Ridgid 2A cutting crooked

Steve Nichols

Hi All,

Before I get into this, yes I bought this used and plan on updating any parts that are not up to par. I was playing around with some 1 1/4 and 1" pipe to see how well this three disc cutter worked and three things consistently happened.
(1) cutter was cutting an angle to pipe surface (visibly crooked)
(2) The cut was not uniform in depth and when about 3/4 of the pipe was cut through, 1/4 still hanging on by a small amount.
(3) The metal at the cut edge was pushed up making a lip that needed to be filed down so I could play with my power threader (that's another thread).

Is this as simple as dull cutting wheels. They seem to have some side to side slop on the guide pins. Everything looks okay as far as the proper cutting discs in the thing. I've never worked a 3 disc before, only 1 disc with two roller wheels.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

bob_46

Steve, I don't think Ridgid ever made a three wheel (disc) cutter . Someone needed a four wheel cutter and improvised by replacing the rollers on a one wheel cutter with cutting wheels.
It will only work when used by hand with a back and forth motion like a four wheel cutter. It will never track. The raised lip is from dull wheels.

Steve Nichols

thanks Bob, I was actually thinking of replacing two of the discs with rollers but it may be cheaper to just buy another cutter.

I'll try the back and forth thing, though.

Abracadabra

From Ridgid's site:

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/heavy-duty-pipe-cutters

"Can be converted to 3-wheel cutter by replacing rollers with cutter wheel. The 2A and 4S models can be ordered as a 3-wheel model for use in areas where a complete turn is not possible."

I'd guess all three wheels need replacing.

ChrisJ

I agree with others, replace the wheel(s).

2 rollers + 1 cutting wheel = easier to use. 3 wheels = for tight spaces like in a corner but harder to keep straight.

Steve Nichols

yep, bought two rollers and they are on the way here...then we'll see if the cutting wheel needs to be replaced. thanks again folks. I knew you could shed some light on this.

icesailor

FWIW,

I always found it extremely difficult to get my Ridgid 4-wheel cutter on straight to get a good parallel cut. I can't imagine the difficulty with a #2-A cutter, adapted to 3 cutter wheels. If I had some room, I always started carefully with my #2A and made a good, straight perpendicular groove, then switched carefully to my 4 wheel cutter. And hoped for the best.

The 4 wheel cutters always left a big ridge because the rollers didn't flatten the ridge down. I found that filing off the ridge before starting to thread was a big help.

I'm anal that way. I never buy a new power saw that I don't buy a new and better blade for the tool for better cuts. I have a lot of brand new unused saw blades. They don't cut to my expectations.

Steve Nichols

Thanks Icesailor. I'm finding that if I get a good straight cut on the pipe, threading goes much easier and there is a minimum of filing needed on the edge. It's all a learning process and luckily not too expensive...