Tubing cutter and questions

[Gamble97]

So I picked this harbor freight tubing cutter up a few days ago
Tubing Notcher & Pipe Notcher

Followed this video and made a shim out of .053 and got it lined up pretty well but could be better.
Harbor Freight Tubing Notcher Modifications - YouTube

I was cutting 1.5" DOM tubing. How do you know what size wholesaw bit to use depending on the tube? I just grabbed one and went with it.

The one thing I don't like is the top piece that connects to the drill didn't fit my dewalt corded drill, I had to use my 18v ryobi drill and had a few dead batteries so it took awhile to make a cut.

Btw welding DOM tubing is nice. That stuff just FLOWS. I really enjoy it.

 

[turboglenn]

YOu base the size of the hole-saw on the size of the tubing you're joining too. wether you have 1/2" to 1" pipe your cutting you use the saw the size of the tube it's joining too.. So if you're joining 3/4" to 1" you drill with 1" hole-saw, if you're cutting 1/2 pipe to go to 1" you use a 1" holesaw, it's just so that the arch left from the cut matches the arch of the pipe you're welding it to.

I have this same hole saw and i shimmed mine up the same way and it was a lot better than what it was doing right out of the box. I use a 1/2 chuck Craftman 1hp drill

The lennox holesaw he's talking about killer, I have them in sizes from 1/2" up to 2" and i use them on everything from this tool to my mill, they will last a long time when properly lubed and used at an apropriate RPM. They aren't that expensive at all either, I think i pay between 3 and 8 dollars dependong on what size i get, but out of all of them i've tried the only other good ones i've seen are made by a company colled "blue mol" or somethign like that (sounde like "blue mole") Also there are hole saws madeby a company called Morse, and they are really nice as well, Any of these 3 are the ONLY ones i've found at your average stores that i'd recomend, sears brand aren'tthat great, harbor freight are JUNK, you get the drift. Just shop at the more "industrial" style places and you'll find the good stuff for fair prices and it makes a huge difference

 

[99gst_racer]

Yup, like Glenn said, the hole saw must match the diameter of the pipe that it's fitting up to.

My notcher is very similar. It's made by Allstar Performance. Same design but it's built a bit better/stronger and is accurate right out of the box. I welded up a bracket for it and I have it mounted to a drill press. I like using a press much more than hand drill. If I can remember, I'll snap a pic of it next time I'm out in the garage.

 

[Gamble97]

That makes sense now. Glenn what size shim did you have to use on yours? And the bottom gold bearing inside where the shaft is moves up and down, does yours do that? Kind of annoying that it blocks the hole for the pin. I'm going to get a cheap drill strictly for this thing.

 

[99gst_racer]

One of the shaft bushings is moving around in the block? That's definitely not normal. They should be stationary.

 

[Gamble97]

Yeppers. The bottom one. The top hasn't moved. I probably made 3 cuts with it

 

[turboglenn]

I can't remeber the shim size, it's been at least 4-5 years since I shimmed it up when i bought it. AS for the bushing mine are solid in place.

I don't know that a "cheap drill" is goinjg to be your best bet, thesethings put a pretty heavy load on the motors at times, especially when using larger hole saws. PLus you need a 1/2" chuck IIRC and that's not all that common on cheap drills which are usually all 3/8th's chuck

 

[Gamble97]

Budget minded and corded is what I meant. Guess I'll have to return this thing then and get another.

 

[99gst_racer]

I notched some rectangle tube today for the first time. It wasn't really meant to do it, but I made it work.

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