Period Pipe Cutting

[wobs]

From my days in engineering, I recall cutting metal with a slitting wheel by hand. A 6" wheel, and it can shatter without warning, but cut just about anything.

A 24mm version would do a 2" hole if you can get in there with a Dremel type tool.

http://www.tooled-up.com/product/dremel-409-24mm-0.64mm-thick-emery-x-36/121661/?Referrer=googleproductlisting&gclid=CNKJzvv_zr4CFRQctAod2AEAWw

There were other tools that were hand held, but I suspect you won't have access to them:
Oxy-acetylene - could be a bit over kill, and risk damage to boards.
Pneumatic drill - unlikely to have access to such a dynamic heavy duty tool, but we used them to clean up castings and enable repairs to casting faults. Could be powerful enough with the right attachment.

 

[88v8]

If you can get a grip on it, I would try undoing it, lots of heat.... big blowlamp pointing down the pipe, heat it for perhaps 15 minutes. Can require a remarkable amount of heat & leverage.

Ivor

 

[Penners]

Oxy-acetylene ....Pneumatic drill

I reckon a half a pound of gelignite would shift it, too, but perhaps occupies the same level of advisability.

 

[Flyfisher]

Actually, a friend did initially offer the loan of his oxy-acetylene gear, complete with miniature torch that he assured me would reach a couple of inches into the pipe. I'm sure it would have made short work of the pipe, but I didn't fancy spraying molten metal under the suspended floor and not being able to extinguish any resultant fire!

I did have some success today unscrewing a radiator pipe (with no heat applied), though the force required on the chain wrench severely distorted the removed pipe, which gives some idea of the force that needed to be applied. Unfortunately, I can't do the same with the bend previously pictured, because it won't rotate past the skirting board.

 

[Penners]

I didn't fancy spraying molten metal under the suspended floor

On balance, a wise decision, FF!

 

[Zebra]

Unfortunately, I've never seen a floorboard that has been invisibly raised - what are the 'trade secrets' in this respect?

What I use, when I have to be careful, is the Zebra Patented Floorboard Protector. It's a long thin piece of metal formed as an angle, like a... erm.... like.... imagine a really tiny piece of angle iron. I scavenged mine from an old light fitting. I put it over the edge of the adjacent floorboard, then use my floorboard-lifting-thingy - (what's it called, like a flat crow bar? well that thing, anyway - ha! use one all the time, don't know what it's called!) - to prise the floorboard up in the usual manner.

 

[Flyfisher]

Lifting the floorboard isn't the thing that bothers me, it's dealing with the T&G to enable it to be lifted without splitting anything. Yes, this can be sawn through, but this always creates a gap the width of the saw and means the board cannot be relaid without a gap. Unless I'm missing some magic trick?

 

[Zebra]

Ah, no. I didn't think of that. No trick for tongue and groove that I know of.

 

[LadyArowana]

Oxy-acetylene ....Pneumatic drill

I reckon a half a pound of gelignite would shift it, too, but perhaps occupies the same level of advisability.

If we are going to stray into the realms of Bond villain inventiveness then how about freezing the pipe with lashings of liquid nitrogen and then shattering it?

 

[Keithj]

I removed a length of T&G at the previous house using a Stanley knife to amputate the tongue. It was a slow process, but it worked and didn't leave a saw slot.

 

[Keithj]

Looking at Flyfisher's pic again...
Could you saw off the angled bit at the top that stops you turning it, drill a hole through the remaining bit, and use a "tommy bar" to rotate what's left?

WD40 left to soak in might help the unscrewing.

 

[88v8]

Have you ever used a pull saw?
For all but rough ripping, they have pretty much displaced the conventional saws I've used all my life, even my pair of Disstons.

This one appears to have a very narrow blade and would leave a minimal gap.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GXEB66O/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=479289247&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000C79HNW&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0E4SFY6Z34Q0WF5K792A

Ivor

 

[davidbrac]

Just another thought on this, how about a carbide tipped milling tool, in a drill or die grinder. There are some small ones that fit the proxon milling machine which are probably too small, and the standard ones will be too big. Just need to find something in-between

 

[Penners]

FF - do you realise that we're now on page 3, and this thread hasn't strayed off-topic once?

You should be immensely proud!

 

[Flyfisher]

(Sniff) Thank you so much! But couldn't have done it (gush) without you all and I'd like to thank (sob) everyone involved (sniff) including . . . ( cont'd p94)

Oxy-acetylene ....Pneumatic drill

I reckon a half a pound of gelignite would shift it, too, but perhaps occupies the same level of advisability.

If we are going to stray into the realms of Bond villain inventiveness then how about freezing the pipe with lashings of liquid nitrogen and then shattering it?

Ooh yes, with a huge laser beam thingummy, whilst stroking a white fluffy cat :lol:

 

[wobs]

Oxy-acetylene ....Pneumatic drill

I reckon a half a pound of gelignite would shift it, too, but perhaps occupies the same level of advisability.

Just to expand on the pneumatic drill thing....

I was referring to die grinders (finally found it on Wiki).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_grinder
Which is a heavy duty version of a rotary tool (Dremel).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_tool
With the right attachment, it should go through a cast iron pipe.

The slitting wheel (or cuttoff wheel) I mentioned would work, as it effectively grinds the metal away, which makes it do-able with a hand held device, but you'd have to be careful it doesn't shatter. Lots of PPE, and a plentiful supply of spares discs would be needed. And a stiff drink afterwards .

A milling attachment (as suggested by Davidbrac) would have an array of blades to cut the metal, and maybe more diffult to control with a hand held tool. This is a guess though, as at high speed, it maybe do-able.

 

[Flyfisher]

Just to expand on the pneumatic drill thing....

I was referring to die grinders (finally found it on Wiki).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_grinder
Which is a heavy duty version of a rotary tool (Dremel).

Interesting. Who'd have thought that a description of die-grinders would involve aspects of anthropology?

Actually, that reminds me that I have an air-powered reciprocating saw somewhere, though I must say I was disappointed with it for anything other than the smallest things and it rather put me off air tools. Perhaps I should reconsider?

 

[Penners]

Your experience appears to echo my own, FF. I have found air tools to be fine for high speed/low torque, but not the opposite.

 

[Feltwell]

Some air tools are excellent. I've used a needle scaler recently, a cheap attachment to an equally cheap air hammer, to remove rust and paint from some secondhand cast iron guttering I've bought - it's great, much better than a wire cup brush on an angle grinder. I've used it for "in-situ" rust removal as well for downpipes, a very useful bit of kit. Does need a decent compressor though, I tried it with a borrowed small one and it was a bit painful keep having to stop and wait for the pressure to re-build in the tank. Now I've bought a larger compressor though it's fine.



Similarly air impact wrenches are great for mechanical work at times, and just having a a blow nozzle to blast compressed air at things has been far more useful than I thought it would be.

 

[a twig]

Wire cup brushes are pretty terrible IMO and have a habit of shooting all over the place when they inevitably snag on something, or peppering you with bits of high speed and usually quite warm wire.

After too many such incidents while working on an old Land Rover, I switched to just using flap discs. Much nicer