Table Mount PVC Pipe Vice and PVC Cutter

You can just cut it with a saw like a Dewalt Miter type.

What do you need a vise for? Are you not using PVC glue?

These work. Believe it or not. A vice is a vice. Don't know that you need one.

$29.98Orbit 1/2 in. - 2 in. PVC

Attn Netmaker -

These are an excellent tool for cutting PVC pipe. Clean, straight, no burrs no mess.

I have used this exact item on up to 30mm pipe. Not sure if they will cut 50mm (aka 2").

A suitably sized item would be the perfect item. You would not need a vice as the tool grips the pipe as it slices.

You forgot the link or image.

Not really. →#2

Oops.

This one, by Ridgid, got good rating. One recommended you buy a spare blade. You wouldn't need a vice with this, just shape a couple of wooden cradles.

Miter saw with (TCG)triple chip grind tooth blade. 0° to -5° rake angle. With as many teeth on the blade that you can find 80 to 100 teeth. The hand tool shown is not for production work.

These ballast tanks are they to be pressurized with air? If so PVC is a poor choice as they will fragment sending out pieces that could hurt someone.

Wouldn't pressurizing the pipe decrease the buoyancy by some small amount?

After all, air does weigh something.

Yes and some ballast tanks are flooded to change buoyancy. Air being used to force water out.

I am cutting 10' lengths into 24", 36" and 42" lengths. I then cap them and use .

No pressurized air, just the buoyancy that is present by the tube. * You all calculated this for me last month).

The tanks go on Mullet Doors which stay at the surface and hold open our Mamou Trawls ( used for sampling Young of the Year forage fish at the surface). The PVC tanks are inexpensive and easy to replace, but in three years, not a single one has broken yet. I slip them in net bags and then strap them on the Mullet Doors.

Because I am handling the 10' sections of PVC, I wanted a vice to hold the section. My left hand is now getting very weak and gripping pipe or anything large around is getting harder to do. Hence the vice idea.

I have a 14" Dewalt Miter but it is permanently affixed to a table elsewhere.Where I am working on this is ouitside my shop on a huge work table. A manual cutter would be more in line with what I need. I build about 20 of these sets each year. I absoluetly need a clean cut so the air stays put . the hacksaw works but it never makes an even cut and I always have to sand more than i want , to get a clean burr-free surface.

I use ONLY 2" Sched. 40 and 80 electrical conduit type ( gray) PVC.

Mamou trawl at the surface with 36"x18" Mullet doors spreading the net. Mouth of the Copper River, Prince William Sound Science Center, Alaska . 2011

As far as a nice table top clamp, you could run some bolts up from underneath and use some channel with the holes in it from above and some wing nuts to hold multiple pieces of PVC down....maybe attach a rubber strip to the bottom of the channel to prevent damage and give it more grip.

The quickest way I've found to cut bulk PVC pipe, is with a sawzall. I use a medium blade, and for deburring and making a clean edge, a belt sander with a 100 grit belt on it makes pretty quick work of it.

You might want to throw a piece of foam rubber on the table top too, just to dampen vibration and compensate for irregularities in the surface.

I made some PVC boat trailer guides, and since I couldn't cap the bottom end, I filled them with that expanding foam that comes in a can. Been using them for about 6 years with no problems.

Good thought.

Here is a thought that may be of interest. Instead of using electrical sch 40 and 80 PVC, if you use sch 35 PVC sewer and drainage pipe, it is lighter and cheaper. It should give you more buoyancy.

Just make a clamp from wood that fits around the pipe in two halves. I cut PVC pipe up to 4" with a miter saw.

Tried some of that B-I-T-D but it was a tad too fragile.

the sched. 40 is the lowest i can get away with.

thanks.

Knowing more, I took another look and withdraw my previous suggestion. It looks as though your present method is optimum.

I think a jig would be handy, but I don't know if you perform this work enough to make it worth the effort. I thought of a plank, or your work table, drilled at 6" intervals along two lines, with wooden cradles for the pipe with dowels to fit the indexing holes in the bottom and slots in the top to allow the saw to pass. These could be laid out at the 2', 3" or 3"-6" intervals for a production run.

