Recommendation for EMT Conduit Cutter

[John in OH]

I'm going to be doing a small rewiring job on a 2-car steel carport/garage and will be running all the new wire in 1/2" and 3/4" EMT conduit.

Any recommendations on a decent EMT conduit cutter for a one-off project?

Is this Magbit cutter any good?? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M2A3CQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[rockwithjason]

Hacksaw or sawzall. Those pipe cutters always leave a nasty burr.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Hacksaw,make sure to ream inside of pipe afterwards. A closed set of wire strippers makes a good reamer for emt.

 

[Rookie2]

4" grinder with a 1/16" cut off wheel, debur debur debur

 

[bochnak]

I've used a tubing cutter just like you linked to and deburred with a step drill afterwards.

Hacksaw works good if you have a vise or some other means to hold it.

 

[Norcal]

Hacksaw, Sawzall, portable band saw, anything else leaves a burr that takes too long to remove. ( the 3 tools above leave a burr that's easy to remove).

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Hacksaw,make sure to ream inside of pipe afterwards. A closed set of wire strippers makes a good reamer for emt.

Yeah, very true Z, but REAL men use their 9 in. linemans to ream 1/2 in. emt inside and then to deburr the outer rim of the cut .

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I cut all of my EMT with a cheap Northern Tool bandsaw. I did buy a tubing cutter style Greenlee cutter to use up on the scissor lift, but I really didn't like the way it rounded in the end of the tube so much, and it was enough work that it just wasn't worth using.

For deburring, I much prefer the tool made for doing this.....

This is an Ideal tool, Greenlee makes about the same thing. Mine was the same tool designed to slip on the shank of a square shank screwdriver and tighten up with a setscrew, thus it was cheaper as there was no handle involved. I think I got it on a discontinued clearance. It works good, much easier than a wire cutter or a channel lock handles, that are not designed to do the job.

 

[fireguy]

I use Ridgid tubing cutters. Cut part-way through the EMT, slam it against the work bench, ladder or anything else that does not belong to the customer. If you do it right, there is no need to ream the inside of the EMT.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I use Ridgid tubing cutters. Cut part-way through the EMT, slam it against the work bench, ladder or anything else that does not belong to the customer. If you do it right, there is no need to ream the inside of the EMT.

Wow.....

 

[DpSyChO]

When I started running emt in my shop a few months back I used a yellow jacket equivalent to the the magbit linked above to cut the tubing only because I already had it from when I was in HVAC and picked up one of these to deburr:
http://www.harborfreight.com/reamer-deburring-tool-65338.html
I had a 20% off coupon from the Sunday paper but would get another at full price if the need arised.

 

[fattony1218]

I use Ridgid tubing cutters. Cut part-way through the EMT, slam it against the work bench, ladder or anything else that does not belong to the customer. If you do it right, there is no need to ream the inside of the EMT.

Klein actually makes a special conduit cutter that is designed to do exactly this. The cutter wheel has a ridge in it to prevent cutting all the way through. I put the conduit in the bender and give it a quick bump, breaks right off at the score line.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[jgorm]

I used a milwaukee portable band saw.

 

[brook41]

John a hacksaw with a 32t blade leaves little or no burr and the wirestrippers or linesmans should work fine. If you have a 6 or 8ft ladder you can cut the pipe on the step diagonally between the sides. Also if use backstraps when installing the pipe it look neater and line the pipe up with the Knockouts in the box. Make it easy on yourself and order deeper boxes with 1/2 and 3/4 KO's

 

[ddawg16]

If I don't have a chop saw, I use a sawzall with a fine blade.

For deburing, I've had good luck using a Unibit.

 

[Mustang51js]

Cordless Sawzall for me,to much work with a hack saw,then linesman to deburr.

 

[SALIV8]

I cut all of my EMT with a cheap Northern Tool bandsaw. I did buy a tubing cutter style Greenlee cutter to use up on the scissor lift, but I really didn't like the way it rounded in the end of the tube so much, and it was enough work that it just wasn't worth using.

