How to Cut PVC or ABS Pipe Straight

[@paulcallahan3897]

It is exceedingly rare to find such a lucid, clear and useful video

[@lauraturton8127]

The use of the circular metal clip as a guide was invaluable, that sorted the mess I made, thank you for your video

[@GabesHacks]

Awesome, glad I could help

[@c-qc-q2021]

Excellent tips. I used the newspaper trick, and TWO hose clamps to sandwich a re ciprocal /sawzall, which worked better for my space constrained use case. Thank You!

[@iotforlife6691]

Can you not use newspaper since clamps do not angle?

[@iotforlife6691]

Two clamps is the final solution. You nailed it bud!

[@truebluekit]

That hose clamp bit was brilliant! Thanks!

[@muckeyn]

Great simple tip on the hose clamp! Hilarious comments on here from plumbers who somehow think this type of video is for actual pros cutting pipes all day.

[@johnlannikk2701]

The trick with the paper is neat! Tried it today and worked great.. Thanks

[@rohitkhanna]

That newspaper wrap trick is great. Just what I was looking for. Thanks !

[@nigelpollitt980]

Excellent video and technique! Thanks for not using background music!

[@DinseeNuffin]

I needed to cut 1.5 inch plastic pipe accurately and tried your method. Worked a treat, thanks for the help

[@GabesHacks]

I'm glad it helped!

[@johnjantzen2604]

For smaller diameter tubing such as this a metal pipe/tube cutter (the one with the screw down cutting wheel and two rollers to support the pipe) works very well. But I agree - excellent methods shown, very well explained and nicely presented!

[@KoolKirt1]

Mr Gabe's hacks I've been cutting pipes crooked for years,,,,, and now thanks to your video I'm cutting it straight now,,,,,, thank you

[@fro0tyl0opy87]

Nice idea about using the hose clamp. Well what I do is I just use the newspaper like you did but then I tape it to the pipe and use that as my guide. Works pretty well. Don't forget the cut doesn't have to be too accurate so if your cut is out by a few mm, don't worry, just grab a flat file and file off the remainder until you get down to the newspaper edge. Remove the paper, and the edge should be straight. Last step then is to taper 45 degrees for easy insertion into fittings 👍

[@kennethlevan9370]

You just made my life so much easier! (To Myron McKinney's point, I did use my old 24" Disston whose teeth are no longer sharpened or set.) And then, after failing to get a square cut all afternoon with a hacksaw, Voila! I'm cutting 2 inch PVC without a chop saw or mitre saw, and I'm getting beautiful, square cuts that require very little dressing. When I'm all done with this project, my trusty Disston will get a well deserved sharpening. It's only been 44 years since I had it done.

[@shauno6799]

Or, if you have 2 hose clamps, you can saw between them, just leave sawblade width between them, this will help prevent the blade from going off track.

[@GabesHacks]

That's a great idea too!

[@av8dr]

Love the tip on using the hose clamp. Thanks.

[@nizar7724]

The idea of using paper to draw the cutting path is just clever

[@GabesHacks]

I can't really take credit for coming up with that. I found that idea online too 🙂 But I'm glad this video helped you.

[@madelinemurray7375]

y'all out here doing the lords work tbh

[@GabesHacks]

😄 I try

[@maxcarter3413]

Great ideas. Great presentation. You saved me a lot of time and frustration!

[@wouterdesmedt1736]

That paper sheet trick is a lifesaver, thanks!

[@THAIWAK]

Many thanks for the video. Great simple solution. I've wasted so much pipe repairing my irrigation and pool systems but now I'm all set. Thanks again. Stay Safe! Martin

[@brianjmortensen]

Great, simple tip ! I’m going to use the paper/hose clamp & handsaw method right now !

[@GabesHacks]

Glad I could help!

[@pindapoy1596]

@@GabesHacks You may want to add that your system with paper and hose clamp will also work very well if you cannot remove the pipe and put it on a bench. I have a pipe coming out of a wall and connected to other pipes and I need to cut it clean so as to insert a "T" fitting. It has to be done in place and no other way but yours can work.

