Period Pipe Cutting

[Flyfisher]

I’ve been removing some of the old heating pipes in the house. Some of them stick up through the floorboards and I don’t really want to lift the boards as it usually damages them.

I can cut the pipes almost level with the floorboards but I’d really like to remove another inch or so, so that I can then plug the hole in the floorboard with a suitable piece of wood, making an (almost) invisible repair.

So, my question - is there some sort of tool that can cut about 2 inches off the end of a pipe FROM THE INSIDE?

The pipes are about 2 inches ID and made of iron.

I’m thinking of some sort of side-cutting drill bit that gradually expands and would cut through the pipe from the inside - but have no idea if such a thing exists.

I’ve thought about something like a Dremel with a small circular saw ‘drill bit’ but I don’t think it would be robust enough.

It’s not a massive problem to leave them a bit proud of the floorboards, but I thought I’d ask the question, just in case!

 

[Baron de Gynes]

If there is sufficient flex in the system, you might be able to pull the pipes up through the floorboard and then cut them so that, at rest, they are below the level of the board.
I like the idea of a centripetally expanding drill bit, however!

 

[Feltwell]

Dremel cutting wheel as you mention is the only option I can think of, unless the Baron's idea is workable. You'll go through a lot of Dremel wheels though, those old cast iron pipes take some cutting.

Speaking of which - I had a "top tip" given to me to try a cheap diamond masonry disc for cutting cast iron gutters - I tried it last weekend, works a treat, my big 9" grinder sawed through the guttering like a knife through butter and no sparks! The disc was just a cheapo diamond masonry that I'd been using for cutting paving slabs with.

 

[Flyfisher]

Good thinking there Baron . . . so good that I have tried to do just that but there simply isn't enough 'give' in the pipework in question. 2-inch+ iron pipes are pretty solid things - it's bad enough cutting them in the first place, never mind trying to bend them into submission!

I've been using a reciprocating saw to cut them, but perhaps I should try my 9-inch angle grinder? Not that it would solve the problem of cutting them below the floorboards.

 

[kreyszig]

The dremel diamond coated cutting wheels are very durable indeed. e.g:
here

Can't say I've cut cast iron with one but I would give it a go, they are far better than the standard cut-off wheels. I've had one for a few years now and it's still as sharp as the day I bought it.
You might want a flexi extension though as a standard dremel won't get far inside a 2" pipe

erm ...I've just read on that link "not recommended for metal" - go figure! I've only ever used it to cut metal!

 

[Keithj]

If you don't tell it, it won't know. I've used my "cheap Dremel look-alike" to do all sorts of stuff. The cheap cutting wheels won't look at cast iron, but the better-quality ones do a fair job if you are patient and don't press too hard...

 

[CliffordPope]

The pipes are presumably connected by threaded joiners and bends? Could you try a large stillson wrench and see if you can unscrew the final section? Either with a view to pulling the pipe out, or of it disconnects somewhere under the boards so that you can just push it down?

 

[LadyArowana]

This looks suitably manly and incomprehensible and claims to cut cast iron from the inside out. It will not surprise you to know that I have no idea at all whether it works http://www.wheelerrex.com/wheeler-r...r-rex-professional-tools-catalog-page-07.html

 

[Keith Bowman]

Cast iron? Really? All the iron water pipes I've seen have been welded mild steel, galvanised. Not that it would would make them much softer! The dremel still sounds the best bet though.

 

[Flyfisher]

I don't think they are cast iron, more like galvanised scaffold poles. Whatever they are, they're tough!

This is the sort of thing I'm up against:



I tried to unscrew the accessible section of pipe connected to this bend using one of these plus a 4-foot scaffold pole extension . . . . .



. . . . but it wouldn't budge, even when I stood on the wrench (which is some serious force, I can tell you!). Someone suggested heating the joint, not so much to expand the fitting but more to soften the jointing compound that was usually used. I was going to try that but found my blowtorch was out of gas, so I may try it later.

