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Permalink Reply by Martika* of MartikasMysticDesign on October 26, 2011 at 3:24pm

I've tried the hacksaw it cuts through it fast but leaves a very unclean/un-even cut. You will have to sand down the ends before you rivet. I have an electronic sander to fix that but if you don't sanding it by hand takes time. I personally love the pvc cutters, they can give you a uneven cut sometimes but its still better than wasting time sanding the ends. I have noticed that polypro is a pain to cut using the pvc cutters, my method is to place the tubing as far back in the cutter as you can,so your not mashing down the tubing repeatedly till it cuts :)

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Permalink Reply by Alli Rae on October 26, 2011 at 3:36pm

yeah the mashing down seems to be what often happens. i guess i just needed to know if other people were having this problem. i'll just keep using what i have and hope for the best.

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Permalink Reply by Martika* of MartikasMysticDesign on October 26, 2011 at 7:39pm

try sharpening your cutters, not sure of how to go about doing this but if I figure it out I'll let you know.

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Permalink Reply by Tweed on October 27, 2011 at 9:56am

I was going to suggest the same thing since I use the racheting pvc cutters on my polypro just fine. It might be because they're new cutters though.

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Permalink Reply by BABZ Robinson on November 13, 2011 at 1:13pm

i've never cut poly pro but i wonder if you could counter act the mashing affect if you clamped a pair of vice grips (pliers that lock down) perpendicular to the blade your pvc cutter, so when the tubing wants to squish it cant. I wonder if anyone has tried to melt through poly pro using a hot wire attachment for a soldering iron.

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Permalink Reply by Shawnee Hoops on November 12, 2011 at 1:34pm

it's probably definitely because your cutter is dull... are you talking about the kind that clamps on and rotates around the tubing? because i've found them for about $12, at home depot, you should just get a new one. sometimes you have to rotate it around without twisting for a while to make the cut even. i take my time and go really slow and i've gotten perfect cuts every time on both regular tubing and polypro.

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Permalink Reply by Liquid Lucy on November 12, 2011 at 6:35pm

I am using a brand new PVC cutter and I am having the same problem as you.  I have had better luck with a steak knife than anything else. 

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Permalink Reply by Alli Rae on November 13, 2011 at 10:49pm

I found that if I put it all the way near the bottom and go really quickly, I get the best results. It still squishes the tubing a little bit, but its better than what I was getting before.

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Permalink Reply by Kim Cuppett on November 14, 2011 at 6:31am

I use a ratcheting pipe cutter to cut polypro tubing-- I also use it to cut the black hoop tubing.  It gives me a clean cut for both types of tubing.

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Permalink Reply by Snowzilla of Flowlab.ca* on November 15, 2011 at 1:35am

I make sure my PVC cutter is pretty sharp (I've replaced it at least twice in the last three years because I cut so much tubing) but I also have to make sure the tubing is warm, and that I go slowly on the cut, scoring it first and then cutting the rest of the way. I noticed this summer that I had a far easier time cutting it on a warm day in the backyard than when it was at a lesser temperature. 

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