# What saw to slice 3/4" COPPER TUBING?



## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

I want to slice long wise a 30" piece of copper 3/4" hard tubing.

I set up my fence on my band saw, but it wants to stray off center.

Anyone run copper thru their table saw? I could make a jig to keep it from from wanting to wander so to speak off track.

Commets welcome,

Dale in indy


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You could cut the copper tubing on a table saw. I would use a fine tooth plywood blade and wear a full face shield to do it.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Or you could use a hacksaw or a tubing cutter.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Tablesaw would work fine


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

difalkner, I want to SLICE, not cut off a chunk.

Dale in Indy


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

Cut your tubing a little long, then clamp it to a bench top. Clamp a guide alongside then use a dremel with a cutoff disc to ride the guide. Clamp a small wood block to the dremel with a hose clamp to run along the guide. Make it as simple or as fancy a guide as you need.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

smithbrother said:


> difalkner, I want to SLICE, not cut off a chunk.
> 
> Dale in Indy


:laughing: Read that just a *little* bit too fast, sorry!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I would not use the table saw.*



smithbrother said:


> I want to slice long wise a 30" piece of copper 3/4" hard tubing.
> 
> Dale in indy


Make a jig/sled to keep the tube from rotating and use a 10 TPI blade or finer since the teeth will want to grab the thinner section of metal.

You can saw right through your V groove sled and it won't matter....disposable sled,. as it were.

If it won't cut parallel to the fence either account for drift OR cut it freehand.

:yes:


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## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

3/4 dia copper is about 7/8/ o.d. Drill a 7/8 hole in a block and cut a bandsaw kerf part way thru the center of the hole. Put a pin equal to the width of the kerf behind the kerf cut and mount the whole thing to your band saw from the back of the blade. Push the tube thru the block until it engages the pin and continue to saw. The pin will keep the tube oriented vertical to the blade. Practice on a short piece to get a feel for feed rate. Probably would make it a few inches longer as well.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

*What saw to use to slice copper tubing?*

I super glued three blocks to one side of the copper tube. I installed a 10" 60-toogh blade in my table saw, and by holding the blocks against the rip fence, I sliced the tube. 

Worked great. Then I ran hot water over the glued wood, and they popped right off. It did get very HOT, but didn't warp the copper. 

I'm the person building the Locomotive in the PROJECTS section. 

These copper 1/2 slices will be my side trim. I am considering make BULLET points to each front trim piece, and tail filler pieces. I will spray HIGH FILL automotive primer on the wood pieces, and finish with automotive paints. 

Thanks for the suggestions,

Dale in Indy


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I've always been amazed at how the guys on the car restoration shows on TV seem to effortlessly cut stuff using angle grinders with cutoff wheels. 
I recently had to cut some fairly heavy gauge stainless. While sitting around wondering how I'd cut it, I saw one of those guys on TV and thought I'd give it a go. I got surprisingly straight cuts. My first pass was a scoring cut to establish the line, then a couple of subsequent passes to cut through.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

The key in using a cut off wheel is to use those that are approx. 1/32" thin. They don't build heat, and removes less metal, thus FAST CUTS.

Dale in Indy


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

One more item:

Cutting copper tubing on a table saw with a somewhat fine blade works very well, BUT, be sure to wear a long sleeve shirt, and FULL face shield. There was a lot of very small chips/shards of copper flying from the blade. They actually blew out of the round tube like a JET ENGINE exhaust. 

Dale in Indy


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

smithbrother said:


> I super glued three blocks to one side of the copper tube. I installed a 10" 60-toogh blade in my table saw, and by holding the blocks against the rip fence, I sliced the tube.
> 
> Worked great. Then I ran hot water over the glued wood, and they popped right off. It did get very HOT, but didn't warp the copper.
> 
> ...


Good lord that setup looks terrifying. Nothing against you, but with my luck id try something like that and end up launching a piece of copper through my neighbors truck. Glad you made it out safe!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Table saw VS bandsaw*

The table saw will launch a small piece toward the operator IF it gets hot, closes on the kerf, or twists in any manner. This is why the setup must be very stable.
The blade rotation is up from the bottom, over the top, forward and then down and the physics involved make this more hazardous than using a bandsaw where the only forces are straight down. Bandsaws don't "kickback" as a result of this, but table saws do.

Thankfully Dale survived this operation with no mishaps, including the hot copper chips which could have burned bare arms or face or even unprotected eyes. Worse yet, a kickback. Good thing the pipe was "secured" and it didn't come flying toward him. I would not have done it on a tablesaw myself. I have ripped PVC pipe and that was scary enough..... :yes:


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

I agree, it isn't a task I would do daily. I did have a short board clamped to the rip fence so that when the piece just started to reach the blade, it couldn't kick up. I had dismantled my jig *B4 I took the picture.

*I did wear long sleeves, and a good full face shield. Too I never stand in line with the blade, I nearly always stand to the left, so any throw up would go beside me. Such DOESN'T say it couldn't happen. 

I had the copper jigs set up so the copper could NOT twist too. Yes the metal did get hot, NOT RED HOT, but warm enough one didn't want to grab hold of it. I did use a push stick, so wasn't handling the warm piece. 

I did notice that as the copper went thru the blade it did PART a bit, so that helped in any pinching affect.

Woodnthings is right, BE VERY CAREFUL, AND THINK THINGS OUT. 

I tested on my band saw, it wasn't going to be a straight cut, remember I had a 32" piece to slice.

Dale in Indy


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Drill a 7/8" hole in two boards, not all the way through. Put the boards on each end of the copper tubing. Then using a board of equal wide screw the two boards to it using two screws, one on each edge. Line up the fence with the board and copper tube so the blade will hit the center of the tubing only enough to cut 1/8" taller then the pipe. Run the board with the copper pipe through the saw, it is trapped so there is no chance for it to fly away.


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## MissionIsMyMission (Apr 3, 2012)

V Groove sled, Masking tape and Multiple Shallow passes so the Carbide Blade is just barely nicking the surface. You won't have any danger of kick back and or any dangerous Hot flying chips of metal. Patience IS a Virtue especially when cutting Metal on Woodworking machinery.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

I use the table saw with carbide blade. Copper brass aluminum it all works for me. 

Al


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