tube notching

[Kent]

thanks for the replys,

i think to start with i'm going to give holesaws a 2nd chance but get a decent one and see how it goes to start with, i have an old pillar drill that can be used as abase to mak a notcher from. i like the idea of a rotabroach they allways seem so much more durable than holesaws to me. tho ultamatly i think it's going to end up going down the abrasive belt or end mill route

any idea how the economics of running holesaw , end mill and abrasive belt notchers work out ? at a guess the most expensive machene has the lowest cost per notch ?

the tubre wil be 48 or 50mm 3 ish mm wall

the shear type notchers also look good for the straight notches, got a feeling its going to the usual answer in the end and that no one machene is the answer but really a a few diffrent ones.


i do have the raveing must have's for the baleigh machene now tho

Well we ran the same end Mill on an old worn Bridgeport for ages. It takes no stain if you traverse it slowly in by hand. So cost of the machine and tool is just a capital expense really. If you bought right you might sell it a few years on for a profit

 

[dannyp]

The biggest pain with the holesaws is clearing the bore of the saw after each cut. You can get springs to fit inside to eject the scrap but they don't last long and tend to restrict the depth of cut when used for notching.
You have a trade off of a slightly wobbly saw with the quick release holders or a fixed holder with no wobble but a pain to unscrew to clear the scrap.

thanks for pointing that out, hadn't thought about it but now you mention it it seems obvious and kind of thing that would be a right pita.

 

[taycat]

this is what i use, we bought it for dad several years ago.
pita to set up for bigger tubing on angles

but no probs using on 38mm which is what most of stuff i do is.
it's got a screwfix own brand saw in at mo and had no probs with it.
also got starrett and bosch holesaws in draw.
need to make mobile base for set up as with extra lathe in there pain to use.