Best way to cut slit?

[mjm7757]

What are the different ways to cut the slit for the screen and what are their advantages? Also, what is the best way to attach the screen to the pipe with the slit? I plan to use 3/4" pvc.

[straydog]

I use a dremal to cut the pipe for the screen to go in but i think a drill would work in the same manner. The way I attached my screen was to take a pvc slip fitting cut about 1/4" from it so i had a round peace then cut a small notch 1/8 " wide that way when i want to remove the screen i rotate the peace of slip fiting around the spray bar that holds the screen to the opening i cut in the screen and it pulls out and goes back in to the bar easily.

[kerry]

I use my table saw but its scary!!!! I leave the pipe way long then cut the slit with the blade very low and then cut the pipe to length when I am done.

[Garf]

I used one of these in a drill at maximum speed setting;

[Floyd R Turbo]

I use a table saw with a blade that has a 1/8" kerf (it was a $65 Bosch blade, BTW). I've made >70 of these and the first few times are hairy, after that you get used to it.

If you decide that's what you want to do, I can give you some pointers. I've learned a few things. Maybe I'll make a YouTube video of it the next time I do it.

[MorganAtlanta]

Drill holes and use the no-slot method instead.

Back when I used a slot, I cut mine with a small skill saw. The trick is to use a guide to keep the slot straight. Probably safer than a table saw.

[marineguy]

I use a radial arm saw with a 3mm metal grinding disc.

[mjm7757]

I use a table saw with a blade that has a 1/8" kerf (it was a $65 Bosch blade, BTW). I've made >70 of these and the first few times are hairy, after that you get used to it.

If you decide that's what you want to do, I can give you some pointers. I've learned a few things. Maybe I'll make a YouTube video of it the next time I do it.

Yeah, just trying to imagine exactly how it would work with a table saw does seem like it could be pretty hairy. Any pointers would definitely be appreciated.

[Floyd R Turbo]

ok here are a few things I do.

When cutting, position your body to the side of the blade. Basically you're stading on the left side of the table saw, with the fence on the far side of the blade (standard saw has fence on right)

Set the fence such that the blade will cut into the bottom of the pipe as you set it on the blade. This means that you have to set it so that the centerline of the blade teeth matches the centerline of the pipe. If that makes sense.

The fence MUST be perfectly parallel to the blade. Some fences suck at this. I measure mine with a calipers at the front and back of the blade (saw off, obviously) and with the fence clamped, on my saw, the action of clamping the fence in place causes it to go out of parallel by a very small amount sometimes, so I have to let the clamp up, adjust one end, clamp again, measure...a really good saw/fence will generally not have this problem. Home Depot brands completely suck at this (Ryobi)

Mark a vertical line on the fence that matches the highest point of the blade.

Set the cutting height of the blade such that when the pipe is on it (when you are actually cutting), the blade is below the inside of the top of the pipe (so that the saw doesn't cut through the other side), but high enough that it will cut through the pipe. I shoot for just above middle.

Make a test cut on a piece of pipe. You will throw this pipe away. I keep it for a test cut for each time I set up this procedure. This is my procedure for the actual cutting:

- Stand to left of table.

- Do NOT put a glove on your left hand. I would, however, put a glove on your right hand.

- start saw

- hold pipe on ends with thumb and forefinger+middle finger, thumbs on top, fingertips on the end, but not in the pipe, or at least not that far into it.

- Position pipe above blade at an angle (about 45 degrees) with one end on the table in front of the blade (in contact with the table) and the other end up above the blade.

- slowly lower the pipe onto the blade such that the saw is cutting at a point in the middle of the pipe, so that your hands/fingers are no where near the blade. Hold the pipe firmly with your thumb and fingers. The saw will spit out hot PVC shavings through the infeed side of the pipe. This is why you wear the glove. Don't twist the pipe or it could bind, and shoot off. This is why you stand to the side of the blade vs behind it. you also do not want to position your head directly over the blade, and just in case, I wear full face protection.

- When pipe is all the way on the blade, lift off in the same way (keep infeed side in contact with table, lift outfeed side off at angle). You can also lift it off the other way, it doesn't really matter a lot. Just do it slowly and carefully so you don't rotate the pipe as you do it

- turn off saw

Now, measure the cut. There are a few ways of interpreting this. You can measure the actual cut-through length, or if you intend to trim out the partially cut bit with a dremel, measure that. Either way, you have a distance that the slot is cut by the blade. If you need it shorter, lower the blade and do another test cut. If you need it longer, you are going to have to slide the pipe along the table a certain distance to get this done. So here's how you do that:

- Rough cut your slot pipe with several inches of spare length. I cut my pipe about 1/2" or so longer on each end, but I've done this a lot..

- Mark the centerline of your rough cut pipe.

- Figure out the difference in the length of slot you need vs the length of the cut you just made. Let's say you need an 8" slot but you only cut a 4" slot. The difference is 4 inches. This is the distance you need to slide the pipe along the blade. But if you start the cut at the center and slide 4", your slot will be offset from the center. This is fine if you leave plenty of spare on either side and then cut the pipe to size.

- Mark a spot on the pipe that is 1/2 of the distance difference figured in the above step from either side of the center mark. So if you need 4" longer cut, then you would mark a line 2" on either side of center. If you have a lot of spare pipe and plan to trim off the ends afterwards, then all you need is a start and stop point that are 4" apart, roughly on either side of the center of the pipe.

- Do your cut as you did your test cut, except you are using one of the off-center marks as your "start" point, and the other as your "stop" point. When you lower the pipe onto the blade, line up the first mark with the blade centerline mark on the fence. When the pipe is all the way down, now you slowly slide the pipe into the blade, being careful not to rotate it, and you stop when the other off-center mark lines up with the line on the fence, then lift off (at angle, same as before).

You should not have to push hard, and you don't want to, or something is wrong. The blade should cut the pipe very easily. The thing to be careful of here obviously is that your right hand is moving toward the blade. But the extra length of the pipe should be plenty here to keep you from ever coming close to the blade. It is very important that you do not get the glove anywhere near the blade, because if it snags it may pull your hand into the blade. This is why you generally never ever wear hand protection around power tools. So if you are not comfortable with this, then just deal with the hot PVC shavings flying past your hand for a few seconds, or place a strip of black electrical tape or some kind of tape with a rubbery grip feel to it, but not reinforced like duct tape. the point being that you don't want something that will cause your hand to get pulled into the blade, but you don't want masking tape or something slippery that would cause you to lose grip of the pipe and let it rotate on you.

After the cut is complete, you will generally have to trim a little bit out of each end, I use a dremel with a cutoff wheel at lowest speed and just use the edge of it to slowly trim the ends out a little. You can also use a needle file but that takes a while.

Hope that helps. Ask if you have any questions. And above all, be SAFE.

[MorganAtlanta]

Sounds hairy... I still vote #1 for no-slot, then #2 skill saw. For the skill saw, I clamp the pipe in a Workmate style table vise, clamp a straight edge/fence parallel to the pipe, lower the saw onto the pipe to start the cut and then just run it the length I want. Better than the table saw because the saw is in your hands and not likely to take off your fingers, and you can see what you are cutting. To get the right slot width, I have to do one cut, then rotate the pipe just a hair and do another pass. I've done 5 or 6 this way. Much better than trying to get a straight cut with a Dremel also. That said, I don't use slots anymore because the no slot method just seems superior to me.