Quote:
Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20
Looking good, the notcher should be an awesome tool. I hope the learning curve goes well and is short.
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It went pretty good, see below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TennesseeZ
I'm still amazed with this build Mike, keep up the great work!
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Thank you, I'm trying.
Today I set up and used the notcher for the first time. The instructions weren't completely useless but a couple more pictures would have been helpful. I even checked Woodward Fabs website and didn't see any help there either. So I used my normal go-to training site, youtube. Found a video of someone using a notcher and I figured it out from there.
I initially set it up on my workbench but moved it to the drill press. Technically either will work if you have a 1/2" drill, but the drill press is definitely the better option.
My 2" hole saw was dull and wasn't making any progress, good thing I had another one. Swapped it out and it worked good. I had to take my time though.
Setting up the tube was the most time consuming. Got the dimension for length between the two hoops and added 2" to compensate for the notch. Marked out the tube and it was about 4" too long on both ends, so I set up my chop saw to trim down at an angle similar to what was needed for the notches.
Straight tubes would be easier to work with. The ones from the kit had an approximately 20* bend on each end. Looks good but probably weakens it. Setting it up in the notchers wasn't bad after giving it some thought. I was worried about getting the angle right but didn't need to because once I had the tube clamped in the jig, I just needed a level to set the tube angle to level. The tube, even though it has a bend in it, still needs to be perpendicular to the main length of the tube, so I ignored the angle marking on the notcher. The drill press was checked for plumbness before hand.
Right out of the notcher...
After clean up...
Checking how it fits against another tube...
I fit the tube up against the main hoop and marked the rear end with a marker where the deepest part of the notch would be. I trimmed a bit more off on the chop saw and fit it up in the notcher. Now I was concerned with getting the notches in the same alignment. I used the level again, this time on a piece of tube that I fit in the first notch. With everything level it should be correct.
It turned out perfect! Fits right in there, no tacks yet.
Cool, I can do this.
