Home Made Tube Notcher

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Choppit
NewB
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:11 am
SELF INTRODUCTION: Long time UK based trike and bike nut. Have been building for fun, for around 20 years. Current projects are a VW beetle Trike (Beach Bastard) 1983 Iron Head, Z750 twin.

Registered on the old board as Byzmax
Location: Windsor Berkshire UK

Home Made Tube Notcher

Post by Choppit »

I've wanted a tube notcher for ages!

The thing is the reports I read about the ones I could afford are not great and having read Garys write up I thought I'd be better off making my own. So I did over the Christmas period.


I've got holesaws but they are expensive to buy and get eaten up quite quickly when I've used them in the past. As luck would have it I own a Mag Drill. I was given this a few years ago along with some cutters by a chap who was closing down his business making ornamental staircases.

I've also found a chap who supplies me with Mag drill broaches/bits at prices lower than I'd pay for a high quality holesaw. :dance:

I did not know if this would work but I thought I'd give it a go anyhow.

I've used the drill before but it is, by design, a mobile tool and as such setting it up to cut stuff with any degree of accuracy is a pain and quite time consuming so a jig need to be built that would allow be to quickly produce scalloped tubes etc but still allow me to use the mag drill for other stuff.

It's nothing spectcular but it works and is accurate. It will a the current time cut upto 63 degrees and when I need too i'll make further attachments and modifications to suit what I require at the time but for now it will do what I need Which is to do round tube/solid and box section.

It's mostly made from off cuts and bit's I had lying around.

Image

Image

I've mounted it on top of some plate which is welded to a 90mm square box 5mm wall box section. This ensures the magnet has plenty to latch onto.

The drill is also bolted down because it will move when the power is off but more important than that if you have a power failure mid cut you could knacker the bit and or work piece and have shrapnel flying around.

I used a "V" block that slides to hold the tube square and steady and threaded some 16mm en16mt to a 1mm thread bored out and threaded a corresponding bit of bar as it's guide. All parts a removable to allow for different shaped items to be held.

It pivots on a pin you can see behind the bit in the second picture. The arm can be repositioned as can the drill to make maximum use of the tool.

I'll probably change the pin set up to make that area flat to increase capacity.


I've now aligned the drill and done my first proper cut.

Image

Well happy with that. 1.1/4" cds 4.88 wall and it cut through it very quickly. Perfect!
Last edited by Choppit on Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I started out with nothing and I've still got most of it!
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jonester123
Builder
Posts: 402
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:06 pm
SELF INTRODUCTION: Hello guys and gals, working on my 1979 honda cb750 bobber chopper build plus many other projects etc. I have two workshops at home that i built so i can build bikes and all sorts of parts, and i mainly do auto body work and restoration repairs etc.
Location: Armstrong B.C Canada
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Re: Home Made Tube Notcher

Post by jonester123 »

Looks good should work fine to notch tubeing, i bought the eastwood tubeing notcher for around $100.00 seems to work okay so far time will tell in the long run. :D
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