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Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:19 pm

hey guys, im in the process of cut and turning my front end
got about half through one cut and realized the pipe cutter i borrowed from my neighbor was broken, the bolt that goes through the cutting die came apart, no biggie its probably ten years old.
so i run down to home depot and bought another pipe cutter to finish the job (the employee i asked said it would cut fine) but look at what happened to the die. ](*,)

do i just have bad luck or could i possibly be cutting it wrong? im going down to ace hardware to buy a new pipe cutter tomorrow.
i only need to do this 1 beam, anyone have any suggestions?

as always, any advice would be awesome and thanks for your time.
:D

Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:26 pm

Those are TUBING cutters, not pipe cutters. Rent one at your local rental tool place. They are LARGE, and will only cut part way around because of their size. Finish off cuts with a hacksaw. Only cut one tube at a time~!!!!!

Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:01 am

thanks, thats what i figured

i felt like the home depot employee didntt understand what i needed but seemed pretty sure that would work anyways.

ill head down to my equipment rental place tomorrow, my neighbors pipe cutter was a big big big hefty thing i feel like i need another one of those (or some way to rethread it)

Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:55 am

I used a sawsall. Worked fine.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:33 am

next time don't ask anyone from the home depot for advice lol..most of them dont know shit.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:48 am

Forget the pipe cutter. Just use a sawzall.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:53 am

i use a large pipe cutter to make sure i get a nice even line all the way around the tubing, then I use a hand held band saw to finish the job and a grinder to get the rest of the tubing down to the mark made by the cutter. nice, even, perfect, every time.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:42 pm

i used a skill saw with a metal blade, worked fine.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 1:39 pm

Also, even though the steel used in bugs is pretty soft, those blades are usually meant for cutting copper, wich is a much softer metal than steel.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 4:47 pm

I did the same thing when I wanted to weld on adjusters. I used a tubing cutter just to make some nice grooves for my hack saw. I think I went trough two dies by the time I did both torsions.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:04 pm

I used a sawzall. I used a hose clamp around the beam to mark a straight line all the way around before I cut.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:40 pm

I have one from Home Depot. The blade did the same thing, I just got a extra set... works fine if you take it slow.

Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:47 pm

Jason C wrote: I used a sawzall. I used a hose clamp around the beam to mark a straight line all the way around before I cut.
X2

Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:29 pm

I tried to use one to cut some rollbar tubing. If you try to go all the way around, it spirals up the tube. I broke the blade too. I can get it to work, but for all the buttpain, I'm just using a sawzall next time. Someone had a post in here where they clamped tthe pipe in a vice and used the vice side as a guide.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:16 am

i went down to my equipment rental place and rented this beast of a tube cutter
it weighed about 30 pounds and had 2 huge arms on the ends and 4 blades, cut through it perfect, couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

if only i hadn't let my "welding student" friend weld my first pipe, shoulda just stuck to letting myself do it, just because someones welded longer than you have doesn't mean their necessarily better.
ah well, my beam looks good though and my car is in the process of being assembled
project completion in 2 or 3 days :)

Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:12 am

Is cut and turn just as good as adjusters if I dont ever plan to move it up or down .Also how far should I turn to get the most lift ,while not jarring my teeth loose in the ride.It's on a thing if it matters

Sun Nov 15, 2009 10:07 am

i dont know about a thing, but yeah since my car is a baja i dont care about ride height i just want the car to be up there so i just cut and turned it without adjusters, which just seem like alot of hassle, couple of guys will tell you you definetly need adjusters couple of guys will tell you it doesnt matter, do whatever you want.

on a bug its 1/4" UP for a good lift and 1/2" for a lift that makes your suspension way way way too stiff, but if you're gonna run it only in the desert why not go 1/2"

i feel like for the thing it would be the same, my bud has a cut and turned thing and if you would like ill ask him about it on tuesday and take pictures of his beam.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:14 am

I asked the same question awhile back in this thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=287619

Here's what it boils down to. Are you building a race car, a toy baja, or a street car? A 1/4" turn will just about max out your ball joints (if you have a bj front end) and be plenty stiff for the dirt. Go less if you're keeping it on the street or want a softer ride. Go more if you're building a race car and plan on changing your ball joints on a regular basis and need a rock hard front end.

How stiff is a 1/4" turn? This stiff:

That's 180lbs of Lotrat on the bumper...

I had to replace my beam after having too much fun... the new beam got cut and turned 1/4" just like the first one. I also have plenty of room for the 7.00x15's (30" tire) under my fenders.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:56 pm

Thanks,thats about what I needed to know .My car is going to be driven mostly on street ,just want it to look like it could go anywhere.Not many deserts here in new york ,maybe some mud trails or the beach but nothing crazy.If you could get pic of friends thing that would be great ,I really just want to see how high it lifted it and how far he turned his.But dont go out of your way ,if you around snap a pic if not no worries.Thanks

Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:32 pm

Welll I don't have a thing beam, but I do have lifted spindles that are a little higher then a thing. I cut and turned it 3/8 inches. With 14's up front, I have about 12 inches to the bottom of the beam.