[@sonofthe80s]

The hose clamp idea is great, wish I'd thought of it

[@GabesHacks]

Don't feel bad, I saw it somewhere else too 😄

[@Sharpshooter99100]

best idea ever! Did a cut today just like this but with a sawzall, came out beautifully! Its always been a challenge for me to mark an exact straight line but this solves the problem............................. :)

[@TheSpatulaCity]

Good ideas about the hose clamp. I have a PVC drain pipe in the wall that I need to cut straight.

[@ongobo23]

I just did this today. My miter saw massacred it because I couldn't hold the pipe square and level (I don't have the saw mounted on a bench with wings). I tried the newspaper method alone but even using that as my guide I couldn't saw it straight. The hose clamp is the best idea; even then I couldn't saw it perfectly straight, but kept the hose clamp on and filed down the ABS level with the clamp. I never would have thought of the hose clamp method on my own!

[@antonios4926]

I just saw someone on youtube use a 110mm weather pipe collar. Fits over the pipe, you hold it and cut. From Screwfix. I am buying one tomorrow.

[@007vsMagua]

Five stars for the wrapped paper around the pipe measurement idea and hose clamp guide idea. A deep cutting hacksaw might work better as teeth on the handsaw may become dull.

[@n40tom]

As with the small blade miter saw all you have to do is turn the pipe a 1/3 turn make sure to lower your blade into cut space exactly lift and cut . I use the same principle on Lumber that is to wide for the saw . Cut , flip piece, lower into cut . Lift and cut . Perfect every time. Take care. T

[@GabesHacks]

That makes perfect sense!

[@chiwanau]

Thks! Clear directions and not annoying like when I asked my dad

[@jimmycav369]

Fantastic tip for cutting tubing. This really helped me out installing some extraction ducting in my kitchen. You can pass emery paper after the cut with the clamp still in place to remove saw marks also. Thank you 👍👍👍

[@doityourselfdave]

Good shout with the hose clamps! Worked well.

[@kirbonite]

great trick.. I'm going to try two hose clamps.. great ides .. I was going to get a clamping mitre but this is simpler

[@EndoExcision]

Oh my God, I am literally standing in front of my miter saw wondering if I need to go to the store to buy a special tool to cut the pipe. Thank you

[@GabesHacks]

Glad I can help!

[@nplazio2002]

Great video! I will be putting it to the test soon.

[@Sharpshooter99100]

let us know how you get on pls.

[@jemmaj2919]

Great idea with the clamp, thanks for sharing

[@paulc3960]

That is wonderful. I never thought this before. I will also apply this way for timber, alumin etc in the future. Thank you.

[@happykal11]

The paper trick👍🏼 i usually measure and make 4 marks. Then use electrical tape to line up. If I don’t have marks to follow my cut is curved like slicing Kabasa.

[@Anhidema]

Paper ! Brilliant ! It took me nights to make my brain work how to cut aluminium pipe straight. However I draw by hand it's not straight . Paper fixed ! Thank you so much for the great technic.

[@ongobo23]

It's still hard to saw straight even with the paper guide. I couldn't get it perfect with 4" ABS.

[@LSUfan]

Nice video! THANK YOU FOIR GETTING TO THE POINT. So many videos feature 5 minutes of useless talking before getting to the point.

[@GabesHacks]

That's definitely something I've learned over time! Don't watch my older videos 😁 Fortunately KZbin lets me cut out parts of a video without uploading it all over again, so I can cut out the rambling later if needed. I've done that a few times.

[@floydhill9265]

Thanks for this. I'm building with bamboo, and you just solved a huge problem for me.

[@IRoYaILTY]

Hackzall with multi material blades works great. Takes a little practice but much faster and you can cut really straight and clean

[@GabesHacks]

Hey, if you can do it. I was using this for a non-plumbing project where the edge was going to be exposed, so I wanted it perfect.

[@paulkenny7915]

Nice technique with the hand saw. I used a hacksaw on a smaller pvc pipe and got a perfectly square section. Thanks.

[@StonesAndSand]

A hose clamp....pure genius!!!!!

[@simontrangmar4537]

Wow - really cool idea. Thanks for sharikng this gem.

