Notchers are the most versatile and easy-to-use tools designed to create precision “fish-mouth” notches on metal tubes and pipes. This tool is amongst the must-have tools designed to ease your metal fabrication activities. However, to get the best out of the tool, you must operate it as per the guidelines of the manufacturer. This is important to create desired notch profiles on sheet metal precisely and safely, without damaging the work piece.
Helpful Tips
Know your tool; this helps to create prefect notches quickly and efficiently. The user manual provided along with the pipe and tube notcher will have a set of useful tips for successful notching. A few tips are listed below:
- Creating notches on thick walled tubing made of carbon and stainless steel requires greater efforts than that of thin walled tubing of copper and aluminum. Plan your notching operation accordingly.
- The fish-mouth cuts are formed with extremely sharp edges. Be careful when handling the tubing when making these cuts. Ground the edges before the welding operation.
- Clamp the workpiece in a vise and secure it in position. This minimizes deflection and assures the best cut in the desired place.
- Adjust speed as per the type of material being cut. For example, when cutting chrome-moly tubing, a higher cutting speed is required. On the other hand, set the cutting speed to a minimum when cutting soft materials.
- Handle the offcuts with extreme care. Metal chips that are left behind will be extremely sharp. Brush away the metal scraps and debris from the notcher.
- Keep the saw teeth lubricated to prevent rust and maximize its performance. Similarly, it is advisable to lubricate all the moving parts periodically.
- Always keep safety in mind. Wear gloves and protective glasses to prevent severe cuts and eye injuries. Refrain from wearing loose clothes as they might accidently get caught in the moving parts, resulting in unexpected accidents.
