When I had to repair some plumbing pipes under my kitchen sink, I found that one of the thin-walled waste lines had been trimmed with a tubing cutter too close to its end, resulting in a deformed, crimped cut that caused a leak. To make a new cut near the pipe’s end without deforming it, I improvised the jig shown in the drawing. First I drilled a hole the same diameter as the pipe in a piece of wood. Then I used a bandsaw to make a pair of intersecting kerfs. The kerf parallel to the pipe allowed the jig to be tightened on the pipe by way of a couple of screws. The other kerf provided a slot for my hacksaw blade. I held the jig fast with a vise as I made my cut, which required only a slight dressing with a file to deburr its crisp new end.
—V. A. Maletic, Antioch, CA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #63
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Had it of been done by a Plumber with a tubing cutter, you would not of had the problem to begin with. Had you'd of called a Plumber, you would have seen how to fix it properly, with a lot less work, in a lot less time.