Chop Saw Pipe Notcher

[sancobg]

Hi All,

New to the forum and like what I have read.

PART 1
I am in the process of building a 1,550 long corral fence and horse stalls. At the age of 70, a cutting torch was not an option (shaky hands) and using a hole saw type notcher for the number of cuts I have to make on 1/4" tube wall, I would have more money in hole saws than pipe. Cutting pipe on a band saw or using a conventionally made chop saw didn't appeal to me either ...... grinding, oh no.

I wanted the things everyone else wants
Inexpensive tool
Easy set-up & accurate
Low cost consumables
Able to be used in the field

Here's what I created




Purchased a Harbor Freight chop saw and cut the base off




Made a base mounting plate and welded it to the chop saw head

Since I am only able to post 4 pics at a time, I will continue with more pics in part 2, 3 & 4

Your thoughts--good and the not so good are always welcome

Paul

[sancobg]

Chop Saw Pipe Notcher Part 2

Part 2

Made a base plate for the chop saw to mount to the tilt table

Purchased this tilt table on EBAY---- $60 with free freight


Fabricate a tilt table base plate to match mounting holes



This photo shows the chop saw, tilt table and tilt table base plate assembly


Continued on Part 3

Paul

[sancobg]

Chop Saw Pipe Notcher Part 3

Part 3

At this point I was deciding on how I would make the working surface to notch pipe. I fabricated a base out of 2 x 2 sq tube, cut pieces of plate for fill. Most important was to cut a "V" into the base at the center line of the blade and welded in a 1-1/2 X 1-1/2 angle for the pipe to nest into. To clear angle cuts, a 1-1/4 cut on each side of the blade center line was cut to clear the blade as it will travel almost 2" past the center of the table. I got in a hurry and did not take photos of the table build. Everything was bolted to a Habor Freight work stand.


Sample cut before completion


Just before completion. Last item was to cut-out the section for the blade tilt.




Continued on Part 4


Paul

[sancobg]

Chop Saw Pipe Notcher Part 4 (finished)

Part 4

You've probably been wondering if this thing really works !!!!!!!

These are cut samples at 28 deg on 2-3/8" pipe







That's about as good as you can get--nice fit too.

Here I was using the chop saw as a work table for axles I was building. The chain strap is a Harbor Freight item where I removed the chain from the grip and extended the anchor point by 2".



If you want to see some of my other work, go to http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/sa...?sort=3&page=1

Your comments are always welcome

Thanks --- Paul

[traumajunkie]

Chop Saw Pipe Notcher

Good job Paul. I can see multiple uses for this set up and might just build one based off your idea.

[travisc454]

Nice. I use a method similar. I also have a JD2 "beast" notcher. But my go too for plain notches is a manual pipe notcher, it does sch 40 if thats what your using? its worth the money because it is fast and makes perfect notches.(i dont have an ironworker, if i did i would have pipe notching dies) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baileigh-Man...item3a855ab743

[mbramble]

Excuse my ignorance but, in use, do you cut half way thru the pipe and flip it over and cut the other half of the notch??Thanks,Mike

[sancobg]

Excuse my ignorance but, in use, do you cut half way thru the pipe and flip it over and cut the other half of the notch??Thanks,Mike

Mike

You are correct, cut half on one side and then cut the other half.

If you setup an extension from the table and use a piece of pipe at 90 deg with adjustable setting, you can cut "exact" fit intermediate rails. Works really well in the field where there are many variables.

Paul

[mbramble]

Paul,Thanks for the reply. I may have to look into building one of these from the old HF chop saw I have laying around!Mike

[Big_Eddy]

Paul, I like it, especially the angle iron seat to hold the pipe.
Only thing I wonder about is the depth of cut - I assume you are eyeballing it and adjusting as the blade wears.Or maybe you have a gauge block that you cut down until you hit?

When I rough cope pipe, I cut the sides off the end, instead of cutting a V out of the end. I find the result is the same and it's simpler to do on my chop saw. I set the angle on the fence, draw a line on the fence to align with the final length and chop off a moon shaped piece from each side. This gives me 2 through cuts so no depth to worry about. I think the end result is probably close to what you're getting. Bigger pipe gets some grinding, smaller just gets welded.

[sancobg]

Chop Saw Setting

Big__Eddy


You are partially correct on the "eyeballing".

When I make the first cut, I use soap stone to mark the end of the cut and make the first cut. If the blade did not hit the mark, or is short of the mark, I readjust the the blade depth with the original blade stop that came with the saw. Make additional cuts until until the blade hits both centers.

For the second cut, roll the pipe and pull the pipe up to the blade where the second cut will be made. Now "eyeball" to see if first cut is parallel to the table. If you are close, make the second cut.

If the cut piece just falls out you're good to go. If the cut is incomplete, roll the pipe with the blade down to cut the remaining piece. At this point you can make a stop to index the the first cut and you will be able to repeat cuts as quickly as you can handle the pipe.

The training time is minimal, after my 3rd pipe was cut, I was able to "eyeball' the set point for the second cut. Be sure that the blade is properly set.

Paul