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How to Cut PVC Piping Without a Blade of Any Kind

Lacy Enderson

Your first thought when needing to cut PVC pipe would be to find the sharpest blade. Remarkably, though, a blade isn't the only tool you can use to cut through PVC piping.

Cut PVC Piping Without a Blade of Any Kind
  1. Tie metal rings onto both ends of the cotton string.

  2. Wrap the cotton string halfway around your PVC pipe, and teeter-totter the ends back and forth in a sawing motion. The friction of the cotton string against the PVC pipe will cut right through it.

  3. You can also loop a piece of butcher's twine, or kite string, all the way around the PVC pipe. It's best to tie rings or sticks on the ends as handles.

  4. Pull the string back and forth like a seesaw. This motion will melt right through the PVC pipe.

  5. Tip

    Another type of cotton string is the kind that contractors use when forming lines.

    Warning

    Do not use nylon or synthetic string. Nylon will melt into the pipe from the heat caused by the friction. Cotton string will not melt.

The Drip Cap

  • Your first thought when needing to cut PVC pipe would be to find the sharpest blade.
  • The friction of the cotton string against the PVC pipe will cut right through it.