can any fabricators point me in the right direction for a cheap ( around or under $200) tubing notcher that they have used and think is of good quality i found this one i think it will work fine -thanks for any help

 

I have the pro tools one, works well

 

I have a Harbor Freight one and it is a pice of crap. But it was like $25 on sale with a coupon so I can't complain much. I have probably made a thousand or so notches with it.

Later
Randy

 

Got mine from summit racing, works fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evile140 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a Harbor Freight one and it is a pice of crap. But it was like $25 on sale with a coupon so I can't complain much. I have probably made a thousand or so notches with it.

Later
Randy</TD></TR></TABLE>

i to had that one, its garbage.

 

I have one similar to the picture but it depends on the drill press sometimes the press doesnt have enough ***** to turn the hole saw to cut thru the piece.

If I had to do alot of notches I would setup a bridgeport to do it with a large mill type cutter it would be so much eaier

 

It's it feasible to use a hand drill to power these? I know it says you can on the pro-tools.com's site but I'm wondering if it really works very well.

Fred

 

i have the jd2 one that you pictured. ive used it with good success in my floor mount harbor freight drill press. also used it with a corded hand drill.

 

thanks for the help ill be ordering it soon here my roll cage is on its way

 

They are fine, make sure the arbor has needle bearings to allow for better wear. If it is bushed it will wear out soon and will allow the arbor to wander while you are cutting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fred Allen Burge &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's it feasible to use a hand drill to power these? I know it says you can on the pro-tools.com's site but I'm wondering if it really works very well.

Fred</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes... i've only used hand drills...

 

I bought just the clamping mechanism from Pro-Tools and mounted it to my lathe. It works really well, nice and solid, and doesn't chatter.

What ever you end up with, make sure you can mount it to something bolted to the ground, or a heavy table, you will be happier

Gabe

 

Oh wow, I didn't know the pro tools was only 200 bucks. I guess I'll have to start saving my pennies for this.

 

I would spend just a bit more and get the JD2 Notch Master. It will do more notches and is more flexible in the ways that you can notch tubing and piping.




I paid about $245 for mine.

 

I use the same type. I had the usual type, but being limited to only 60 degrees really sucks! I copied JMR Manufacturing's unit. Cost $110 for the parts from Pro Tools(bearing block, shaft, and v-block clamp)...simply bolt them on a piece of 1/2"x2" flat bar, drill a hole in each piece, and make a pivoting point out of it, and your done. Ill have to take some pictures of mine here shortly.
If you already have the standard design, just take the components off of it and lay them out on the flat bar. I made one my first tiem with an old Harbor Freight notcher, just took the pieces and mounted them on the flat bar...worked great for awhile until the bronze guides wore out.
Heres the JMR piece:

Kyle

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tepid1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would spend just a bit more and get the JD2 Notch Master. It will do more notches and is more flexible in the ways that you can notch tubing and piping.




I paid about $245 for mine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Damn, thats nice.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Can offset notch up to 1 1/2" vertically
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's from the JD2 notchmaster website.

Does that mean that you raise and lower the hole saw and drill? I'd think that would be very handy and some of these don't appear to be able to do that. The JMR looks great but doesn't look like it could do anything but notch the end of a tube straight through.

Fred


Modified by Fred Allen Burge at 12:38 PM 1/24/2007

 

Right. That is all the JMR piece does.

The JD2 deck will slide up and down and will handle any angle that you need.

 

Heres my actual notcher...bought the pieces from Pro Tools.