HOW TO: Notching Tubing

[astroracer]

Hey guys, I don't know how many of you do your own cage or chassis work but this how I set up my jigs for notching tubing.
I set all of this up on one of my jig tables but it will work on any bench or table top you have handy.
These pics show my Harbour Freight tubing notcher clamped to a 90* angle plate. This is simple to set up and doesn't require a lot of thought...

From the backside...

Cutting the first notch is the easy part. No orientation, no length to worry about. Just clamp the tube in the notcher and do the deed.
Cutting the second notch is where some planning needs to be done. Getting the LENGTH and the notch ORIENTATION correct is critical to having a usable part versus something to practice welding on...
To do the second notch I bolted a short piece of the mating tubing to another angle plate and use this to nest the "first" notch into while cutting the second notch.

This way I can establish the correct length AND notch orientation in one easy step... Set the tubing length between the outside diameter of the tubing and holesaw, in this case 23 inches, square up the jigs, clamp it all down and cut the second notch. Once it's set up any additional tubes will be identical to the first so measure twice and cut once...

Cutting the second notch...


Thanks for looking
Mark

[stealth71]

Looks good. I would like a bender and notcher of my own.

[Speed Raycer]

Looks like a good way to keep things squared up on parallel cuts where the bars are running in the same plane, but don't get caught up depending on it. Very rarely do I get to make notches that are parallel to each other.

Good method for getting the location of the next cut though. I personally use a sliding ruler to get the tube to tube measurements... alomost like an inside mic. then use a digital level to keep my cuts lined up, even if they aren't parallel.

Keep the bronze bearing and shaft lubed up on that HF notcher. The first one I had lasted about 10 cages before it started going away on me. The second one lasted a cage and a half w/o any lube. I've since moved on to a JMR notcher and will never look back.

[astroracer]

Thanks guys,
I got a little bit done over the weekend. Didn't have a lot of shop time but I did take advantage when I could...
Got the notcher fired up and ran the lower crossmembers through it. It took about half an hour to get the jigs set up and another half hour to run the tubing through.
I use Castrol wax lubricant on the hole saw.

This stuff works really well and doesn't make the mess that WD-40 or cutting fluid does. It also cleans up easily. I can do one notch in about 30 seconds running the notcher with my 1/2" Milwaukee drill.

This set up makes for a clean cut and, with a little clean up with the angle grinder, I have some quality notches that fit well for Tig welding.


Thanks for looking.
Mark