Cut Bend Copper Pipe, How to cut bend copper pipe
Cut Bend Copper Pipe speaks to how to cut bend copper pipe and why cut bend copper pipe.
Cut Copper Pipe
Copper pipe can be cut with a hacksaw, a mini-reciprocating saw with a fine tooth metal cutting blade, or with a tubing cutter. The tubing cutter, whose opposing wheels gradually shear the pipe as you turn the tool around it. The tubing cutter produces clean cuts, square to the pipe.
Place the tubing cutter on the pipe between the cutter’s two rollers, and turn the knob on the handle to snug the rollers against the pipe. Do not tighten excessively. Turn the tubing cutter around the pipe several times, making sure the wheels stay in a single track with each revolution.
Once the cutter feels loose, turn the knob to resnug the wheel cutters. Then turn the cutter around the pipe several more times. Follow this procedure until the pipe snaps.
The cutting wheel leaves a sharp edge inside the pipe. Flatten it with the reamer that comes on the cutter. If you’ve misjudged the length of a pipe you’ve cut and need to trim it, a tubing cutter won,t work as it will slip off the end of the pipe. Instead, use a chopsaw or a mini-reciprocating saw with a fine-tooth metal-cutting blade
Use the reamer on the tubing cutter to remove the ridge the cutter raises on the inside edge of the pipe end.
Alternate reaming techniques for when a tubing cutter doesn’t have a reaming tool or the reamer is worn, use a rat tail file or a stepped drill bit to clean the cut.
When a tight space won’t give you enough room to turn a tubing cutter, use a round cutter or a midget cutter. A round cutter will tighten itself as you turn it. To tighten the midget cutter, use a pliers to turn the small knob.
When a copper pipe is flush against a wall and has to be cut, not even cutters made for tight locations will work. To solve this problem, use a wood shim to keep the pipe away from the wall about 1/8 inch. Cut the pipe with a fine-toothed blade. Though a hacksaw will work, a mini-reciprocating saw makes the job much easier.
Bend Copper Pipe
Rolled copper pipe needs a form or tool to create a bend without kinks. Bending by hand normally won’t work. Typically, spring benders, which slip over the pipe, are used.
An electrical conduit bender also works well as a form for the bend. Use a bender one size larger than the pipe diameter: a ½ inch bender for 3/8 inch pipe or ¾ inch for ½ inch stock.
Cut Bend Copper Pipe
For very small diameter copper pipe, such as a supply tube for a sink or toilet, use a mechanical bender for this purpose. These benders are marked in degrees and will produce very accurate bends.
Completion Cut Bend Copper Pipe.
Hard copy and E book for sale. Introduction to Building Mechanical Systems. Click here.