Actually that might do very well.

I'll see your channel and raise you a De-Sta-Co toggle clamp.

These heavy duty hold down clamps feature robust contruction that provides extended life and durability. The high bar provides extra clearance for large workpieces. The low pivot point results in near perpendicular clamping forces. Solid clamping bars

• High strength forged alloy steel clamping arm
• Hardended steel pivot pins and bushings for long life
• Large clearance under clamping bar
• Black oxide finish

Would that work with PVC pipe?

It looks mighty rugged for sure.

who sells it?

Vertical Handle (High Bar)Series: 5105, 5110View More

Looks like a 5105-R.

Graingers: Vertical Hold Down Clamp,700 lb Cap

Item # 21TF01

I prefer using a miter saw whenever possible since I have to do the least amount work with it to make square cuts. To de-bur it I use a deburring tool such as used with a lathe on both the inside and outside of the cut.

My second choice is to use a plastic pipe cutter such as those use to cut metal pipe. Since it rotates around the pipe with a disk cutter blade it almost always makes a square cut. For 2" I usually use a rigid PVC de-burrer tool. It looks like a cone with three spokes. Similar to a metal pipe reamer but much lighter in strength.

I try not to use a sawzall if possible since it doesn't often make square cuts and leaves a lot of "junk" that has to be de-burred. If I do use it I always use a pipe wrap or a straight edged piece of paper wrapped around the pipe at least 1-1/2 times and trace it with a marker or pencil in order to get a square cut. Only cutting a short and shallow cord and rotating the pipe between these short cuts allows me to see where I am cutting and make any corrections in the cut as they are beginning to happen. I never cut completely through the pipe in one cut if it must be square. Experience!

As for holding the pipe on the bench I would use either a narrow piece of channel or "I" beam either strapped or bolted to the table. Unistrut would probably also be suitable. I would then use a strap chain type of vice-grip wrench to hold it onto the channel. They are available at any store or supply house that sells a variety of vise-grips. They don't have to be tightened before each cut to hold the pipe, only once at the beginning of the project.

On a few occasions I have used a skill saw with a miter box to make this type of cut. Though this works I would prefer to make a jig for it since the wooden miter box always gets cut out of usefulness.

Good Luck, Old Salt

Took the words right out of my...um...keyboard.

I have always found that time spend making jigs is worth it in the long run. I was thinking a couple of 2 by 4s like you suggested, and just cut off the end of the bench, but perhaps a couple of chunks of scrap plywood with 2 inch holes drilled in them would be even better. Be quick to make. You would need 3 chunks of plywood, one mounted on each end of the bench to cradle the pipe, and another mounted on a chunk of scrap 2 by 4, screwed to the top of the workbench about 1/8 of an inch inboard from one of them. Ensure they are coaxial by building the three pieces ON the pipe. Your dovetail (mitre) saw should slide inside the 1/8 inch lot, and not rock around too much. I have always loved the strap wrench tie down...I use it to hold little pieces on the horn of my anvil so I dont smack my fingers with the hammer. I just use a couple of old waist belts for that. But lets face it, a vice grip and a chunk of strap iron (wrapped in a 2 inch circle works just as well, and won't require a hole in the workbench.) Heck, a rubber door wedge would work too...you only have to keep the pipe from moving while you saw it. maybe use two. I know you said your left hand was getting weak, so a tie down of some kind would be worth the trouble.

There are clean up tools that you can buy, but it would be hard to beat an auto body surform tool....thats what I use. Couple strokes and you are done.

Thank you all for the store bought and home made suggestions. I'll figure something out thios week. i do not do a lot of this but when I do I like to get on with it as qucikly as possible.

I have some ideas as to what others are doing and I'll figure out a solution . I am not set up for this and I did not want to go into a major project just for 20 or so odd jobs using this pvc each year. However, the popularity of the new gear is growing and I have to look into some time saving steps. The pipe wrench and hacksaw is just too clumsy and makes for a nasty looking cut.

use a automotive type hose clamp. as you tighten the band it will self center and square. then use a hack saw against one edge.

