Cast Iron Soil Pipe & Fittings Handbook
Chapter 2 - Installation of Cast Iron Soil Pipe and Fittings
Methods of Cutting Cast Iron Soil Pipe
There
are several methods of successfully cutting cast iron soil pipe. These
methods may be placed into two basic categories; those that require external
power for their operation and those methods that require only hand operation.
Methods that require external power are usually used for prefabrication
work or high volume cutting operations. Examples of this type of equipment
would be (1) the abrasive saw (chop saw) (2) power hack saw and (3) an
electrically actuated hydraulic snap cutter. Before using electrical equipment
of this nature, the manufacturer's operating instructions should be carefully
reviewed for safe use of the equipment.
There
are two hand operated cutting tools that are used in the industry today
(1) The standard steel pipe cutter using cutting wheels specifically designed
to cut cast iron soil pipe and (2) the snap cutter. The snap cutter accounts
for the majority of all cuts made on cast iron soil pipe in the field.
There are several types of snap cutter available, the following procedure
has been found to produce consistently good cuts:
-
After marking the pipe length to be cut, position the chain cutter squarely
around the pipe to assure a straight cut. The maximum number of wheels
possible should be in contact with the pipe.
-
Score the pipe by applying pressure on the handles to make the cutter wheels
indent the pipe.
-
Rotate the pipe a few degrees and then apply quick final pressure to complete
the cut. If a piece of pipe is unusually tough, score the pipe several
times before making your final cut. Scoring the pipe before the actual
cut is the key to a clean straight cut.
Cast iron soil pipe may also be cut with a hammer and a cold chisel. This
method of cutting is very time consuming and should only be used if snap
cutters are not available. Again, protective equipment, such as safety
goggles, should be used. The procedure for cutting soil pipe with a hammer
and chisel are as follows:
-
Measure the length to be cut and mark the cut line completely around the
circumference of the pipe.
-
Place the mark to be cut on a 2 x 4 so the edge of the 2 x 4 is directly
under the mark.
-
By striking the chisel with the hammer, cut a groove following your mark
all the way around the circumference of the pipe.
-
Continue cutting as outlined above in (3) until the pipe is cut. This procedure
may take several revolutions of the pipe before it is cut.
Installers
should be aware of safety considerations, including the need to use protective
equipment, such as safety goggles, when cutting cast iron soil pipe.
  
|