Separating 3/4 threaded iron pipes

[Austin_Metro]

Hello. I need some help separating some powder coated 3/4 steel pipe. They are for a hanging rail.

I need to unscrew some pipes because I was sent the wrong length - and didn’t measure first.



I’ve tried turning it in a vice, but I’ve started to damage the powder coat - even with it wrapped in cloth.

How would you grip it? How would you turn it?

Thoughts appreciated!

Austin.

[GliderRider]

If you wrap wet cloth around the pipes and heat the fitting with a hot air gun they should come apart more easily. Thermal conduction across the joint is always going to be worse than through a continuous piece of metal.

Additionally if you wrap several layers of masking tape around the pipe, then put a Jubilee clip around it so you can hit the screw head* of the jubilee clip that should allow it to unscrew without taking the paint off.

Use a jubilee clip that you can put a socket on with an extension, then hit the end of the extension, so you're not close to the pipe. This is the appoach I use on hard to access oil filters.

Another approach is to drill a hole in a piece of wood the diameter of the pipe, cut a slot to the hole then use it in the vice to get better grip around the pipe.

Edited by GliderRider on Sunday 6th April 15:56

[Mr Pointy]

Try freezer spray - the sort they use for freezing water pipes. With luck you might get the threaded parts to shrink enough to separate them.

[Austin_Metro]

Thanks fellas. There’s three ideas I didn’t have.

[frisbee]

I bought some rubber strap wrenches off Amazon. They worked really well getting a really tight oil filter off that an ordinary nylon belt strap wrench just deformed and slipped on.

They spread the load around the circumference of the filter and didn't dig in.