If you just want a pipe vise, a chain type is easy to use and occupies a small space.

If you have other tasks that require a vise, I would get a good quality inexpensive combination vise. ($139.00)

MSC Direct is a good source as they handle a wide variety of vises at very reasonable pricing.

I use a Hempe (made in USA) pipe cutter 2 5/8 capacity for Plastic pipe. It is similar to a copper pipe cutter but the cutting wheel is thinner.

Just rotate it around the pipe 3 or 4 times and it cuts square and clean.

I think Lenox makes a more industrial version.

There is a slight edge on the inside from the cutting wheel, and I remove that with a machinists deburring tool. It has a screw driver sized handle and a hardened cutter that is slightly curved. But for just capping the pipe no deburring would be required.

Super! I didn't know you could get one of those for plastic pipe, but yeah, it would be neat and clean. Just what the OP wants.

Better than my idea, so Good Answer!

This is similar to my tool. For some reason I cannot find a Hempe cutter on line.

http://www.toolbarn.com/reed-04124.html

OR

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00951661000P?vName=Tools&cName=PlumbingTools&sName=Pipe%20&%20Tube%20Cuttersmv=rr#desc

replacement cutting wheels -

http://www.tools-plus.com/empire-level-28922.html

I think I paid about $25 for my cutter. I only use this unit for plastic so "heavy duty" is not required.

Yes, this is what I described as my second choice in posting #17. It is my second choice because of several reasons. Unless you accurately place it on the pipe it will not cut a square end. This is because as the pipe size gets larger there is more distance between the cutting wheel and the opposite rollers which attempting to keep it square. Also the width of the rollers does not increase in proportion as the cutter capacity gets larger. On 4" PVC sched. 40 there can be more than 1" variation in length between opposite sides of the pipe.

The cutting wheels on PVC cutters are narrower and are much more likely to break off pieces if any sideways forces are applied to them. Because there are so many manufactures, sizes and different pipe material it is often difficult or very slow to obtain a replacement wheel for it especially if you do not have a spare and must order one or have your supplier order one since they may not stock the one you want (some smaller sizes have a spare held within the grip on the feed screw. The REED brand alone has 10 different plastic tubing/pipe cutter wheels.

This type of cutter leaves a very large bead on the cut edge of the pipe, both externally and internally. If you are not careful and don't remove all of it on the outside you will not be able to insert the pipe into the female socket all the way. Likewise the internal bead can impede flow.

The scissor type PVC cutters, they are available in sizes up to 2" npt, are even more difficult to cut a square edge on pipe. Usually if you have the blade visually aligned on the vertical it will be off on the horizontal. They take a lot of practice to use efficiently.

Most of the units I have used include Rigid, Reed and Lenox. The cheap brands always give you what you pay for. To learn how to use any plumbing tool, especially one like a plastic cutter, first talk to a smart pipe fitter who does a lot of work with plastics. They have a lot of information to give you and usually they are very willing to impart their knowledge to you. Although I am a retired Chem Eng I learned a great deal from the crafts people I worked with. So much that now that I am retired I both design and install piping systems, and enjoy it tremendously! Remember- "You can cut it shorter but you can't cut it longer".

Good Luck, Old Salt

The belt or rope with a board to step on makes a good cheap vise...quick to adjust. If you use a top board with a 2inch arc (1/2 hole) with a connection to the lower step on board you have a good quick adjust, if you have a miter saw you can block it to the table height. I use this method for metal tube with a $50 Harbor Freight chop saw.

I've been using my battery skill saw to cut my 2" pvc. A chop saw might do as well to cut multiple pieces. Vary blade configurations to control finish of cut ends. Don't see a need to clamp. Just a infeed and outfeed roller, or sawhorses with notched tops to align the pipe. There is a plumbing tool to ream the inside and outside of the pipe. It is conical so it does both. If a vise is really needed there is flip over vise that works fast and well.

I Use A conventional 12" Dewalt cut off saw with Fine tooth Blade!?