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Welcome fellow car builder. Today I want to show you how to draw straight lines on pipes.
Are you tired of having to redraw your line 5 times before it looks decent on your pipe. Or are you tired of you drawing a seemingly straight line on your pipe and it still ends up uneven surface after you cut. Making a straight line will not make the angle grinder cut straight.
What do you need to make a good cut.
- zip ties for smaller tubes.
- Hose clamps for larger tubes.
- A good cutoff wheel (I prefer 1 mm thick stainless steel cutoff wheel).
- A tube to cut.
- Tape measure.
- Fine tip marker pen.
How to draw it on a pipe
- Measure where you want to cut and mark it with a dot or a line.
- Depending on the size of pipe you have, either use a zip tie or hose clamp. Place the edge of the zip tie so it aligns with the mark you made.
- Take some reference measures before you draw around the pipe
- When you are satisfied with the placement, go ahead and trace around the pipe.
- Remove the zip tie and you’ve ended up with a laser sharp line around your pipe.
- Start cutting.
Now you too know how to draw a super straight line on any pipe.
Pro tip: When cutting bent tubes the hose clamp and zip ties align them self better than on a straight pipe. So I use my trusted eyesight for reference measure.
Pro tip 2: when cutting a pipe with angle grinder, go several rounds. Only take a little material at the time. This limits the heat buildup and it also prevents aluminium from becoming soft and sticky.
