Fabrication: Tips and Tricks of the trade

[turbostang]

Just a thought, but if you are going to the trouble of modifying the store bought hole saw, it may be worth while to make your own hole saws with a higher tooth count?

Some tubing is pretty thin, and the hole saws have large gaps between the teeth. The cutting action chatters pretty bad - particularly when the hole saw is passing through the middle of the tube - because the tubing falls between the teeth on the hole saw. (although this is probably less of a problem with race car fabrication where tubing is typically 0.065" or thicker)

I have looked for hole saws that have teeth similar to a hack saw blade, but have not found anything.

Perhaps some enterprising (machinist type) feller could wrap a piece of tubing with a band saw blade (with about 24-32 teeth/inch), and braze it all together to make a fine tooth hole saw.

I'm too lazy for that, so I just use store bought hole saws and cut very slowly.

Tom

I agree, more teeth would be much easier to cut with.... but, I suspect, that on larger hole saws, that would probably work - but for the smaller stuff, say <2", you might have a hard time bending a band saw blade that abruptly. I bet you'd probably have to use a smaller tubing to wrap the blade over to get the radius you are actually after. Then there's the attachment, brazing should work, I don't have a feel for how hot a blade can get before it's no good. TIG welding it may be a viable alternative - you can take it in place and only get a pea size space hot... hmmm....

[Darren M]

10 tpi metal hole saws do exist. I don't know if they are fine enough but.... http://www.medfordtools.com/metalworking/holesaws.html

(And as before, great post.)

[turbostang]

You guys are falling behind here, we need some new posts.. I'm adding to the original and editing the title.

[racrguy]

If you're cutting tube/bar with a hack saw/sawzall and are making a straight cut, get a hose clamp and line it up with where you want to make your cut and you can use it as a guide for the blade to get a straight cut.

[71chevellejohn]

If you're cutting tube/bar with a hack saw/sawzall and are making a straight cut, get a hose clamp and line it up with where you want to make your cut and you can use it as a guide for the blade to get a straight cut.

Somebody has been watching "gearz".

[turbostang]

Here's a good one, I use this a LOT

This nut is welded in place to facilitate the cutting of the notch for this tube to fit over. In this case, a 5/16" nut is tacked in place to hold the pilot drill for the 1 5/8" hole saw. This time a nut was used because of the height of the centerline in relation to the top of the tube. If the centerline were further from the surface, I'd just use a small scrap of steel and drill a hole through it. This works with any size hole saw, any kind of material (thin wall tubing, round our square). If you can do this in a drill press, it's that much better.



This is the finished product.

[Redd]

^ thats a damn good idea with the hole saw.

thanks for that tip!

[bpawl]

the hole saw tip is bad ass, nice share

[chandlercoker]

Excellent information! Thanks Tom!

[chandlercoker]

A lot of Great Info on this! Thanks guys!

[Tremor14]

Excellent information! Thanks Tom!

who is Tom?

[Mach1]

Tom = Brooks, conspiracy !!