[@jasonm.6936]

Nice tips. Thanks. Bout to cut some 8 inch pvc and looking for good ways to make sure it's straight. My only options are a jigsaw and sawzall. I usually do good with measuring dots all around then tape.

[@christojoseph2476]

I tried this with a insulation tape and wondered why it didn't work lol. Then watched your video and understood that I need a big sheet of something that doesn't stretch. Thank you.

[@9xqspx6]

I've used cable tie around the pipe and a frat saw (with a fine blade). If you take the time with the fine toothed saw to first go around the pipe and make a shallow cut guided by the cable tie, you can get an almost perfectly straight cut. I did purchase a hose clamp just for this, but the damn thing didn't have enough tread to tighten onto the pipe, so I had to improvise with the cable tie. I do think it isn't any worse than the hose clamp.

[@GabesHacks]

Awesome! That's another way to do it. Glad it worked out.

[@henrychu4701]

Thanks! Best video I've seen. Great tip.

[@GabesHacks]

Thank you! Glad I could help.

[@henrychu4701]

@@GabesHacks I'm in the process of building speaker stands for my bookshelf speakers. I needed this info to cut my pvc pipes flush to incorporate into the design. Thanks once again. Cheers!

[@GabesHacks]

@@henrychu4701 That sounds like a neat project! Hope it works out

[@j.d.ussery1163]

Damn...I had been screwing this up for years with a miter saw. Thanks for the tip.

[@sebc3546]

fucking genius with the paper and hoseclamp idea

[@kenji1599]

I was trying to use my miter saw to cut 4" pipe and ran into the 10" blade issue. I didn't even think that it would stay perfectly straight if I just continued the cut with a handsaw lol. Thanks!

[@guerillastyle420]

This really helped me out thanks!

[@KM-bg7ii]

You just solved one of my problems. Thanks!

[@TheMinishKid]

very relaxing to hear you talk! :)

[@miriammiriamxoxo]

Great paper trick! Thanks!!

[@GabesHacks]

You're welcome!

[@charronfamilyconnect]

Thanks for the video! Now I need to figure out how to cut a vertical drain pipe straight as I need to lower my piping under my sink since I switched from overhang sing to an undermount. I probably need to drop my piping down 3 inches but do not have enough vertical pipe on the piping to bring it down so I need to cut into the drain pipe going down into the ground since I have about 15 inches of drain pipe to work with.

[@vipranarayan14]

Thank you for the nice technique.

[@gabem5861]

Hey, Gabe. This is Gabe. Nice hack!

[@dean3583]

I used painter tape ($3) around the tube and follow the perfect guide line.

[@nazmulsajib]

thanks for the clear cut instruction!

[@rohitkhanna]

..... pardon the pun ?

[@richreeder1786]

finishing touch is pointing out about the screw, thank you!!!!

[@cyberbid]

Excellent video, so simple! Thank you! ;)

[@Inconsistent-Dogwash]

Thank you for your uncomplicated tip x

[@buya940]

Informative video this is 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@buya940]

I’ve got a bit of 6.26 “ pipe what size end cap will fit it ? Cheers

[@Unaveragetrainguy]

Your amazing! Good detailed explanation! Thanks!

[@GabesHacks]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad I can help!

[@gradysmith5576]

Great video, many thanks!

[@jeffyablon6673]

Thanks for the tips, a hacksaw works good too.

[@solfeinberg437]

Ah, it's so nice to watch someone do something well. I'm going to be cutting some pvc pipe, which I'm unfamiliar with doing. The last three videos I watched were horrible. I don't know why ass clowns make videos with educational sounding titles just to show you how to make a mess. This was an oasis of cleanliness in a shit desert.

