Tube notcher

[Burf86]

I'm making a tube notcher so I can prep tubes for bike frames.
Here's a pic of the cross vice and vertical slide Iv got going so far. The vertical slide has got angle adjustment on both the x and y axis.

Let me know what you think?

 

[Rick]

Scary, I actually thought about using an X Y vice on a tube notcher earlier. Theres a lot of sideloading on a tube notcher, what are you using for the holesaw?

 

[brightspark]

there sems to be a lot of overhang between the base of vice and the v angle reducing the rigidity. if using a milling cutter or a hole saw it will probably flex and chatter on cutting. the topslide looks to be a small one of a myford used for light duty milling in the lathe

 

[Burf86]

I'm going abrasive belt, the tubes are going to be real thin

Something like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbcMnc5zRrk&feature=recentf

 

[oz.]

I would prefer something like this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht58GUyVEIA
Means that you can change the size of the cutter easily. Looks like it would still use a similar system with the two pulleys and sliding vice.

 

[Burf86]

Don't want to use a hole saw as the tubes are gonna be 1mm or thinner

 

[Burf86]

Updates

Done some work on the tube vice and given it a hench baseplate

 

[Freshfabrications]

Burf86, cool to see another frame builder on here, I design alot of my own tooling too.

What joining process you going to use? Tig, braze welding, fillet brazing, silver and lugs?

Also how are you fixturing your tubes?

Currently I'm hand filing my mitres as I haven't the time or funds to make the arbours for my hole saws. Will ether fabricate. Copy of the Anvil main tube miter jig or buy one!

I'm a little concerned about your statement about hole saws and tube thinner than 1mm, me and a fellow builder were cutting 0.82mm wall cromo beutifully with crappy old hole saws on his horizontal mill for a test lug braze we did, to my knowledge appart from hand filing the next lowest on the heat imput scale is hole saws and trepaning cutters when used with cutting oil stays in the low 100's where as abrasive gets alot hotter, will you be using coolant for your belt? And how will you tackle the differing interface sizes of your miters as your belts ware and get replaced, have you found belts that have a very uniform thickness to keep things precise?

While cooking the tube a little on the belt might not matter with brazing, or lugsas there is a slow ish heat imput and it cools slower so hardens less if your tigging you may end up with some pretty tough grain boundrys in the HAZ due to rapid heating and cooling at the mitering stage them tigging?! Just a thought...

Your jig looks like it can adapt to compound miters too, I take it this will be advantageous for seat stay miters?

Let me know your thoughts Id like to talk more about this and some other aspects of building with you,

TA Jon

 

[Andy from Workshopshed]

Done some work on the tube vice and given it a hench baseplate

Was wondering what I could do with my axminster cross vice given that it does not fit too well on my drill

 

[Burf86]

Yo Jon, well excited to hear from another frame builder!

Going to be using Tig for welding, no lugs.
I hadn't thought too much about the heat during notching, will have to look into it.
As for fixture, this is what I'v got so far:

 

[Freshfabrications]

Hi burf86,

cool jig so I take it that the bike frame will be floating in the middle of the jig some how.
I'm using a 5 x 3 foot cast iron surface table and big V blocks shimed off the table and I build directly over the drawing so I can use engineers squares to align the tubes, it's going pretty slow for me though because every time I have to do some thing I have to make a damn tool to do it.

If I win the Lotto I'm buying all the Anvil Frame Jigs, a cnc glacern bed mill and a slant bed cnc lathe and a pimp RT440. Lol

if you wanna talk about filler metal, purging and pulse setting to use with your foot pedal then PM me.

Well done

 

[Shox Dr]

Anvil Frame Jigs, very nice gear, I esp like Mr Bender (sorry I can't copy the picture here, as they are Copyrighted)

I used to import Boulder Bikes a long time ago, Rich Williams (Mr Boulder) seam to have fallen off the end of the world these days but then he was a very very clever man, years ahead of his time. I still have a Starship LT, 1 mate has my old 4130 Defiant, and another has a Ti version.

 

[rockjock620]

Burf, nice fixture, well done, but considering that you are using small guage tubing don't you think it's a little overkill? There won't be that much stress during cutting surely? I build my own frames and TBH the tube is so thin it's not difficult to hand prep/cut anyway. Most I use is a slitting disc in my angle grinder, hacksaws and a held held powerfile.

 

[pedrobedro]

I've done some for small projects using a grinder or saw to cut a V to something like what I need then finishing it with a drum sander with 60 grit sleeve in the pillar drill. Mine are like these but were bought locally for about £5.

 

[Burf86]

An update:

 

[Burf86]

Here is a video!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu_z4-WxY5Y

 

[M4RKE]

Are we talking bicycle frames here ?

 

[Burf86]

yes

 

[Freshfabrications]

looking good! how quick can you swap out the miter end roller to notch different sizes?
Give me a call this week end if you can, Jon

 

[oz.]

The bearing squeak would drive me mental.