Cutting styrene tubes

[rextalon]

If there\'s one thing I still have a problem doing right it\'s cutting styrene tube stock accurately. I need to create rings and the only way I have to do it is to put in into a Chopper II and cut a little way in, rotate and repeat until it\'s cut all the way around.

This presents a problem because of two reasons. It takes a long time to cut a single ring and it\'s not all that accurate. Even with the little \"jig\" screwed down tight it will not cut it perfectly all the way around. Even small pieces tend to drift a little off center when I\'m cutting them.

I\'ve tried an actual pipe cutting tool, but they\'re big and clunky and can\'t cut small tubes of styrene. Is there a better way of cutting tubes of which I\'m unaware?

 

[DaN]

why don\'t you just use washers?
They come in all different sizes and are cheap as chips

 

[freakinacage]

how thick are we talking. small ish ones can be held in a vice, then use your knife/saw to go along the metal in a straight line (if you catch my drift)

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I got one of these that\'s about 2 inches long and works great for styrene tubing. Sometimes you have to put a piece of rod, a pencil, or something else to firm it up so the wheel can cut into the plastic and not just squish it.

http://ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/hs/gtb/LectureNotes/pipecutter_small.jpg

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by rextalon
Even with the little \"jig\" screwed down tight it will not cut it perfectly all the way around. Even small pieces tend to drift a little off center when I\'m cutting them.

So they\'re thick on one side and thinner on the other?

I thought this was the tool for this kind of slicing ??? Have you tried supporting the inside of the tube with plastic rod?

Einion

 

[airhead]

One of these is cheap enough and should give you decent results. Gotta hit the ends with a bit of sanding to smooth.

 

[rextalon]

Originally posted by EinionSo they\'re thick on one side and thinner on the other?
I thought this was the tool for this kind of slicing ??? Have you tried supporting the inside of the tube with plastic rod?
Einion

That\'s exactly what I\'m talking about. If you\'re cutting down a slice about 1/8th of an inch long it\'s too short to use a pipe cutter and even though you\'re holding it as tight into that tool as you can, it still slides out so that the cut is longer on one side.

If I were to enforce the center then I would have to find perfectly sized enforcers for all the different sizes of tube I have. If I use something soft like plastic, then I still have the drifting problem. If I use something hard then I still have to rotate the piece, making the cut uneven.

Originally posted by airhead
One of these is cheap enough and should give you decent results. Gotta hit the ends with a bit of sanding to smooth.

Well, I have one of these, but I never thought of using it to cut small tubes... For one thing I can\'t make a bunch of exactly repeating cuts. The Chopper should do that, but it\'s not doing a great job. What I end up doing is cutting about 4 times as many as I need and choosing the least messed up of them all.

 

[PegaZus]

Probably won\'t work, but what about a small woodworking plane? Something like this? Might be able to put it in a vise, run it over a couple of times, then move it up some.

 

[DaN]

Umm... I\'d still go with washers personally.
What are the discs you\'re cutting for?

I can\'t imagine you wouldn\'t be able to find washers the right size

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by rextalon
Well, I have one of these, but I never thought of using it to cut small tubes... For one thing I can\'t make a bunch of exactly repeating cuts...

Sure it can, just use a \"C\" clamp and clamp a stop block (or hot glue one). Then all your bits will be the same length.

(that is the same technique I use with the power miter saw to make a bunch of repeat cuts)