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Which Tube Notcher?

nvrenuf

nvrenuf

Holy crap, it's running!
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I searched and found some discussions but not a lot of decisions / purchases. I'm looking at buying a notcher to do some"finishing" work on my DIY4X cage kit, I wont be doing a ton of work but I figure I ought to buy something nice the first time.

I'm looking at these 2 units, any input or experience with them? Long term survival?

Baileigh TN210H: http://www.baileigh.com/hole-saw-notcher-tn-210h

Woodward Fab HCK-WFN6: http://www.woodwardfab.com/product/wfn6-2/

Both are $200, not cheap but not crazy. After seeing a lot of poor reviews on various sites I don't think I want to mess with the $100 HF or similar units.
 
meh, I use the bandsaw or 4.5 with a pearl on it to get close or on, than modify with carbides or flap wheels in a die grinder... I built the K5 with a chopsaw..

I've found a HUGE amount of my fishmouthing are crazy arse angle/nodes that it's best to just kinda "work" it into where it needs to be....


standard 90's, 45's, they certainly can be handy, I just find 80 to 90% of my stuff is whacked.....


gotta say, using the "mitered corner" technique on a good portion of the tubebed was kinda fun for a changep... as opposed to the dual-cut fishmouth work..


as to actually recommending one, I'm no help.. I blew up my $50 one.. Baleigh makes good stuff... I think any of the bender companies offering are prolly nice.. pro tools, JD, etc
 
Shoot, I thought you bought one - yours was one of the first threads I found.

No chop or band saws here. :(
 
I've been looking at buying one of these too, I was looking at the JD2 or Baliegh after reading some reviews online.
 
a chop saw would be a bit less coin.. and certainly overall more helpful to a shop.... I beat the snot out of that $175 rigid one I have for yr's.. still works great... now a use it as a portable to bring to work, chop rebar, flat stock....

but honestly with my projects, I don't use a notcher enough..... the 2-cut saw method is WAY faster for a straight 90.. WAY faster, just need the angle #, boom..

I say that, but I'm sure if I had a quality piece, I'd use it more..... :haha:
 
Those are pretty much the same notcher.

I'm with Paul though most of my crap is screwy so chop saw/grinder are usually my tools of choice.

Picking between the 2 either one but I would look at the JD2 notchmaster
 
I just picked up a harbor freight. It cost me $40 with a coupon. Its not the greatest thing in the world but with a little tweaking like rebushing where the spindle goes through I think it will do just fine. Or I'll slowly remake it at work out of stronger piece until nothing is left but the clamp lol.
 
I was just looking on Pirate and there's a recent thread there about the notcher. A guy is saying that the shaft seems to wobble a bit like it's a few thousandths smaller that the bearings. He says it holds and cuts good, just that he noticed the wobble. I really haven't found much real world feedback on forums, I'm about to search YouTube and maybe FB.
 
skunked said:
Never heard anything about it. I kinda worry about the single bolt adjustment getting some slop in it....

I ended up with a Baliegh TN-250 in a package deal last year.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about on the base plate the cutter pivots on? If so, the JD2 Notch Master and Beast appear to be similar. I figure that's a pretty solid brand so their designs should be tried & true.

I screwed up waiting because now it seems that most notchers are either the very basic $100ish Harbor Freight style or they jump to $300+. I'm having a hard time justifying $300+ for a tool I may not use much beyond my cage project. The Roguefab piece is an interesting design but the intro price is $425.

Also, I couldn't find anything on YT other than the seller promo vids.
 
beags86 said:
I have had things that kicked ass that were not worth the money... So is it worth 8 bills?
Click to expand...

Must have missed the part where I said I bought it used as a package deal? The whole package was worth the $ to me.

nvrenuf said:
Are you talking about on the base plate the cutter pivots on? If so, the JD2 Notch Master and Beast appear to be similar. I figure that's a pretty solid brand so their designs should be tried & true.
Click to expand...

No I'm talking about the single allen head that adjusts the height. Might be fine, just an armchair observation.

atn100.jpg
 
i have the JD2 beast tube notcher and love it. i always use to use a grinder to notch but this is way way faster, as log as you have a corded drill. the ONLY issues is that sometimes i need to do a super steep notch and this wont go all the way. when that happens, i notch it as steep as i can with this then use a flapper to take it the rest of the way. this does make it really easy to to repeatable notches that are the same.
 
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