Cheap tubing notcher /holder

Hello all,

While making a grinder stand for my younger brother I found myself needing to notch the tubing I was using at specific angles.

If you have ever tried to hold thin walled tubing or even water pipe on a drill press you know how annoying it can be!

Starting with your standard 2x4 I cut off two 8"or so sections, cut thru both at the same elevation with the same size hole saw as your tubing.
Attachment 3971

Then cut slits in from the closest end. Then drill in from what will be the top first with a small drill for the lag bolt then come back thru just the top part with a bigger drill to give the upper part of the lag bolt more clearance. This will be the clamping bolt.

This does not take much force to clamp so it could be a1/4"lag bolt or even a screw perhaps. On the far side you could also put a lag bolt to hold the grain together or a few screws as I did.
Attachment 3970

I was going to use big washers on the bottom 1/4" lag bolts I had come from under the table but I did not have any so I made up 1/8"x 1" thick straps that probably work better anyways, I pre-drilled these holes too, to prevent splitting. I had a piece of tubing through both blocks while I tightened the bolts from below to ensure they would be lined up.
Attachment 3969

Attachment 3968

Attachment 3967

Then you can tighten the two clamping bolts and tilt your table to the desired angle!

One thing to note is that you have to rotate the table off to one side to be able to drill thru past your table. This will slightly affect the angle you are trying to drill at.

Jules

Nicely done! Simple and effective.

Do I understand you correctly- did you put screws on the far side to prevent the 2x4 from breaking at the grain, because the tubing becomes a fulcrum and the slotted end becomes a lever that wants to separate the far side? I wonder if you could drill all the way through from top to bottom, and use a hex bolt at each end to clamp the tube and secure the fixture simultaneously.

Thanks for posting that, an arsenal of quick and easy jigs is always good to have.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaveO

Nicely done! Simple and effective.

Do I understand you correctly- did you put screws on the far side to prevent the 2x4 from breaking at the grain, because the tubing becomes a fulcrum and the slotted end becomes a lever that wants to separate the far side? I wonder if you could drill all the way through from top to bottom, and use a hex bolt at each end to clamp the tube and secure the fixture simultaneously.

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Yes, that is why the screws are there.

You could drill all the way thru on both sides and use bolts but then every time you undo your clamping bolt it may be more annoying to work with. Depending on how tight your tubing is in the holes it would want to move the block pivoting it off the other bolt?

The forces are not that great yet the clamping ability is high due to the amount of surface area, that is why I used 3" wood screws on the far side, could have also just used a 1/4" bolt all the way thru for that.

Jules

That is a slick idea, I may use that trick some time if I ever need to notch some tubing.