Cutting fittings off copper pipe for scrap?
Bob Engelhardt
the convent that we are converting to homes. The scrap price of plain
copper (no fittings, "clean") is much better that that with fittings &
we are looking for a good way to remove the fittings. "Good" means
fast, easy, cheap (I know, "pick 2").
I threw away a 5/8" bolt cutter, or that would have been the first thing
that I tried (it's mostly 1/2" pipe). But I might be able to borrow
one if that would be a good solution. Anybody used a bolt cutter on
copper pipe?
I have a Porta-Band saw, with a stand. Whadya' think of that? Might be
kinda' slow.
How about an ax & chopping block? Would it work & how fast would the ax
go too dull to work anymore?
I suppose a throat less shears would be great, but even Harbor Freight's
$140 is too much.
I'm assuming that an abrasive saw would clog up on copper. Yes?
What about a circular saw? Would it REALLY need a special blade if I
didn't care about the quality of the cut?
I know that in the collective experience here there is the answer,
Bob
JB
"Bob Engelhardt" <bobeng...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:il8av...@news5.newsguy.com...
I'd go with the axe. Fastest method and having an angle grinder nearby will
keep the edge on the axe ;>)
Alternatively build a simple lever action shear/guillotine.
JB
Karl Townsend
have you got a sawsall? With a metal cutting blade, it would go right
thru it.
Bob Engelhardt
tried it and it works great. Fast, easy, cheap - all 3!
For the Habitat work, I'm going to use a table saw so 1 person can do it
without clamping or vising the pipe. And an old, fine pitch, carbide
tooth blade.
Bob
Wild_Bill
would shear the tubing.
Such a cutter could be set up as a shear clamped/strapped on a base, with an
improvised handle to facilitate using the cutter as a shear.. just make sure
no one sticks a piece of steel in the cutter.
A large tinsnip/sheetmetal cutter could also be set up as a shear, in the
same way.. one handle attached to a base, and a handle to make it easier for
the user.
Dressing up the cutting edges on a big old set of tinsnips, and a few drops
of oil could repurpose an old tool that's just been laying around unused.
The axe/hatchet method would probably work well in the right hands, but not
by a new trainee.
I'd think a chunk of aluminum (old engine head/casting for example)
supported by a somewhat massive solid base (tree stump/anvil base-type
support) would would make one-swing cutting possible.
There are carbide-tipped metal cutting blades made especially for cutting
metals.. Panasonic brand blades are claimed to cut rebar and electrical
conduit fairly effortlessly.. but copper is a bit gummy compared to steel,
and may result in kickback or blade problems such as the copper sticking to
the blade without a wax cutting lubricant.
--
WB
.........
"Bob Engelhardt" <bobeng...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:il8av...@news5.newsguy.com...
Bob Engelhardt
> have you got a sawsall? With a metal cutting blade, it would go right
> thru it.
It would. It's disadvantage is that you either have to vise it, or have
another person hold it while cutting. 'Though you could make a simple
holder for the saw, so that it was stationary, and you could feed the
pipe into it. That would work.
Bob
Bob Engelhardt
> A cable cutter intended for cutting large gage copper and/or aluminum
> cables would shear the tubing.
>
> Such a cutter could be set up as a shear clamped/strapped on a base,
> with an improvised handle to facilitate using the cutter as a shear..
> just make sure no one sticks a piece of steel in the cutter.
>
> A large tinsnip/sheetmetal cutter could also be set up as a shear, in
> the same way.. one handle attached to a base, and a handle to make it
> easier for the user.
> Dressing up the cutting edges on a big old set of tinsnips, and a few
> drops of oil could repurpose an old tool that's just been laying around
> unused.
I momentarily considered making shear with OCS (old Chevy spring), that
would be clamped. It would give me the satisfaction of making a tool,
which is my main pleasure in the shop.
> The axe/hatchet method would probably work well in the right hands, but
> not by a new trainee.
