Chopper and external weld bead removal system including same

An external weld bead removal system for removing and chopping an external weld bead from a tube, the external weld bead removal system comprising:

• a weld bead cutting apparatus including a cutting tool operative to cut and remove an external weld bead from a tube;
• and
• a weld bead chopper apparatus for chopping the removed external weld bead, the weld bead chopper apparatus including:
• a first blade member;
• a second blade member mounted adjacent the first blade member, the second blade member including an opening extending therethrough for receiving the removed external weld bead, the opening defining a cutting edge;
• and
• a chopper actuator operable to forcibly rotate the first blade member about a rotation axis relative to the second blade member such that the first and second blade members cooperatively cut the removed external weld bead into smaller weld bead segments as the removed external weld bead is advanced through the chopper apparatus.