• PVC pipe cutters are structured like scissors.cutting tool image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  Durable and easy to install, PVC pipe is popular among agricultural professionals, landscapers and amateur gardeners. Outdoor plumbers use both specialized and general purpose tools to cut and connect PVC pipe. A set of essential PVC pipe tools prepares the homeowner to tackle routine sprinkler repairs, new landscaping installations and large-scale irrigation.
  
  

PVC Cutters

• PVC pipe cutters are the scissors of the PVC plumbing world. Like scissors, PVC cutters have two hinged handles connected to sharp-edged cutting blades. The blades are typically shaped like a crescent or half-circle. To use PVC cutters, a landscaper places PVC pipe between the blades and compresses the tool's handles to slice through the pipe. Most PVC cutters have an internal linkage that increases mechanical leverage and makes cutting through thick pipes easy.
  
  

Hack Saw

• The average hack saw cuts through PVC pipe.hack-saw image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
  
  In lieu of PVC cutters, a standard hack saw cuts through PVC pipe. Typically used for cutting through metal, the hack saw's thin, sharp-toothed blade shears through PVC pipe without binding. The hack saw consists of three parts: a handle, C-shaped frame and cutting blade. The hack saw's handle protrudes from the end of the C-shaped frame and the blade runs across the frame's open side.
  
  

Emery Cloth

• Emery cloth, a type of sandpaper, smooths and removes burrs from the ends of PVC pipe cut by a hack saw. Both plumbers and landscapers use emery cloth to abrade pipes. To use emery cloth, which is available in thin rolls, a landscaper tears a portion of the paper from its roll and rubs the cloth against a pipe's end.
  
  

Solvent Welding Compounds

• Plumbers and landscapers connect PVC pipes and fittings with a process called "solvent welding," basically a fancy name for gluing. Like glue, solvent welding compounds are similar in consistency to honey. There are three basic steps and compounds involved in the solvent welding process: cleaner, primer and cement. Cleaner removes dirt and chemical impurities from the surface of the PVC pipe or fitting, primer etches or "scratches" the surface and cement creates a chemical bond between separate PVC surfaces.
  
  

Wrenches

• Wrenches twist and tighten threaded PVC fittings. Like metal pipes and fittings, many PVC materials have internal or external threads. Internal and external threads lock join when pressed together and twisted. To join threaded PVC pipes and fittings, a plumber or landscaper twists the material with wrenches, including adjustable wrenches, box wrenches and pipe wrenches.