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Cutting back cast iron soil

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WaterTight

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To connect a WC, cutting back for more space.

I did this once before many years ago with a cheap grinder. I seem to remember the result wasn't very neat and covered the whole room in iron dust.

Does anyone here tackle one of these with a hawsaw or do you just grind and bear it?

Any tips, thoughts greatly appreciated. Will be armed with appropriate pan cons for CI

Thanks
 
Grinder and Hoover is the fastest but a recip saw will do it less mess but takes a lot longer
 
WaterTight said:
To connect a WC, cutting back for more space.

I did this once before many years ago with a cheap grinder. I seem to remember the result wasn't very neat and covered the whole room in iron dust.

Does anyone here tackle one of these with a hawsaw or do you just grind and bear it?

Any tips, thoughts greatly appreciated. Will be armed with appropriate pan cons for CI

Thanks
Click to expand...

You would be best using chain cutters. They are designed for cast iron pipe.
If not, use a hack saw.


images
 
Yep I would say about the same as drilling a hole in the wall
 
WaterTight said:
Last plumber and SimonG why wouldn't you use a recip saw? Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a set of those wheel/chain cutters but if they weren't in the van it's easy to cut with a hack saw. A recip saw might go off at an angle ? never used one for this but because it has a free end and cast is of slightly uneven density, I would think you would struggle to keep straight.
It's only soft stuff really, easy to cut and easy to drill is cast.
 
Well not sure if you're both preposterously strong, indulging in a bit of bravado or my reciprocating saw lacks power/suitable blades but it took me about an hour to cut through with the recip so I wouldn't fancy going at it with a hacksaw. But was very neat, dead straight and there was almost no mess at all so was happy with that.

The hour (split in two as I got bored and went off to change taps upstairs) is presumably a bit OTT? So is this likey the fault of my 800 wat Ryobi?

I tried a couple different blades. I found the lower TPI ones listed for wood and metal seemed better than the Makita ones which listed cast iron on what they're good for but that might have been due to it being easier to cut in the middle or something.

Any recommendations of what saw and blades would work best Shaun? Got another one to do next week and would be nice to spend less than an hour doing it if that's poss
 
WaterTight said:
Well not sure if you're both preposterously strong, indulging in a bit of bravado or my reciprocating saw lacks power/suitable blades but it took me about an hour to cut through with the recip. But was very neat, dead straight and there was almost no mess at all so was happy with that.

The hour (split in two as I got bored and went off to change taps upstairs) is presumably a bit OTT? So is this likey the fault of my 800 wat Ryobi?

I tried a couple different blades. I found the lower TPI ones listed for wood and metal seemed better than the Makita ones which listed cast iron on what they're good for but that might have been due to it being easier to cut in the middle or something.

Any recommendations of what saw and blades would work best Shaun? Got another one to do next week and would be nice to spend less than an hour doing it if that's poss
Click to expand...


Brute strength and ignorance!
 
As cast is made up of all sorts don't think you did two bad I've spent 4-5 hours before now cutting a section of heating cast out

Blades matter a lot we normally use the Bosch ones but one of these days I'm going to try the American ones

Bosch S123XF Reciprocating Saw Blades 150mm 5 Pack

Slow and steady don't over heat the blade wd40 or cutting spray / oil helps
 
Thanks.

How about the saw? Would it be worth upgrading the 80 wat Ryboi or will I barely notice a difference for the extra expenditure?

Apart from this application I barely use the thing. Bit of wood here and there.
 
WaterTight said:
Thanks.

How about the saw? Would it be worth upgrading the 80 wat Ryboi or will I barely notice a difference for the extra expenditure?

Apart from this application I barely use the thing. Bit of wood here and there.
Click to expand...

Catch 22 if you were doing a lot of it I would say yes but once and a while no I'm using one from the 70s :D
 
WaterTight said:
If an hour is about right then I'm happy to suck it up.
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Quick but loads of mess grinder
Slow and steady no mess rec saw

There's pros and cons for both
 
I'll stick with what I've got then. It's a lot less of a strain than coring anyway so it doesn't really matter.

Yeah used WD40 and made sure saw did the work. So tempting to whack it one when there's a few mm to go but have read this is asking for trouble.
 
WaterTight said:
I'll stick with what I've got then. It's a lot less of a strain than coring anyway so it doesn't really matter.

Yeah used WD40 and made sure saw did the work. So tempting to whack it one when there's a few mm to go but have read this is asking for trouble.
Click to expand...

Could break the back sides but normally the weight helps / does it for you
 
Interesting phenomenon... What might be behind it?

...But would you seriously wager you could hacksaw through an identical bit of cast faster/cleaner than someone with a recip saw?
 
Jokes aside I will try and do the one next week with a hacksaw and see how it compares. If I've got nowhere after 20 mins I'll just have to learn to accept my inferior genes and whack out the powered tool.
 
WaterTight said:
Jokes aside I will try and do the one next week with a hacksaw and see how it compares. If I've got nowhere after 20 mins I'll just have to learn to accept my inferior genes and whack out the powered tool.
Click to expand...

A bit of advice.
Good new blade, Use the full length of it. The first and last bit take the time because it's a pipe and you are cutting through the wall thickness.

I bet it's easier than you think!!
 
So I said I'd try a hacksaw on the next one I did. And I just did one.

The recip was going through this one really slow compared to last one despite same saw, blades, technique, etc. Then the blades started to get caught and bend despite keeping dead still and straight. Bent 3 and thought sod this. Guess I was hitting some niggly bits? Either way I'd given it 40 mins and got almost nowhere.

Whacked out the hack saw and good god you guys weren't lying! I did the remaining 80% in about 20 mins (with plenty of brief pauses.)

I guess maybe some will work better with different methods of attack
 
Loads of carbon in cast, so drill or cut it DRY (unlike any other metal).

I've never cut C.I. soil, but plenty of drainpipes and gutters. I use a very thin metal-cutting disc in my 115mm grinder and take it easy because I like to be cautious with anything that revolves at 10,000 RPM. If the alternative is an hour with a recipricating saw, I know this is how I would do it!
 

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