Flash left over after cutting a strut After cutting a strut with the abrasive disk, there will be razor-sharp "flash" left over. Do not attempt to remove the flash with your fingers. It won't work -- you are likely to get a bad cut. The next steps remove this flash. It is a hazard as you work with the struts to press and drill them. Removing this flash now reduces the chances of injury during contruction. The injury you save is most likely your own. |
Pull the flash out with a bolt Use the threaded side of a bolt to pull the flash out from inside the pipe. |
Flash pulled out Here you can see that the flash has all been pulled out. Now it overlaps the cut end of the strut. |
Grind off the flash Rotate the strut slowly under the tender mercies of a grinding wheel. |
Smooth the strut end After taking care of the edge, grind the end to slightly bevel the inside edge. This guarantees that all of the flash is removed. |
Wire brushing the strut ends You might think that grinding is enough, but if you feel the end of the strut it is still sharp, and there may even be some tiny left-over pieces of flash that somehow escaped the grinding wheel. The wire wheel will dull everything that remains. When you're done with the wire wheel, there should be nothing sharp at all at the end of the strut. |
The Conduit Seam You must find the seam in each strut. EMT is welded -- there is a seam at the weld. You must locate this seam so that you can press the seam at the right angle. If you do it wrong, you will split the strut at the seam and the strut will be ruined (although, you might be able to cut the ends off and make a shorter strut for some other purpose.) You can find the seam most easily next to an end you have just ground. In other words, it can be hard to find the seam at the original ends of the 10' EMT. Look on the other end of each strut. Rotate it in bright light (or bright sunlight) to spot the seam. DO NOT TRY TO FIND THE SEAM ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE STRUT! There are lots of seam-like lines along the length of the outside, but only one on the inside. |
Mark the Seam You will need to find the seam later, so mark it with a pen that can write on steel, such as a sharpie. I've been frustrated by pencils -- the color of the pencil mark is too similar to the metal. |