Parting galvanized pipe w/ a carbide insert

jaek

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Doesn't work too well unless you bore the inside of the pipe smooth. Got almost all the way through, then the insert caught on the weld seam (?), broke, and trashed the holder in the process. Luckily the holder was only $28 from Amazon.
 
Doesn't work too well unless you bore the inside of the pipe smooth. Got almost all the way through, then the insert caught on the weld seam (?), broke, and trashed the holder in the process. Luckily the holder was only $28 from Amazon.

It may also have broken the insert because part of the the inner diameter of the pipe was not concentric with the axis of the spindle, & thus presenting an interrupted cut after you broke through part of the pipe. As it comes from the mill, pipe is considerably less than perfectly round.

I broke so many carbide inserts parting Sch 40 pipe that I switched to torch cutting for this.

I pay $8 each for Aloris inserts, & I was breaking about 1 insert for every 2 parting jobs.

Of course, torch cutting galvanized would certainly require you to wear a respirator.

I still use a parting insert to mark the cut line, though.

If you don’t have a cutting torch, you could use a parting insert to go in most of the way, & then finish it off with an cutoff wheel on, say, a 4-1/2” angle grinder.

Did you see an interrupted cut when you started the parting job? I always do.
 
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Porta-band is the best tool for this.

Second is battery powered recip-saw.

Then toss in lathe and FACE the end.

Here is where your chipped tooling or brazed carbide comes in handy as you can use the area along the edge to face the "ribbon" of the pipe.

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Doesn't work too well unless you bore the inside of the pipe smooth. Got almost all the way through, then the insert caught on the weld seam (?), broke, and trashed the holder in the process. Luckily the holder was only $28 from Amazon.
This happened all too frequently when I had employees, and is exactly why I haven't bothered to buy an inserted parting tool for my home shop. If you just lost the insert, that wouldn't be so bad. Trashing the blade too is just too high a price. Sharpening a HSS parting tool is something I can teach to my 5 y/o granddaughter, and one blade can last a decade or more for a hobbyist. You can't usually run an inserted tool fast enough to gain anything from the carbide and the sharper edge of HSS makes it less likely that the tool will grab.
 
If I need precision on SCH 40 pipe I rough cut it on the bandsaw then face it off on the lathe. HSS works well and won't chip if it hits a hard spot.
Ditto; also black pipe, which is a handy source of steel (-ish) tube.
 
Just finished parting off 6 8mm wide rings from some gal pipe.
First I turned in round to remove all the gal, gee, it was well out of round.
Then I bored out the inside as that had to be circular to hold push fit bearings.
Then parted, the noise was horrendous and it kept grabbing the bit, horrible chatter I couldnt get rid of no matter what bit I tried.
HSS worked.
 
Porta-band is the best tool for this.

Second is battery powered recip-saw.

Then toss in lathe and FACE the end.

Here is where your chipped tooling or brazed carbide comes in handy as you can use the area along the edge to face the "ribbon" of the pipe.
I find my Evolution S380CPS dry cut saw is far better than a porta-band, recip or even my Wellsaw bandsaw. It's a lot faster than all of the above and makes a cut that's actually quite square compared to the other methods (not parting of course). Pipe isn't really a challenge....I've cut round solid steel up to 2.5" or maybe 3" with no issues and a lot of 3x1 solid steel as well. The vise has pre-set positions for 30* and 45* and they're repeatable...set it on 45* cut four pieces and you'll have a nice square with very little effort.

The Evolution is one of the biggest time savers I've added to the shop, and for welding projects has made the finished products better as well since it's easier to get fit up just right when you start with truly square cuts.

I use CNMG inserts for some roughing so I bought one of the tools that uses the unused sides of the CNMG and it's great for chamfering or facing work like this...it was $22 on eBay and included a 10 pack of inserts as well.
 
I had the experience of making some stand offs using one inch black pipe.
I used a carbide parting tool that worked fine.
The mystery metal that the pipe was made from left blue and black curls.
It acted like some pretty hard stuff.
I was surprised to see that in black pipe.
I guess it all depends on the quality of the pipe.
 
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