For deburring, I much prefer the tool made for doing this.....

This is an Ideal tool, Greenlee makes about the same thing. Mine was the same tool designed to slip on the shank of a square shank screwdriver and tighten up with a setscrew, thus it was cheaper as there was no handle involved. I think I got it on a discontinued clearance. It works good, much easier than a wire cutter or a channel lock handles, that are not designed to do the job.

+1

or i just use a sawzall and the tool charles posted. the tool also has a flat head in the tip and i use that for the fittings as well.

 

[Jlarson]

If you are making more then a cut or two use a sawzall or a bandsaw.

I use Ridgid tubing cutters. Cut part-way through the EMT, slam it against the work bench, ladder or anything else that does not belong to the customer. If you do it right, there is no need to ream the inside of the EMT.

That's how we cut emt in place with wire inside, score and snap with the bender.

 

[Ilikeike]

I've been using 4 1/2" angle grinder with cutoff disc for EMT 20+ yrs. mostly because I haven't found anything better or more convenient,since there always seems to be one around,
of course you need a reamer to clean the end up a bit after.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Hacksaw or sawzall. Those pipe cutters always leave a nasty burr.

If your tubing cutter gives you a worse result than a Sawzall, I think it's time for a new tubing cutter for you...

Seriously, the partial cut & snap method works great...

Tommy

 

[Slowgsr]

I have a dry cut metal chop saw... 1800rpm, 72teeth & 14" wheel (not the spark shower kind) heavy but for anything over 1" I'll drag it out, works great for unistrut and threaded rod. I'd like to see the score and snap method on 2" or 2.5", I've never heard of that method.

I'll use a hacksaw or my portaband otherwise, but the chopsaw is great since it makes nice square cuts.

I actually ran 180' of parallel 2.5" conduits today, got to go through 2 walls and a floor. The apprentice had fun coring. I hate when there is I room for the transformer where the panel needs to go

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I use a sawzall and a Klein conduit reamer that is attached to my klein 5/16 flat head.

Best conduit reamer ive ever used.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Conduit-Reamer-19352/100647804

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I use a sawzall and a Klein conduit reamer that is attached to my klein 5/16 flat head.

Best conduit reamer ive ever used.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Conduit-Reamer-19352/100647804

Thats the one I have, or a Greenlee just like it, not sure. I put it on a very old, rather worn Craftsman flat head screwdriver with the amber handle and square shank. They do work great as they clean the inside, out and very end. It lays on my bandsaw where I can always find it.

Charles

 

[dfiler2]

sawzall and this http://www.all-spec.com/products/K85091.html?gclid=CK3EzujskMcCFQ6raQodgXAEFQ

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Yeah, very true Z, but REAL men use their 9 in. linemans to ream 1/2 in. emt inside and then to deburr the outer rim of the cut .

Im retired,I don't want to work that hard anymore.Come to think of it I didn't want to work that hard back when I had to!

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Milwaukee makes a portable electric hacksaw just for doing EMT and related. I bought one and lucked up and ran into the Milwaukee Rep. He gave me a free extra battery. I've used the hell outa it. I'd get the thinnest blades you can to cut the ET with. if you get a Milwaukee powered hacksaw, get the Milwaukee thin blades also, they cut faster and cleaner.

 

[sberry]

I use a chop saw, have a cheap HF one I carry on my service truck and its what I take if I am going to do much of a piping job. Unitbit for de burr.

 

[Syberia]

Angle grinder

 

[BD1]

Portaband gets my vote.

 

[Norcal]

Angle grinder

Yeah sparks all over the place, burning off the plating, makes a grinder or chop saw a great choice.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Yeah sparks all over the place, burning off the plating, makes a grinder or chop saw a great choice.

LOL, good one ! ^^^

I think back to the day when I first started as laborer/helper with a electrical contractor on a elementary school coming out of the ground. Some of the notions posted here about how to treat 1/2" EMT would have got me fired on the spot.