> I'd think a chunk of aluminum (old engine head/casting for example)
> supported by a somewhat massive solid base (tree stump/anvil base-type
> support) would would make one-swing cutting possible.
I was never very enthusiastic about that idea.
> There are carbide-tipped metal cutting blades made especially for
> cutting metals.. Panasonic brand blades are claimed to cut rebar and
> electrical conduit fairly effortlessly.. but copper is a bit gummy
> compared to steel, and may result in kickback or blade problems such as
> the copper sticking to the blade without a wax cutting lubricant.
That is what I will be doing - just a plain old carbide blade, with a
wax lube. I tried it on my table saw & it works a treat.
Thanks,
Bob
whit3rd
mess, and it's a lot safer than power tools. You know what
I'm talking about, right? Looks like a C-clamp, presses a
groove around the pipe which then easily snaps in two?
Winston
Stormin Mormon
Use gloves and a heavy cotton towel to wipe off the solder.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Bob Engelhardt" <bobeng...@comcast.net> wrote in
message news:il8av...@news5.newsguy.com...
Stormin Mormon
tried Mapp or acetylene?
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Bob Engelhardt" <bobeng...@comcast.net> wrote in
message news:il8ff...@news1.newsguy.com...
Bob Engelhardt
> Problem is, you lose tubing with the fittings. Have you
> tried Mapp or acetylene?
>
It would be too slow - there are hundreds of cuts to make. Also, I'm
not sure that having the solder on the end would make them "unclean".
Bob
Bob Engelhardt
I have a couple of them, but the table saw will be so much easier and
faster.
Thanks,
Bob
Karl Townsend
Get some wood blocks. Lay pipe on blocks. Put left foot on pipe. Saw.
Do bunches at once.
Snag
Your Portaband will zip thru that like grease thru a goose . Use a fine
blade or you'll be stripping teeth .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !
Snag
Meant to add tape the trigger down . My homemade stand has a bolt protruding
that I can mount a strip of metal on to hold it depressed .
Doug Miller
>The Habitat I work with has a bunch of copper pipe that we pulled out of
>the convent that we are converting to homes. The scrap price of plain
>copper (no fittings, "clean") is much better that that with fittings &
>we are looking for a good way to remove the fittings. "Good" means
>fast, easy, cheap (I know, "pick 2").
Hard to beat a tubing cutter for that job.
Larry Jaques
wrote:
Holy Shit, Batman! Get a load of this technological wonder:
"QUICKER CUT! Bigger, better knob allows you to cut tubing more
quickly!"
Shame on Ridgid for that kind of crap.
They win a Searz Horsepower Award.
--
Life is full of obstacle illusions.
-- Grant Frazier
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
light up the blue wrench, and just lop 'em off fast.
Labor is worth something, and a hot torch is cheap labor.
Lloyd
Bob Engelhardt
Habitat labor is volunteered. I.e., no cost. The torch, on the other,
must be bought and gas as well. Not cheap.
Bob
Winston
Nah. The ratchet gizmo on that cutter allows you to
close on to the tubing RFN instead of endlessly
twisting the knob. That is a *nice* feature and
pretty darned zippy to use.
--Winston
Larry Jaques
wrote:
That little tidbit of info is not in the writeup on the site. Read
what's there and you'll agree, it's poor, cheesy, and bogus
advertising.
Winston
(...)
> That little tidbit of info is not in the writeup on the site. Read
> what's there and you'll agree, it's poor, cheesy, and bogus
> advertising.
Good tool, though. :)
--Winston <-- Thinks 'bogus advertising' is redundant
'Cheesy advertising' just makes him hungry
'management ethics' puzzles him greatly
'informed consent' makes him giggle
uncontrollably
Denis G.
I'd bet that large cable cutters would work (like the 32" Klein one):
http://www.cable-lashers.com/id80.html
Finding an inexpensive version might be a problem.
Denis G.
