# Cutting a Downspout



## croast

Does anyone know of a good way to cut a gutter downspout?
I have tried both a hacksaw and a pair of aviation snips. Niether one
worked that well.


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## joasis

If you are talking about cutting it to length, you may try an old blade reversed in a circular saw and carefully cut the tube, well supported, and with the saw depth only slightly deeper then needed for one side. Turn and repeat on all four sides. We keep extra blades for miter saws just for stuff like this, but remember, it takes a steady hand and ear protection.


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## slickshift

I use a recip saw (sawsall) with a metal-cutting blade


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## handypilot

I'm assuming the downspouts are either aluminum or vinyl...in this case you can use a power miter saw with a carbide blade. It makes a very clean cut! Make sure to wear gloves and safety goggles, because lots of tiny metal/vinyl pieces will be flying!

For aluminum, you can also use angle grinder with a metal cut-off wheel, or a rotory tool such as a Dremel (but Dremel cut-off wheels are expensive). However, using a plain hacksaw, while cutting each side at a time, will give you a cleaner cut.

Here's a good article if your installing downspouts:
Installing Gutters and Downspouts


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