Notching tubing when fabricating - who/what/where/how/pics - all of that

[mobil1syn]

Heres a question:

How many of you ACTUALLY calculate the angle of the cut? im willing to bet, its only 1% of fabbers that actually do that. i sure as heck dont.

buddy is a machinist and injection mold builder ... he has to measure EVERYTHING. the toss it up there and see what happens does not compute in his head.

 

[84projectFORD]

i guess what im saying, you actually figure out the exact angle of the cope needed. So using geometry sin, cosin, tan type stuff.

ive tried it a few times. its extremely accurate but even with a calc on my phone that can handle that, its too time consuming for me. Now setting up things like a-arms or vw trailing arms to make longer ones or move wheel base, it comes in extremely handy.

 

[Motiracer38]

I use a digital angle finder if building to an existing tube or a couple sharpie marks to eyeball it. If it's all new I will generally draw it up in CAD real quick to grab the angles from. Beats getting dirty or having to do math

 

[5lugger95]

Do any of yall use a bandsaw for notching? I picked up one of the harbor freight cheapo red metal bandsaws and love it for cutting tube to size but have not tried notching with it yet.

 

[Motiracer38]

I use a portable bandsaw when commiting to hand notching cause it is quick and clean. Grab the tube in a vise, mark the depth of each notch and free hand a 90deg line between them with about .25 in the middle. It's tougher to get a straight cut then the chop saw but just takes a bit more attention.

 

[Brett_408]

Amazon product

This Knock off JD notcher works great much beefier then the harbor freight one I use to use.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Do any of yall use a bandsaw for notching? I picked up one of the harbor freight cheapo red metal bandsaws and love it for cutting tube to size but have not tried notching with it yet.

The Bandsaw just takes too long to readjust. Typically one cut is one angle. Then you have to loosen up the guides and then readjust.

Chop saw is probably the fastest if you don't have an actually Notcher. Personally I 'invested' in a jd notcher years ago when I saw one pop up on instrgram. I think I paid $200? Do I fab much anymore? No. But when I do it's nice to have the right stuff to make the work go by quicker.

If I was looking for a notcher I'd probably just cruise Race Dezert classifieds. Someone or some race team is always parting ways with racing or upgrading their stuff.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

JD Squared Notch Master

JD Squared tube notcher with SWAG Offroad reach around arm. Needs new thread adapter on end of shaft...click to see more of this listing

classifieds.race-dezert.com

 

[2012SVTSC]

I usually use a grinder, but if the geometry is simple like one angle then I use a normal hole saw notcher.


I have tried the pipe masters pin stencil but it's alot of work here are the instructions:

 

[85Yota]

I have found on the long notches to print a paper template wrap and trace them cut with grinder or plasma works well.

Tube Pipe Notching Templates - Inch

Calculate print and cut pipe coping templates - Wrap, mark cut and grind to shape - Metric

www.blocklayer.com

 

[charlie brown]

i have a decent notcher but it catches and likes to twist me up. it always cuts to one side. lately i just been using my chop saw and then clean up with a grinder. safer, easier.

 

[Dirtfiend602]

For complex notches I flattened a parametric model In solidworks and printed to a paper template. 99% of everything else I ‘notched’ on my cold saw and dressed it with a flap wheel on an angle grinder .


Even the cool notchers like the end mill style are only so useful .

 

[2UZ 120]

I have found on the long notches to print a paper template wrap and trace them cut with grinder or plasma works well.

Tube Pipe Notching Templates - Inch

Calculate print and cut pipe coping templates - Wrap, mark cut and grind to shape - Metric

www.blocklayer.com

I am NOT a fabricator, but I used to set tile, so an angle grinder I'm no stranger to. When I stumbled on the Blocklayer software one day, the light bulb went on and I gave it a shot. That software was the only reason my bumper facelift came out looking tolerable. "Pics"
I will try and set up a notcher one day, but this basic process might be the best way for me to learn the angles involved.

 

[Turboyota]

I have 2 Ameribrades now, and they fucking blow all other styles of notchers out of the water. It’s easily an order of magnitude faster than a hole saw or 4.5” grinder—especially on long notches.

Best hole saw style Notcher I’ve used: JMR

 

[Turboyota]

Like many others have already stated, I don’t measure anything. Everything I do is eyeballed and marked by hand.

I typically rough cut on the vertical bandsaw, then tune the notch on the Ameribrade.

I made both the tubes below in less than an hour.

 

[85Yota]

Yes now I just my cutoff wheel or portaband to cut them close then use my ameribrade to finish them off

 

[Dirtfiend602]

Yes now I just my cutoff wheel or portaband to cut them close then use my ameribrade to finish them off

Portaband is hands down my favorite tool in the arsenal

 

[DTF_TACOMA]

Been using my JD2 notch master since 2009.

I've had a hole saw last nearly an entire build. Proper pressure, speed, and a bosch hole saw makes all the difference.



I used this cutting oil

https://www.zoro.com/crc-cutting-oil-12-oz-aerosol-14050/i/G0671903/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping feed&utm_content=free google shopping clicks&campaignid=20749401279&productid=G0671903&v=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAzJOtBhALEiwAtwj8tlFbVH7iboWLpBgwjvVwHKyICkaG6lRFxNiA4YxSZbTFaCM67GcKXxoCf24QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

These hole saws

Amazon product



Never had an issue with compound notches either.

 

[Hi-Desert Motorsports]

I generally measure the longest intersecting points of the two tubes that need to be one if its an angled notch. Then I use the JD notcher to get close to that line and then use our ameribrade or flap disk to massage the fit til tight. Recently I have began using fusion to draw up ideas for bedcages or anything tube related really with close angles to what I'll need. Even just looking at the notch created in fusion gives a nice visual reference for what you are trying to achieve.

 

[Fenix Motorsports]

I have a rogue fab notcher, its a pretty nice piece but recently I've found myself just using the angle grinder for anything other than a 90 degree cut, mainly since recently I haven't done much other than hand built stuff that hasn't been designed in fusion or bend-tech.