Square cut on 4 inch PVC

[bluedog225]

I’m not a stranger to pvc. Lots of work on the old pool when I used to have it. I’m putting in a bathroom and I want to put good square cuts on 4 inch PVC. Hacking it out with a sawzall never turns out quite right and went comically bad last time I cut 6 inch PVC. I’m a fan of the wire saw for the smaller stuff but tend to stick it or break it in the larger stuff.

Waste line and no pressure. I get it. Still I’d like to put a clean cut on this stuff.

Any tips or tricks? Thanks.

 

[The Cobbler]

use a steel band clamp ( hose clamp) for reference & a sawzall

 

[toolmiser]

Do you have a (chop) miter saw? They make a real nice cut. The dust is kind of obnoxious though.

 

[The Cobbler]

I agree with the miter saw , I was thinking you wanted to cut in to existing pipe

 

[kaymccampbell]

I just wrap the pipe with a piece of paper, then mark it with a sharpie. Then you can cut it with whatever you want.

 

[engineer2]

Miter saw with a fine tooth blade and go slow.

 

[karoc]

Just make sure you have pipe secured or it will rotate using miter saw.

 

[bluedog225]

It’s new pipe. I’ll give the old miter saw a shot. Hadn't occurred to me for some reason. I can already smell melting pvc

 

[housewolf]

I suppose you could mark it with a wrap around then cut it with a sawzall (staying on the line). I’ve seen people use a piece of emory cloth in a pinch

Below 4” I’d just as soon use a hacksaw with a good course blade that’s never touched metal. 4, 6, & 8” a cordless sawzall. Anything over, a gas powered chopsaw. But I’ve cut eleventy gazillion pieces

 

[The Cobbler]

Miter saw with a fine tooth blade and go slow.

I think a fine tooth blade will cause more heat= more chance of binding.
I always use a course blade for ABS. true, go slow

 

[engineer2]

Either one would probably work. More teeth = more heat absorption and less change of binding.
A quick lookup seems to indicate a 60 tooth 10" works well.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Bandsaw

 

[BillK]

I have not had to do any 4" but for everything else a good old carpenters wood saw has always worked fine for me. I actually have a Ridgid PVC saw but rarely use it. Not even sure how I ended up with it

https://store.ridgid.com/us/en/1205-pvc-abs-saw

 

[Hank11]

Be aware that pvc pipe might decide to shatter and explode when cut under power. Have a good set up. Wear safety glasses.

 

[tclark]

A pull saw is easier to cut straight with imo. Very thin kerf cuts pvc well.

 

[dogdog]

It’s new pipe. I’ll give the old miter saw a shot. Hadn't occurred to me for some reason. I can already smell melting pvc

I cut a few 2” or maybe 3” pieces for some diy tig rod storage things. Miter saw works great , 40 tooth ish blade will be fine, even standard tooth blade works. Be prepare to deal with a lot of static clingy pvc saw dust, let the blade rotate full speed before the cut.

 

[PopcornSutton]

Wrap around, piece of paper, even sand cloth can work. Easy to cut PVC, you just need a proper line to follow.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have cut tons of pvc with a miter saw/standard blade. Only downside is the pvc chips that stick to everything.

 

[mike93lx]

I've used the paper trick before and cuts are almost always either a sawzall or hand saw as they are often in the midst of the project.

If I had a lot of cuts to do and wanted to deal with the mess, I'd probably setup the miter saw

 

[Norcal]

Chop saw or this: https://www.reedmfgco.com/en/produc...elease-tubing-cutters-for-plastic-pipe/tc6qp/

 

[carlaisle]

Reed TC4QPVC Qck Release Tc For Plastic - 1 7/8" - 4 1/2" W/3-6Pvc Whe

The Reed TC4QPVC tubing cutter is the industry standard for cutting cleanly with very little burr. It features a sliding bar with magnesium for added strength, and is excellent for use on ABS pipe.

toolup.com

That's the 4" version. Norcal linked the 6". Rigid makes something similar. Both worth great, but are not terribly economical for occasional use.

A fine tooth hand saw with a DIY old school style miter box is easy and cheap. Can be built in minutes with some scrap 2x lumber and a handful of screws. As a bonus, clean up is far easier than the powered version. Once charged with static that plastic sawdust sticks to everything.

 

[lund]

If I am understanding how you want the cut here ...

Why not a multimaster type saw with a relatively narrow blade and go slow with an initial score line. You can cut pretty much whatever shape you want into a pipe or other surface. PVC should cut well too and the tool is slow enough not to burn it.

Edit: Ha! Sorry, I am so so dumb. I often work on non-conventional stuff and applications. So I was reading the original post as wanting a square cut on the *side* of a round 3" pipe. A multimaster with file touch up could do something like that. But just for square chopped ends, you could do it a plethora of ways. A hand saw miter box might be best since the hand saw is low speed and the guides would keep the cut square to end. It is also safe and low speed and a lot smaller to lug around that a chop saw (overkill for need).

 

[rlitman]

I just wrap the pipe with a piece of paper, then mark it with a sharpie. Then you can cut it with whatever you want.

I'm sure that worked well on the Trans-Alaska pipeline, but it's PVC. Isn't eyeballing it just fine?

It’s new pipe. I’ll give the old miter saw a shot. Hadn't occurred to me for some reason. I can already smell melting pvc

Have a VERY good grip on the pipe, go slow and it cuts on the miter saw wonderfully. No melting (if your blade is sharp), but the chips are very static clingy.

The danger here is the same as cutting anything round on a miter saw. It wants to spin as the blade contacts it, and that can easily bind and turn to a brown pants moment in an instant. Cutting slow reduces the chance of it kicking by a lot.

Be aware that pvc pipe might decide to shatter and explode when cut under power. Have a good set up. Wear safety glasses.

NEW PVC tends to be far less brittle than old PVC. I will suggest that you don't attempt to re-use any old sections of pipe, no matter how good they look.

Oh, as for in-place cutting, when I renovated my last bathroom, I needed to tie into a 3" PVC main that was hacked with a sawzall. I ended up buying a $10 blade that you chuck in your drill and use to cut the pipe from the inside. It worked GREAT (much easier than I was expecting), and made it super easy to get a surprisingly square cut.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I'm sure that worked well on the Trans-Alaska pipeline, but it's PVC. Isn't eyeballing it just fine?

Some folks' eyeballs ain't that great. It's nice to have a line to follow.

 

[mike93lx]

I'm sure that worked well on the Trans-Alaska pipeline, but it's PVC. Isn't eyeballing it just fine?

To someone experienced, yes. But to someone doing a bathroom with little experience, I can see the desire to eliminate some variables

 

[nicks78camaro]

Miter saw then deburr and chamfer the cut

 

[dcg9381]

I agree with the miter saw , I was thinking you wanted to cut in to existing pipe

4" won't completely cut through in all miters.. Unless you rotate it.

 

[metalmagpie]

Piece of cake on a horizontal bandsaw.

 

[speed bump]

If it matters I will use a circular saw or horizontal band saw.

With a sawzall I generally get the stiffest blade I can find, rest the blade guard against the pipe and roll it into the pipe and around. It's good enough for plumbing.