Can I cut tap tails down a bit?

[smp50]

Or is it a bad idea and likely to result in a poor seal with the pipe/hose (hose in this case) ?

The tails for my bath taps unfortunately end up about 2mm off from the face of a baton that forms part of the bath's support on the wall. It's a bit hard to explain but in any case there's not enough clearance around the tail to screw anything onto them. There's plenty of tail as it's only going through a few mm of the bath and then the depth of the washers and nut - so in theory I could cut say 30mm off and then I'd have clearance to screw on the tap connectors, as we'd be working "above" the baton that's in the way.

Tools I have would be a hacksaw and an angle grinder. Worth a try, or almost certain to go wrong? It's pretty solid stuff, thick metal.

The alternative is to attempt to somehow remove material from the baton, but its location makes that very difficult and I risk dislodging it if I damage or cut right through it, putting the whole installation in jeopardy.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

 

[Burnerman]

You can reduce the tails no problem, so long as the parallel bit remains there.....carefully does it, maybe best to unscrew the tails from the taps and use a pipe slice.
John

 

[oldbuffer]

You could cut them in theory, but in practice the difficulty is in doing so and ending up with a flat surface and no damage to the threads.

The tap connectors bed onto a flat surface which is parallel to the axis of the threaded part. Difficult to achieve free hand, but could be done with care, patience and a decent file.

I'd take the taps out, and put the nuts on before cutting, then, assuming they are brass, they can be unscrewed and will correct any very slight defects in the thread. If they are plastic, replace them with brass ones.

If it were me, I wouldn't do it as in my opinion the risks outweigh the advantages. But good luck anyway.

 

[Agile]

I dont think that John has understood what you want to do!

My interpretation is that you want to cut the threaded part of the tap!

You can do that but unless the cut surface is very flat and perpendicular then you will not get a good seal!

If I had to do it then I would rough cut and make up a tool in my lathe which goes inside the tap tube to center it as it cuts.

Tony

 

[Burnerman]

I dont think that John has understood what you want to do!

My interpretation is that you want to cut the threaded part of the tap!

You can do that but unless the cut surface is very flat and perpendicular then you will not get a good seal!

If I had to do it then I would rough cut and make up a tool in my lathe which goes inside the tap tube to center it as it cuts.

Tony

Ah right! Cutting the brass threads Sure, if you can guarantee a perfectly flat cut.
I thought it was the copper screwed in tails that we were on about.
John

 

[Elkato531]

I have done this before but can't for the life of me remember why.

As has been said, the trick is getting a perpendicular cut. A tip is to get two backnuts, preferably brass and screw them onto the tap tail. tighten them together to lock them just where you need the cut to be. The flat surface of the nut can then be used as a guide for the hacksaw. cut carefully working around the tail and you should get a flat cut. Removing the nuts should then sort out any damage to the end of the threads.

 

[smp50]

Thanks for the replies. I had a look at it and, remembering times that I've tried to cut simpler threaded items and ruined them or ended up having to make repeated attempts to smooth them off, I decided to go with the "trash the baton" approach instead. A head torch, Classic FM and some surgical work with a spade bit has given me enough clearance around the tap tails to get the connectors on.


There are some good ideas here about cutting tap tails so I'll leave the thread for others to find in future.

Thanks,