Cutting conduit, I hate it already...

[Lister1987]

Any tips for cutting conduit to ensure a good finish? We're starting with it at College and I hate the stuff, I end up cutting to length fine but after touching up it's all buggered.

Unfortunately due to my cerebral palsy, my fine motor control is pretty shot, along with my ability to judge by eye (I can see where the adjustment is needed but either end up doing top much and making worse or not enough) so any tool that will cut straight and smooth would be a god-send. Tips welcome too.

im thinking a plumbers pipe cutter, I know they do copper but not sure they'll be up to doing steel/pvc without blunting or clogging up.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Ratchet Pipe slice for pvc

Hacksaw for steel galv

Have seen guys use a battery angle grinder to cut pipe

 

[Andy78]

I have known blokes with 40 years experience that can't cut straight so don't feel too bad. It takes most people a while to "get their eye in" to hacksaw work on conduit and tray. With conduit it can be a little trickier in that it is not usually sat horizontal when cutting but kicked up at an angle in the pipe vice. Persevere with it and see how you go.
The only tools I can think of for steel are a battery recip saw or battery band saw, but I'm still in the dark ages with a hacksaw myself.
You can get shears for pvc conduit.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

The problem with any rotary blade wheel type cutter, even if it can cut steel, is that it tends to form a sharp lip on the inside that has to be filed away, making more work than it saves.

+1 for the cordless band-saw. Real time-saver, cuts in seconds, easy to use and get a square cut when the conduit is in the bender because it has a platen that the workpiece rests against. Angle grinder with a 1mm or sparkless disc works well, but the bandsaw will handle a wider range of materials and cuts many of them faster and with less mess. On all jobs with significant metal containment we use a sawbench with low speed TCT wheel, for tray, trunking, conduit, unistrut alike.

But, also, persevere with using a hacksaw. As Andy says, lots of people can't cut straight, it's a good skill to master that many people overlook, like learning to file flat things flat (without rounding the corners) and tap threads true.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Also it is amazing the amount of ‘electricians’ who will avoid a steel conduit job like the plague of it involves lots of cuts and bends...
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This tool looks good but not sure if it would work on our pipe ?

I believe EMT is thinner

 

[Midwest]

I remember doing my first conduit double bend over another conduit, can't remember the term? But I had one really nice one, and a big pile of ---- ones. Can't you buy them pre-made now?

 

[Andy78]

I remember doing my first conduit double bend over another conduit, can't remember the term? But I had one really nice one, and a big pile of ---- ones. Can't you buy them pre-made now?

Bubble set ?

 

[telectrix]

always known them as saddles

 

[Dustydazzler]

Saddle set

I have seen plenty people cheat using a coupler in the middle

 

[Andy78]

always known them as saddles

Never heard that one. Do you call saddles, saddles too as in the hospital, distance, and spacer bar type ?

 

[Midwest]

Hospital saddles (the saddle fixing clip). Why did they call them that?
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And the half set for conduit to fit into the surface box, unless you used hospital saddles.
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Anyway, nice talking to you y'all (did that cos we are a net thing now), but I'm off to cook the tea. Megawatt thats southern English term for dinner.

 

[snowhead]

Hospital saddles (the saddle fixing clip). Why did they call them that?

All conduit clips are called Saddles.
Hospital indicates deeper base so the conduit is off the wall for cleaning behind, to nasty bugs hiding there.

Reason they're called Saddles,
Imagine you'd got a teeny tiny horse and you put the bent part of the saddle over the horse you'd be able to put a teeny weeny tiny person on the horse and they could use the conduit clip as a saddle.

And they were Saddle sets for me in the 60's because,, they look like a saddle for a not so teeny tiny horse.

 

[Andy78]

Hospital saddles (the saddle fixing clip). Why did they call them that?

They are set right of the wall to give cleaning room behind the conduit, but also have a flared base unlike a standard distance saddle, the thinking being that it is harder for dirt to settle being the saddle base too. They also give more distance than a distance saddle.

Hospital

Distance

Spacer bar/flatback

 

[freddo]

Bandsaw for cutting steel, wouldn't be without mine, cuts fast and clean, without lots of noise and sparks.

I have seen plenty people cheat using a coupler in the middle

I always aim to only use couplers when the conduits length runs out. Learning how to properly measure and bend steel conduit will save so much time. It was sad watching an electrical company installing some galv conduit a while back, they would make a bend, then cut the end to make it fit, then make a second bend in another length and then cut that to fit and join it to the last piece. So much wasted pipe and time cutting and threading .
It's a shame buildings are rarely wired in buried conduit now, you'd soon get the hang of it then! I recently bought an electric threader, that saves a lot of effort. Wish I'd bought one years ago...

 

[ipf]

Practice, practice, practice.....done millions with a hacky....and ALWAYS file or ream out after cutting and threading.
This crap went with a big bang.