"Notcher" Helps Make Precise Pipe Welds

Notcher Helps Make Precise Pipe Welds FARM SHOP Tools By Jim Ruen Contributing Editor Fish mouthing the end of a pipe in preparation for welding it to another pipe can be tricky and time consuming The Tube Notcher gets the job done fast easy and relatively inexpensively Best of all it prepares the tubing in a way that makes for a better weld than fancier more expensive tools do You can notch two sides of a pipe in about five seconds says Dave Williams of Williams Lowbuck Tools A good weld is one that has been æV d out to a slight gap and then filled in with weld My notcher produces a proper V-gap in the notch Williams is a hands-on hot rod builder and fabricator Over the years he s developed a number of impressive tools that do jobs in simple ways replacing more expensive and complicated equipment He came up with the Tube Notcher to build roll cages but it has many other uses It will notch 0 134-wall mild steel 0 095-wall 4130 chromoly and schedule 40 pipe Angles can be easily adjusted by the size of the bite removed A full bite to each side of a pipe creates a perfect 90ü fit A smaller bite to one side and a larger bite to the other create an angled fit The notcher is simplicity at its best rugged and easy to install and adjust Williams ships the notcher with male and female cutters Angle iron supports that can be bolted down to a workbench are $20 extra When FARM SHOW received one to photograph and try we bolted the irons through a steel plate to a wooden workbench The shearing/punch style notcher consists of a steel plate that is bolted to the supports and held vertical to the work surface A male cutter is mounted to a drive mechanism while a female cutter serves as a rest for tubing being cut The male cutters consist of rounded cutting edges case hardened to 62 Rockwell They are available in four sizes to cut tubing from 1 in to 2 1/2 in diameter Set #1 does 1 in to 1 1/4 in O D tubing Set #2 does 1 1/4 in to 1 7/8 in O D tubing Set # 3 does 2 in to 2 1/2 in O D tubing or fence pipe and set #4 does 1 3/8 in 1 5/8 in and 1 7/8 in fence pipe including schedule 40 Male cutters also can be milled down for smaller sizes To use the unit a cutter head to match the pipe diameter is threaded in place with a lock nut securing it The female cutter is adjusted to leave a gap of 050 to 060 thousandths of an inch and secured A lever action assembly provides down pressure to the driver mechanism With the aid of a 4-ft pipe extender to the driver lever the operator can quickly punch through steel pipe to create a perfect fish mouth notch The simple extended lever action does the work with arm muscle A competitive punch style notcher requires a 4-ton press to do the same job Trying it out on steel pipe proved as easy as Williams promised Adjusting the gap solved initial problems The notcher was quick and decisive leaving a smooth cut behind Changing male cutter heads and adjusting the female cutter also lived up to claims Just jam the pipe against the male cutter head and pull down on the lever pipe he advises You don t have to hold the pipe being cut The action holds it in place Williams says male and female cutter heads can be used thousands of times The tube notcher with the buyer s choice of male and female cutter size is priced at $335 Additional cutter sets consisting of a male and female cutter are priced at $130 each Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Williams Lowbuck Tools Inc 4175 California Ave Norco Calif 92860 ph 951 735-7848; toll free 800 735-7844; wlowbuck@aol com; www lowbucktools com

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