Cutting mild steel

I fancy having a go at making my own pump leathers.

I have a length of mild steel pipe with a 2mm wall and a mini hacksaw with a 24tpi blade. I want to cut a straight 7-8mm slice off the pipe to hard solder onto a steel base.

My ability to use the hacksaw properly aside, before I jump in, is it the right tool for the job?


-R

 

Close enough! It will do the job but slowly- a 12" hacksaw would be faster.

Just plod on, try to use the full length of the blade, and you'll get there.

 

I would think you would have better results with a tubing cutter . Sure could be done with a hand held saw just maybe not as easy , particularly if the diameter is large . Good luck

 

KISS principle Needed an odd size cup for this pump and came up with this DIY press. Have made standard stove size cups also, not pretty but they work.

 

Thanks to all three for the quick replies!

@Daryl, one of the approaches I had in mind was similar to what you suggest. I may well give it a go as a version 2 (version 1 relying on a vice).

@William Ritchie - I had thought cutters like this weren’t up to steel. They look like a much easier approach and I can pick one up this afternoon for less than the cost of a larger hacksaw.


-R

 

@IRM using vice would be simple. maybe post up a picture?

 

Watch this space :-)


-R

 

Well done @Daryl

 

Only trick with the hacksaw is getting it flat enough to hard solder to a flat surface. Might need to finish with a file. I would use an angle grinder but Im lazy

 

Flat surface? Sand on a sheet of sandpaper on a bench or table.

 

I picked up a tube cutter yesterday. The steel tube I have was at the limits of what it can do:









I’ll see tomorrow how effective it is, but it was a morning well spent.

Thank you to @sefaudi and others who have posted their approaches to this in the past.

For the record, version 0 was this:



but the steel tube was too long to fit in my wee vice. I had to put it between the boards on my trusty old black and decker workmate.


-R

 

I need to tidy up the edges and punch a hole, but I’m happy with the first run:




-R

 

@IRM That looks like a great result.
Just for my (and other's) future reference what is the inner diameter of the steel pipe and the outer wooden insert?
Regards
John

 

I used the sizes provided by @sefaudi in his thread - Look - How I made pump leathers by myself

I wasn’t able to find a 17mm inner diameter pipe and ended up using 7/8” outer diameter with a 2.64mm wall for 16.9mm.


-R

 

Looks great- slightly smaller is far less of a problem than slightly too large!