Does a tool like this exist?

[darkostoj]

I was curious if anybody knew if something like this existed.

I own a salvage yard and we try to disassemble cars in a line and I'm always trying to speed up production.

Right now, I noticed the guys are spending a lot of time and cost of material in cutting up automotive exhaust pipes. Right now we use sawzall blades and have to cut the catalytic converters out, then cut up the rest of the exhaust into smaller pieces so they can fit into our scrap box.

We have a minimum of 10 exhaust cuts per day and that adds up to a lot of time and sawzall blades.

Is there some type of hand held hydraulic shear that works off a wall plug that is basically like a large pair of heavy duty scissors that can cut exhaust tube?

Thanks!

 

[The Cobbler]

what about a 14" gas powered saw with an abrasive blade

 

[darkostoj]

what about a 14" gas powered saw with an abrasive blade

We did that for a while and it throws too many sparks. Plus it can get dangerous.

 

[Stuart in MN]

There's a show on the Velocity TV channel called Junkyard Empire. On one of their shows they acquired a hydraulic cutter for removing cats that's similar to the Jaws of Life tools used by fire fighters to cut people out of crashed cars. I don't recall the brand but it was similar to this one: http://www.iris-mec.com/products/catalytic-converter-cutters/ It looks like there are a number of companies building these things. I'm sure they're not cheap, but if you have a lot of cars to work on it probably pays for itself pretty fast. If you google on 'hydraulic shear catalytic converter' you should get a bunch of hits.

edit: You asked about an electric one, not hydraulic...there are electric nippers used for cutting large electrical cables, maybe one of them would work. Milwaukee makes one as an example: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Ah-Battery-Charger-Tool-Bag-2776-21/301804740

 

[1redTA]

hydraulic cutter, think jaws of life? overkill for exhaust but will dismantle a car

 

[bad_idea]

Yes there is. I worked at a yard in Virginia Beach called Pick n' Pull. We processed 40-60 cars a day. We cut the cats out of them before they went to the yard. We used a hand held hydraulic shear to cut them out. Like a letter 'C' with the blade coming from the bottom of the 'C' to the top. Stick the pipe into the 'C' and pull the trigger. Worked great. Had to be VERY careful that the cat didn't swing down and cut you. Couple sets of stitches and they made us wear kevlar sleeves when using it. The thing weighed somewhere around 50 lbs or so. Not sure what the power source was.

 

[NUTTSGT]

How much do you want to spend ?

https://www.amkus.com/Products/Product-Series/Ion-Battery-Powered-Rescue

Cheaper ? with a cut off wheel

https://www.dewalt.com/products/pow...20v-max-lithium-ion-grinder-tool-kit/dcg412p2

 

[MarlynOC]

George Hurst and his Jaws of Life cutters.

 

[imbuggy]

Hurst makes battery operated ones too

 

[Flybye]

Im curious but why do the cats have to be cut out? Resell?

 

[cvairwerks]

Recycle the platinum out of the cats.

 

[techieman33]

Im curious but why do the cats have to be cut out? Resell?

Yeah, they have lots of precious metals in them.

 

[MrElectric03]

There are tools out there but very expensive. Hydraulics tend to be more reliable while electric are more handheld.

If you are scrapping the car most places use an excavator to flip the car and use hydraulic sheers to cut the cats off and then cut the rest of the car into usable pieces. If you are parting the cars out then usually an oxy/acetylene torch is used to cut the cats out so nothing else is damaged. I do product support for demolition equipment but the stuff we sell is more for cutting large I beams and would cut a car in half easier than it would cut the cat off.

 

[Wamsutta]

Maybe the Diablo carbide tooth blades would last longer and be more cost efficient. Maybe use cutting oil to extend the life of the blade too.

 

[L.Cheapo]

View media item 88187

 

[WittHay]

There is a Holmatro Cat Cutter and is used with a mobile cart. Electric 110/220 power operates a hydraulic pump. Believe the price is around $5200 just for the bare tool.

I always thought scrapyard equipment was kind of neat, with the big magnets and huge shears and those specialized handlers with the grapples

Scrap metal yard is different than auto parts wrecking though

 

[deluser-u]

What about a porta-band? Regular bandsaws are what I use to cut exhaust tubing so a portable one should work.
Could go with the classic Milwaukee corded, or go cordless from your favorite of the big three.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Power-Tools-Saws-Portable-Band-Saws/N-5yc1vZc2h4

Only other thing I can think of is a manual ratcheting cutter like this Sealey

Here are some portable air/hydraulic options but they don't look cheap.

https://www.crowenvironmental.co.uk/vehicle-drainage-north-america/cat-cutter/

http://autodrain.net/product/autoshear/

http://www.vortexdepollution.co.uk/de-pollution-systems/hydraulic-cutters-for-catalytic-converters

SEDA does make a battery powered one but it looks $$$
https://www.seda-international.com/gb/portfolio/catalyticcutter/?portfolioCats=208

And if you really want to go crazy you could get a diamond abrasive chainsaw. Not really for exhaust pipe, but it sure looks fun.
https://icsdiamondtools.com/products/695pg-gas-powered-utility-chain-saw/

 

[bad_idea]

http://autodrain.net/product/autoshear/

That looks like the unit we used in the Pick N' Pull I worked at. Worked well.

Portaband will not work because typically the exhaust is recessed into a channel in the floor pan.

 

[ChrisLS8]

DeWalt makes a 9" cutoff saw under the 60v flexvolt line that cuts steel like butter. Yeah it makes sparks but it cuts so fast that it's not too much of an issue unless you have puddles of fuel/oil around

 

[ex-x-fire]

Im curious but why do the cats have to be cut out? Resell?

In cities, tweakers cut them off of anything, even new cars. They actually sell stuff that's makes it harder to hack them off.

 

[American Locomotive]

Why not just cut the cats out, and leave the rest of the exhaust in? That seems to be the most sensible solution to me. It's pretty common in the yards around here to see people buying big chunks of exhaust pipes from junkyards to fix their rotten OEM exhaust.

Im curious but why do the cats have to be cut out? Resell?

The cats are valuable because the the precious metals inside them can be recovered. For very undesirable models of junkyard cars, the cat is probably the single most valuable component.

Plus some cities/states have laws against selling and/or installing used emissions equipment, so it's easier for the junkyards to just remove them and scrap them.

DeWalt makes a 9" cutoff saw under the 60v flexvolt line that cuts steel like butter. Yeah it makes sparks but it cuts so fast that it's not too much of an issue unless you have puddles of fuel/oil around

They're processing cars to be put into a salvage yard. There will be oil and gas everywhere as they drain the fluids.

Plus, a 9" is not going to fit up into the recessed channel the exhaust sits in on many modern cars.

 

[toplessHO]

is everyone over thinking this?
whats wrong with a tubing/pipe cutter?
if you get a double or 4 roller/cutter wheel
you can cut a pipe in seconds vs min.
buy a name brand so you can get replacement cutter wheels

 

[Itsjustdirt]

A GOOD sawzal blade should cut through exhaust in a few seconds. Are you using a good saw and good blade?