nope, I sailed that ship long time ago. I've always wanted one but that's an area where I never wanted to cheap out on. This isn't just a "hobby" bender for me, it's to build cages, fenders, sliders,etc for people as well.
any experience with this notcher or one in this price range? I know I don't want to go the harbor freight $50 one, and after buying a quality bender, don't have as much a budget for notcher lol.
The Woodward Fab one is a piece of garbage. It will last a handful of notches before it gets sloppy.
Myself, I use a chop saw to notch 90% of my tube work. I do have a el cheapo notcher for adjustable items like links and linkages (where I can account for length via the adjustability). For stationary items like cage work, chop saw and call it done.
YMMV.
I was just going to say for the $, the HF one really isn’t that bad. Just know and understand the limitations and it should be pretty good.
I’ve used the JD notcher a lot in the past and really liked it.
But, I’m still a fan of the chop saw, cut off wheel, grinder, port a band, etc method. It utilizes tools you likely already have and with some thought into layout for cuts, gives a fit that is just as good as a notcher in about the same time. If you have complicated notches, you are massaging and cleaning it up with the grinder anyway.
I picked up this one knowing it wasn’t going to be fancy. Just because it says 0-60 degrees, doesn’t mean you can’t do some wider angles. Just gotta know how to math a little bit. When it comes to usage, as long as you keep the tube supported at one end and use decent lube on the hole-saw and on the bushing and it does a clean job. I was never taught or really messed with the chop saw method and not dogging on it. But the over priced harbor fraught one I bought, seems like it is beefed in the right places, is doing good so far. Haven’t used it to do a cage yet, but some fun stuff is coming up for it. Also you’re not gonna need really weird angles unless your design is fucked up or fancy like a bouncer with crazy nodes.
Example of some basic ass notching I did for a traction bar
I’m not an expert but that almost looks like I know what I’m doing. Really, I’ve only notched maybe 50 times. Don’t do much tube work because it’s flat here and I just got a bender and found a place to get a decent price on tubing from. So if you’re going for that clean look, get ready to math, plan out your builds, and where your nodes will be.
And I’ve got a jd2 model 32. Few bends I’ve done with it have been great. But went electric over hydro, and bought everything new because I’m weird about my tools.
That looks exactly like the harbor freight one. I'm hoping it's put together a little better. My biggest issue is with the connection to the holesaw. It seems to be off just a bit.
That looks exactly like the harbor freight one. I'm hoping it's put together a little better. My biggest issue is with the connection to the holesaw. It seems to be off just a bit.
It’s notched on the centerline perfectly fine for me for 1.5 DOM. I haven’t used it on 1.75, but will be doing a good bit of that soon. I do use extra long hole saws and 1/8” bigger can sometimes help it cope better.
The Woodward Fab one is a piece of garbage. It will last a handful of notches before it gets sloppy.
Myself, I use a chop saw to notch 90% of my tube work. I do have a el cheapo notcher for adjustable items like links and linkages (where I can account for length via the adjustability). For stationary items like cage work, chop saw and call it done.
YMMV.