I can't even try to unscrew this bend because it's too close to the skirting board.

I've had success unscrewing some joints but many are remaining resistant to my clearly feeble efforts. :evil:

 

[Flyfisher]

This looks suitably manly and incomprehensible and claims to cut cast iron from the inside out. It will not surprise you to know that I have no idea at all whether it works http://www.wheelerrex.com/wheeler-r...r-rex-professional-tools-catalog-page-07.html

Thanks for that Milady, but it looks like it's designed for a specific diameter pipe. I've also found a number of internal pipe cutters for plastic pipes, though curiously they all seem to be American and I've not been able to find UK distributors or equivalents.

I've also found some discussions of similar problems on plumbing forums but with no ideal suggestions, apart from using a small Dremel-type circular cutter with the caveats that it's be a tricky and time-consuming task.

Seems I've either stumbled on a wonderful business opportunity or I'm stupidly trying to do something that no sensible person would even bother with. :lol:

 

[Baron de Gynes]

As with all things Period Property, I would be inclined towards the latter!

However, milady's pipe destroying contraption is going on my (very long) list of 'tools I want but don't understand how to use'.

 

[kreyszig]

My googling has thrown up a few people asking similar questions; so you can't be completely mad! Dremel does seem to be the/a way forward going by those results.
of course I just re-read your post and you've seen the same people I have by the sounds of it

 

[Penners]

I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'm afraid that trying to cut that pipe from the inside with a Dremel wheel would be similar to taking a nut to crack a sledgehammer. If it genuinely was cast iron, then my best (desperate?) thought would be to cut it off as close to the floor as possible, and then use hammer and cold chisel to try and break up an inch or so below the floor level. However, if it's steel, then I'm afraid it won't be brittle enough to succumb to that.

I fear you may end up leaving a stub of pipe visible, and then growing a small houseplant in it.

 

[Zebra]

What about a cone cutter?

 

[Keith Bowman]

The pipe in the picture is steel and probably with an inside coating of limescale and rust. A cone cutter might well work - for about 2 minutes and by then it would be scrap, unless you are very clever at sharpening odd shaped drills!
Personally I would cut them off with an angle grinder as flush to the floor as possible and then make some (domed?) wooden caps, if necessary with a recess underneath to keep the cover as shallow as possible. Could be a nuisance if you want to place furniture there but unlikely to be a trip hazard so close to the skirting. They will get pretty hot being cut off - keep the fire extinguisher handy!

 

[CliffordPope]

Instead of trying to think of fruitless ways of cutting the pipe, what about devoting some thought to ways of getting the floorboard up without damaging it?

 

[davidbrac]

What about a cone cutter?

That sounds like its worth a try there are also grinding cones that you can fit into a die grinder or drill.

I would phone axminters help desk and see if they come up with any ideas http://www.axminster.co.uk they are very helpful people

 

[Flyfisher]

The pipe in the picture is steel and probably with an inside coating of limescale and rust. A cone cutter might well work - for about 2 minutes and by then it would be scrap, unless you are very clever at sharpening odd shaped drills!
Personally I would cut them off with an angle grinder as flush to the floor as possible and then make some (domed?) wooden caps, if necessary with a recess underneath to keep the cover as shallow as possible. Could be a nuisance if you want to place furniture there but unlikely to be a trip hazard so close to the skirting. They will get pretty hot being cut off - keep the fire extinguisher handy!

A flush cut and a domed wooden cover sounds like a possibility, or perhaps a wooden plug inside the pipe and some filler between the outside of the pipe and the floorboard. If I can get a half-decent colour match with the existing boards then the result should be hardly noticeable unless pointed out.

 

[Flyfisher]

Instead of trying to think of fruitless ways of cutting the pipe, what about devoting some thought to ways of getting the floorboard up without damaging it?

I suspect that's a whole new topic, though a very interesting and useful one. Unfortunately, I've never seen a floorboard that has been invisibly raised - what are the 'trade secrets' in this respect?