I should have checked here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/28-inch-cable-cutters-6649.html
Dennis
A lot of you USA guys seem to have log splitters. Maybe with an anvil block
fitted the log spltter might do the job.
Larry Jaques
wrote:
>Larry Jaques wrote:
>
>(...)
>
>> That little tidbit of info is not in the writeup on the site. Read
>> what's there and you'll agree, it's poor, cheesy, and bogus
>> advertising.
>
>Good tool, though. :)
OK. I found a teensy model which works just fine for me. Ten bucks
worth gets you an inch and a quarter of tool that cuts up to 1-1/8"
pipe in really tight areas. Y'know, like when you're hugging a toilet
to get down to where a couple inches of service pipe enters the floor
and you have a leaky supply valve. http://tinyurl.com/4jth24y
I found one which cuts up to 6" at a garage sale for a buck, so I'm
covered for larger stuff. <giggle>
>--Winston <-- Thinks 'bogus advertising' is redundant
> 'Cheesy advertising' just makes him hungry
> 'management ethics' puzzles him greatly
> 'informed consent' makes him giggle
> uncontrollably
How do "military intelligence" and "homeland security" "congressional
oversight" strike ya?
Winston
(...)
> OK. I found a teensy model which works just fine for me. Ten bucks
> worth gets you an inch and a quarter of tool that cuts up to 1-1/8"
> pipe in really tight areas.
> Y'know, like when you're hugging a toilet
> to get down to where a couple inches of service pipe enters the floor
> and you have a leaky supply valve. http://tinyurl.com/4jth24y
I've got one of those. Mine needs the cutter wheel sharpened though.
How am I going to spend $300 of time fixing a $7.00 tool today? :)
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=2027282&
Nevermind!
> I found one which cuts up to 6" at a garage sale for a buck, so I'm
> covered for larger stuff.<giggle>
Like my 24" pipe wrench. (Your friends *really* know you when
they give you a big pipe wrench.)
--Winston
Bob Engelhardt
was by far faster than any other available way. Here's a good example:
2" drain pipe, heavy wall, took 3 seconds to cut. Cuts in 1/2" &
3/4" were too fast to measure. It basically took the cutting part out
of the operation, time wise. I.e., the time was spent moving pipe, not
cutting it.
Bob
BTW - No 1 (clean) copper scrap is fetching close to $4/lb. I cleaned
probably 400 - 500 lbs.
David Billington
> The Habitat I work with has a bunch of copper pipe that we pulled out
> of the convent that we are converting to homes. The scrap price of
> plain copper (no fittings, "clean") is much better that that with
> fittings & we are looking for a good way to remove the fittings.
> "Good" means fast, easy, cheap (I know, "pick 2").
>
> I threw away a 5/8" bolt cutter, or that would have been the first
> thing that I tried (it's mostly 1/2" pipe). But I might be able to
> borrow one if that would be a good solution. Anybody used a bolt
> cutter on copper pipe?
>
> I have a Porta-Band saw, with a stand. Whadya' think of that? Might
> be kinda' slow.
>
> How about an ax & chopping block? Would it work & how fast would the
> ax go too dull to work anymore?
>
> I suppose a throat less shears would be great, but even Harbor
> Freight's $140 is too much.
>
> I'm assuming that an abrasive saw would clog up on copper. Yes?
>
> What about a circular saw? Would it REALLY need a special blade if I
> didn't care about the quality of the cut?
>
> I know that in the collective experience here there is the answer,
> Bob
>
>
>
>
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cps150-metal-shears .
I looked for similar on Harbour Freight site but didn't find any which
surprised me a bit. One of the local scrap metal merchants around here
had a much larger hydraulic version that he used to remove such fittings
to increase the value of the scrap.
Stormin Mormon
decided not to use the heat and dissembly route.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Bob Engelhardt" <bobeng...@comcast.net> wrote in
message news:il8r9...@news5.newsguy.com...
Bill Noble
> Use a dry rag to wipe off the solder. But, then, you've
> decided not to use the heat and dissembly route.