One day my journeyman was on the scaffold and I was bending/cutting all the 1/2" emt for him as he set the j-boxes and caddy clipped it all to steel bar joists for the FA system. We started at 8:00 am and he told me that if we finished the lower level FA piping by lunch... I could take the day off. We ran 600 ft. of 1/2"emt in 4 hours, and I just used 9 in. linemans for deburring the emt as we did not have the handy tools they have now, way back then. It was cool getting to take off at lunch.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

LOL, good one ! ^^^

I think back to the day when I first started as laborer/helper with a electrical contractor on a elementary school coming out of the ground. Some of the notions posted here about how to treat 1/2" EMT would have got me fired on the spot.

One day my journeyman was on the scaffold and I was bending/cutting all the 1/2" emt for him as he set the j-boxes and caddy clipped it all to steel bar joists for the FA system. We started at 8:00 am and he told me that if we finished the lower level FA piping by lunch... I could take the day off. We ran 600 ft. of 1/2"emt in 4 hours, and I just used 9 in. linemans for deburring the emt as we did not have the handy tools they have now, way back then. It was cool getting to take off at lunch.

Lineman pliers or the small pair of channel locks is all I've ever used for deburring. The small pair of channel locks work great, open them up to deburr the outside and close them and take the nose to do the inside, then you have the pliers to tighten the conduit already in your hand.

 

[toplessHO]

Yeah, very true Z, but REAL men use their 9 in. linemans to ream 1/2 in. emt inside and then to deburr the outer rim of the cut .

no real men know how to use 9NEs to ream inside and out at same time

 

[Norcal]

If you used the right tool to cut the tube all that one needs is pliers to ream it, I bought the Klein conduit cutter & realized wasted my money.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

If you used the right tool to cut the tube all that one needs is pliers to ream it, I bought the Klein conduit cutter & realized wasted my money.

 

[MTW]

If you used the right tool to cut the tube all that one needs is pliers to ream it, I bought the Klein conduit cutter & realized wasted my money.

If you feel that way, send it on to me. My Rigid 305 cutter is polished from my fingers, from 30 years of cutting conduit 2" and down. No need for pliers to ream it with either, the reamer is attached right on the cutting tool. If you score halfway through, and then snap off at the score line, you don't even need the built in reamer.

It takes some technique and muscle to properly ream a full cut EMT, but once learned, the cutter produces a far superior smooth square edge, just like a factory end. I find it faster, more accurate, easier to assemble, and only one tool to carry in your pouch, can be done in a man-lift without resting the EMT on something to cut it with the saw.

To each his own, send it on, I'll use it....

MTW Ω

 

[sberry]

This is a one off garage. I watched an old timer piping wiring today and he used a common hacksaw. 1 Lennox blade and a clone handle would do a whole garage. Get a little vice with pipe jaw or make a jig and a 8 inch file, forget the name but its a 4 way and some rasp to it, perfect for cleaning a pipe burr.

 

[sberry]

I do one off, its rare anymore I do a real project and if I did wold set up to do it but in the shop I use a chop saw, zing the outside burrs odd and have several tools, really use what is convenient. In the field its sawzall because its what I have, there might be something better but I don't carry it all.
I also use about half the hardware than I used to, watched a job today too where the guy used an extra pipe, box LB and drilled extra hole in the building for the same work, gonna take extra wire too. The work is perfect. Looks perfect.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

The replies here on how to cut EMT really break down in to two categories... which are entirely different.

Someone that is working for a EC or IS the EC ....has to adhere to a production rate while installing the EMT, in order to make a profit. The DIY'er can work with EMT however works the best for them, as there no production rates or time constraints for them to worry about. JMO

 

[foolishpride]

Wow! When I worked Electrical Construction 24 years ago, we just used hacksaws and 420 Channellocks with un-insulated handles to ream it.