[@GabesHacks]

Four months later, this is still the highest praise I've gotten on any video. I share this with friends for a good laugh :)

[@dennisvarnau8340]

Here is another way to do this that is much more accurate, in my opinion, leaving not much room for a final non-perpendicular to-the-center-line finish cutting error on the face of the cuts. I had to insert a 3" PVC Sweep Wye in a main soil drain for a new sink discharge. To eliminate having to pay close attention to guiding the saw against a hose clamp with a thin edge, I used two closet flanges with straight-through 3" IDs that I split in half on the diameter of both, and used them on each side of the cut to be made, separated just wide enough apart to guide the saw blade. The saw blade can be used as the straight edge to line up the closet flange halves. A hose clamp is used to secure both halves of the closet flange around the pipe to be cut, rotating the diameter cuts of the closet flanges 90 degrees from each other. The wider lip of the closet flange guiding the saw makes it much easier to make the cut without having to pay such close attention to following the edge of the hose clamp while making the cut. The cuts on the nipples used in the Wye for the Fernco coupling were made on miter saw for perfect parallel faces on both ends of that assembly. There was enough fractional play in the length of the main 3" line to squeeze the Wye assembly insert so that the deburred mating parallel faces of all four cuts form an essentially negligible, as if non-existent joint on both ends of the main line finished assembly 3" ID.

[@Robert.R.83]

Awesome! im gonna try this myself!

[@ericknowles2483]

Thanks. Happy weekend

[@grantgp]

Nice tip, thanks

[@vinniesdayoff3968]

Excellent video Gabe.

[@healthballnut]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

[@uberwayz]

Heres an easier way. Keep an off cut of pipe with a single vertical cut from end to end. Place the off cut over the pipe that you want to cut (like a sleeve) then draw around it onto the pipe beneath.

[@GabesHacks]

Sure, as long as your off-cut piece is a straight cut.

[@oldog4tz]

Living on SS requires you to do things you had never thought about. Well done, informative tutorial. Thank you

[@hitttta]

The paper part, 👌

[@hassanraza7348]

awesome idea of paper mark.

[@ajpran]

thanks for this video, nice idea...

[@dimwitsadvocate6264]

Pretty smart!

[@GabesHacks]

I like to think so 😁

[@jaisankar8539]

Nice manual cut

[@nickhellas]

Very nice video !

[@monadamus42]

Great video, thank you

[@listdoludzie]

Great idea!

[@victorlin8098]

Thank you so much for your sharing!!!!!

[@GabesHacks]

Glad I can help!

[@habid5556413]

Helpfull to me thanks

[@GabesHacks]

Glad I can help!

[@joseph-the-seventh]

Sweet hack! Would a hacksaw work better for pipe or is a general saw with bigger teeth preferred?

[@GabesHacks]

It doesn't really matter I don't think. Use whatever you have. If you have both, then you can try both and see which works better.

[@venugopalbalijepalli8081]

Very nice idea

[@sithumliyanage4435]

Thankssss ❤

[@GabesHacks]

You're welcome!

[@jayantbhatia0001]

thanks i have need to know to how to cut or how to use handsaw correctly.

[@GabesHacks]

Glad I could help!

[@lucasgypsiotis7573]

Great video

[@dudleydooright]

You're making it way too hard. Don't take the PVC out of the circular saw and turn it over. Spin the pipe while the blade is cutting the first time. It will give you a clean and perfect edge.

[@und3rgr0undfr34k]

awesome. Thanks!

[@officialWWM]

Nice. Thanks!

[@BobCanDo1957]

Can somebody just invent a pvc tube cutter like we use for copper tubing?

[@Subi_doo]

There’s no market when most people know that a miter saw works just fine. Can’t cut copper on a miter saw, hence the market for a copper tube cutter

[@Rhotz-ix8ll]

Looks ok for a new installation. Sawzall for in field work is super fast and square enough.

[@GabesHacks]

Oh for sure. I used this for another project where the edge was exposed, so I wanted it perfect.

[@kittiesletsgo]

Good day, I know this is unrelated but do you know how to calculate the right motor in cutting 4" PVC pipes with a circular blade? I want to build my own cutter. Thank you.

[@GabesHacks]

Are you talking about the power of the motor needed? I couldn't help you there, sorry.

[@kittiesletsgo]

@@GabesHacks yes. It's fine thanks for the response

[@Subi_doo]

Don’t need to reinvent the wheel. They make miter saws that cut pvc just fine

[@emadabuhagag222]

thank you

[@reidgeo]

Great ! Thanks

[@غزوانخلفمحمود]

good idea

[@spartans_666]

Thank you genius

[@ArkyTeeVee]

Thanks. :)