Tube Notching

NCJeeps

NCJeeps

New Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Location
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
I've been searching for a good deal on a tube notching tool. To me it looks like a drill press laid on its side. I feel like I could notch my tubing with the drill press I already have if I just bought a clamp to hold the tubing?
 
A tube notcher is a clamp to hold the tubing. Not to hard in the drill press to clamp and cut 90 deg notches. Making angles gets a bit harder, and changing it around is slow. If you have big vice, like used on a mill, that has room to hold the tube at different angles without having to move the table all around it works ok. If the table or tube moves any, bye-bye hole saw. I use my notcher in a drill press, and can change angles accurately in seconds.
 
If your looking for the best deal, it really depends on how much you will use it. You can spend as much money as you want on a tubing notcher, but a standard hand grinder could be great if you use your imagination.
 
If won't have a regular use for it I'd buy the cheapo Harbor Freight one and use it with your drill press. I won't lie, it'll piss you off and it isn't as nice as some of the other ones on the market, but it will do the job. I used one chucked up in a Bridgeport to do my cage and it worked out pretty well; I'm sure that your drill press would probably be okay too.
 
David G 4x4 said:
If your looking for the best deal, it really depends on how much you will use it. You can spend as much money as you want on a tubing notcher, but a standard hand grinder could be great if you use your imagination.
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William's Low Buck notcher (it's a shear) and hand grinder with a 60-grit flap disc here, infinite options.
 
I used the Harbor Freight notcher for my last project. While it did get the job done, I will invest in a better notcher before doing any more cage work.
 
David G 4x4 said:
If your looking for the best deal, it really depends on how much you will use it. You can spend as much money as you want on a tubing notcher, but a standard hand grinder could be great if you use your imagination.
Click to expand...


Yeah, if you just need to cope a few dozen tubes, you can do it all with a cut-off wheel and a flap disk. Takes a little longer, but it's cheaper. And if you're not building chassis and cages all the time, that might be all right.
 
Picked this up for $20. Found it in a pawn shop under a pile of junk.


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Grinder with a cut off wheel, sawzall, and a flap disc works wonders. However it's not for the beginner,

I built my whole buggy with a grinder and sawzall as a notcher. I'd do it again. I think it's faster and allows flexibility but takes time and a certain comfort level to be consistent.
 
Another HF tube notcher user here. I use it in my floor model drill press. No complaints.
 
Guys ive been notching tube for about 6years now ive never owned a tubing notcher ...i use my portable bandsaw and a grinder it works like a champ !!!!!!! CHEAP, FAST and EASY
 
Biggest problem I've seen with those hole saw notchers is that if they're true enough, they'll cut the tube all the way down to a sliver. That looks nice when you tack it up, but the thin little slivers don't have any strength. You still have to take a grinder to it to cut off the thin stuff so that you have something substantial to weld.
 
To the OP notching with a standard hole saw in a drill press with a vise is not a good idea. Most drill press chucks fit into a taper and don't have a drawbar (threaded rod that tightens the chuck into the taper) Similar to how a tie rod fits into a knuckle but without the nut. If you try to use it like that the side load of cutting on one side of the hole saw will just loosen the taper and the chuck will fall out. This is also why you cant use a drill press like a mill with an X Y table.

If you do end up buying a notcher. My advise is to not buy one that goes in a drill press. Personally I prefer the style that lays down. In a drill press style notcher every time you want to change the angle you cut at you have to loosen bolts and swing the tubing up in the air or down to the floor, usually hitting something in your shop. On the style that lays flat the tube clamp stays stationary and the drill/hole saw is swung around into position. To me its a lot easier to work with. The JD2 notchmaster is a great notcher and would be money well spent.
 
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