>
what I don't understand, if you are selling for scrap, there is no
advantage to removing fittings unless they are brass -
Stormin Mormon
differnce. Some fittings, like faucets, have some steel.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Bill Noble" <Nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote in message
news:ileb2p$tlv$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
Bob Engelhardt
> what I don't understand, if you are selling for scrap, there is no
> advantage to removing fittings unless they are brass -
Right, most are brass. But even if the fitting is copper, the solder in
the joint makes it No. 2 scrap. No. 1 (solder free, "clean") brings a
better price.
Bob
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
@news.eternal-september.org:
> what I don't understand, if you are selling for scrap, there is no
> advantage to removing fittings unless they are brass -
>
> --
You must not have read the OP. "Clean" copper (in his parlance) means "no
fittings". It brings a higher price at the scrap yard.
LLoyd
Rich Grise
> Bill Noble <Nob...@nowhere.invalid> fired this volley in news:ileb2p$tlv$1
>
>> advantage to removing fittings unless they are brass -
>
> fittings". It brings a higher price at the scrap yard.
>
to try OA on soldered copper.)
Thanks,
Rich
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
news:ileivp$oqi$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
> Why doesn't he find a propane torch and just unsolder them? (I'd be
> afraid to try OA on soldered copper.)
Because "clean" also means "no solder".
"Clean" means copper. No solder. No brass. No steel. No CPVC --
Copper.
I'm wondering why this is hard to comprehend. He stated it clearly in the
OP.
LLoyd
Rich Grise
>
>> afraid to try OA on soldered copper.)
>
> Because "clean" also means "no solder".
>
> "Clean" means copper. No solder. No brass. No steel. No CPVC --
> Copper.
>
> I'm wondering why this is hard to comprehend. He stated it clearly in the
> OP.
>
ass-u-me-d that it was about just hacking off the fittings.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Thanks,
Rich
Rich Grise
as tube/pipe than bulk scrap?
Thanks,
Rich
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
> Just had another thought - wouldn't they have more value if they were
> sold as tube/pipe than bulk scrap?
Sure, if you could get someone to certify them for alloy, working pressure,
freedom from cracks and defects and....
Oh... that would cost more than buying new pipe!
Never mind.
LLoyd
Bob Engelhardt
> Just had another thought - wouldn't they have more value if they were sold
> as tube/pipe than bulk scrap?
Yes and no. IOW, maybe. Depends. <G>
The supply pipes (1/2 & 3/4) have to pretty new before there would be
much of a market. What with mineral build up, whatever, over the years.
And if you priced it at 25% of the new price, it's not much. And
$4/lb scrap is pretty good.
The heavy drain pipes, on the other hand, are SO much more expensive new
that there might be a market. In other words, the crud build-up might
be acceptable for the savings involved. For instance, 2" drain pipe is
about $150 for 10' length.
Bob
Rich Grise
> Rich Grise wrote:
>> Just had another thought - wouldn't they have more value if they were
>> sold as tube/pipe than bulk scrap?
>
> Yes and no. IOW, maybe. Depends. <G>
Of course. :-D
> The supply pipes (1/2 & 3/4) have to pretty new before there would be
> much of a market. What with mineral build up, whatever, over the years.
> And if you priced it at 25% of the new price, it's not much. And
> $4/lb scrap is pretty good.
>
> The heavy drain pipes, on the other hand, are SO much more expensive new
> that there might be a market. In other words, the crud build-up might
> be acceptable for the savings involved. For instance, 2" drain pipe is
> about $150 for 10' length.
>
Now I'm wondering, would "the mineral buildup [and] whatever" make it class
2 scrap like extraneous solder would?
Thanks,
Rich
Bob Engelhardt
> Now I'm wondering, would "the mineral buildup [and] whatever" make it class
> 2 scrap like extraneous solder would?
I'd say (guess) that it would depend upon whether those minerals are
incorporated into the melted metal or float on it (dross).
Bob