would leave tabs to hold together a beam they were splitting. Sometimes they started in the middle and worked toward both ends. You can weld on additional parts before splitting to limit movement. If you can predict the movement you can weld something crooked to be corrected by the warping. I worked with a guy who spiraled beam for staircases with a rosebud and a pump up sprayer. Warp isn't good or bad. ( Just easier if it doesn't matter.)

Without a sketch, we are working in the dark.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Is it possible to get a metal cutting blade for a table saw. If so rip a piece of one by four to the od of the pipe. Fasten it to the pipe set the rip fence on the table saw and go to town. Might need to fasten the one by on each side of the pipe. You would only need to cut the pipe on one side at a time. After it is cut in half you should have a flat side to run on the saw and no longer need the one by.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I'd either go with a bandsaw or jigsaw with some sort of straight edge guide.

 

[rooster-tail]

Jig up the tube. Tack 2 opposing angle iron slightly bigger than the blade thickness for a guide to run a demo saw with a metal cutting blade in it. Leave a few spots in tack so it stays rigid. you can cut them later with a small cutting wheel. Gap for blade needs to be a little sloppy so you don't pinch the blade. "IT CAN FLY APART" and get you seriously hurt. This is a pretty fast way to cut it. I hope this gives you another option. It is the way I have done it in the past.

 

[xtremek]

The dump truck will be both decorative and heavily used as a truck. If you're curious check out the 5x10 trailer I built. Frenched taillights, license plate, and tongue and fender supports. I just can't leave those kind of things normal. As far as a separate thread, I'll probably just include it on my normal garage thread, though my wife and friends are pushing me to start something on twitter and FB if I do start my custom wagon business

...... bigger than the blade thickness for a guide to run a demo saw.........

What's a "demo saw"? Is that what I call a sawzall?

 

[dr_clyde]

I would sub this to a shop with a tube laser. This is not an easy job. It will warp no matter what you do due to internal stress. Hand tools will only make this harder.

 

[cmandp]

xtremek what will the final length of your tube halves and quarters need to be? The 10' to 20' you stated in your original post or shorter?

If shorter (say 4', maybe up to 8') I think you could do it okay with an angle grinder or as someone else mentioned a jigsaw. I would prefer sawing as that much cutting with an angle grinder isn't that fun

 

[sledwrenchin]

Water Jet?

 

[Blazinzuk]

Like has been said once split it will warp. Not to awful to get it back to straight once your welding it on. Gotta tack it and use some force.

I have done this. Actually several times. IMHO there is no good or easy way to do this without a bandsaw. But no worries. I made a center finder, ran it down the length of the tube, both sides ( its hard to get em dead even but possible). I then bought the thinnest cut off I could find. It was annoying and hurt my back but I cut 40 feet of 1.75 .120 wall DOM but it was fine just time consuming.

More than one way to skin a cat. If you have an angle grinder some patience and a sharpie your set.

 

[Kenstone1]

This would be round tube. Unfortunately I don't have a band saw . I do have a Oxy-Acetylene torch and a 4 1/2" angle grinder. I'll see if there's anyone in the area that has a good band saw. I think the torch would leave to ragged a cut and too much clean up.

I've put a cut off wheel on a circular saw and bolted it under a piece of plywood with the blade sticking up thru a slot in the plywood.
Kinda like a table saw, trashed the saw but it worked out.
I've done the same with an angle grinder too.

Oh, and expect the tube to curl up like a banana, no matter what way you cut it, because of the stress in it from rolling...it'll twist too

 

[DC73]

You are not equipped to do this. Redesign or sub it out.

It's not about being equipped to do it. It's about learning how.

DC

 

[ez-duzit]

It's not about being equipped to do it. It's about learning how...

I'm reminded of the saying: "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

If a guy wants to build something, himself, it is best to design it with his own abilities in mind. There's nothing wrong with subbing out what you can't do for yourself. But a man's gotta know his limitations.

 

[xtremek]

Hey folks, thanks for all your info and suggestions. I doubt this will get subbed out, I'd rather spend the coin on more raw materials for this resto-mod(?). Besides which,with all of the suggestions, I think I can devise something that will work well enough for my needs.

Someone asked about the lengths. The design isn't complete yet, still trying to get a clear pic in my mind before I put it down on "paper". But yes, some lengths will only be 2', but I think at least one will be about 15'.

It'll be another month and a half before I start on this project....I hope. But when I get to this point, I'll be sure to double back and share what I ended up doing.

Thanks again for your suggestions, and if you come up with more, feel free to share. I can't be the only person trying something this crazy.

 

[matt_i]

I think I'd try to sub out some press brake work. Its harder and requires more tonnage to do a sharp bend, but "loose" radiused bends are easier.

Just along the lines of you'd have to metal-finish the curve-to-flat on both sides of the quarter-tube bend, why not get the bend done as a whole and metal-finish a seam somewhere else. Its gotta be easier to metal-finish on a flat open area than down in a corner, is what I am thinking.

I don't know if you have an H-frame press but for light work you could build a longer press-brake-tool. It doesn't have to be super sophisticated to work.

 

[Zick]

I'm reminded of the saying: "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

If a guy wants to build something, himself, it is best to design it with his own abilities in mind. There's nothing wrong with subbing out what you can't do for yourself. But a man's gotta know his limitations.

There is no limitation when you're willing to learn and try.

 

[BC1]

There is no limitation when you're willing to learn and try.[/QUOTE

The effort is commendable but a complete waste of time. Buy the material in the shape you want it. Work smarter not harder