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DIY — Why Now?
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DIY

by Bryan

Because most people are not familiar with tools and tool use in the US, from time to time I’ll post a few hints on the easy way of doing things.

OK, let’s say you have a 21-inch carbon steel pipe that is standing vertically a mile under water and you need a “square” cut so you can attach something to the top. Oh, yes, there is a mixture of oil and gas moving through the pipe.

Now inexperienced people would probably go for a power tool, like a pneumatic grinder, with a cut-off blade. While this wouldn’t be a terrible choice if the pipe were horizontal and supported on both sides of the cut, on a vertical pipe with fluid passing through it, the blade is going to jam up.

The easiest way of accomplishing something like this is with a pipe cutter, a tool specifically designed to do the job. Reed Manufacturing makes a fine tool for the job, the RC20S Rotary Cutter with RCX cutter wheels and RC8-30XR rollers. It will cut through ¾-inch pipe wall with tool steel cutter wheels.

Of course you will need a chain wrench below the cut so your ROV just has to pull the lever on the cutter and the handle on the wrench together, since you don’t have the normal leverage of standing on the ground. It will go faster if you have a second ROV on the other side of the pipe to tighten the cutter every half turn.

It will be a bit slower, but the result will be professional. This is what a pipefitter would do, and the depth of the water doesn’t make a bit of difference.

3 comments

1 Badtux { 06.05.10 at 12:09 am }

So I take it that you were as unsurprised by the initial attempt to saw it off failing as I was. I couldn’t see how it was going to work at all unless the pipe were being supported, and I didn’t see any support…

– Badtux the Tool Penguin
.-= last blog ..Cindy Sheehan doesn’t get it =-.

2 Bryan { 06.05.10 at 9:56 am }

You don’t have to watch too many people trying to cut down a tree with a chain saw for the first time without knowing how it was going to work. It’s amazing how many people never think about gravity when you give them a power tool.

3 Bryan { 06.05.10 at 4:25 pm }

Well, at least now you know who not to call if you have a plumbing problem.