HEAVY LITTLE OBJECTS

#28 :: Pipe cutter

This is a magnificently simple machine. A hardened steel blade rides in a little carriage, opposite two rollers in the chassis. You put it onto a piece of pipe up to an inch thick, tighten the carriage by means of a big knurled thumbscrew until the blade bites into the pipe. then you spin the pipe inside its grip, tightening the carriage every few spins, until the blade cuts through the pipe. It is palm sized, no more than 2x1x.75", and heavy, heavy. The brand name, embossed on its flank in a thick, Aryan font, is "R I G I D."