home made bending jig

[tigster]

i'm toying with the idea of making a home made bending jig, similar to the ones i've seen posted that are made to fit in a vise with a pipe welded to a flat plate. i would like to make a slot in the pipe for inserting flat bar, as a starting point for the bend. what would be the easiest, and safest way to make a 3/16" wide length-wise slot, about 1.5" long, in the end of a 1" pipe?

[Zrexxer]

what would be the easiest, and safest way to make a 3/16" wide length-wise slot, about 1.5" long, in the end of a 1" pipe?

Cutting torch.

[hankj]

With what you have available, I'd use the O/A rig.

If you know a guy with a vertical mill, that's the bees knees!

Hank

[whateg0]

I'll third the torch. With a good guide, you can get purty close to perfect that way. If needed a file will clean up the edges nicely.

Dave

[tigster]

hey, thanks guys. looks like i'll use my cutting torch!

[usmcpop]

How wide is the kerf on your cutoff saw?

[whateg0]

I think it'd be a pain to clamp it so that the slot could be safely cut. Just my opinion, though.

Dave

[unkle spike]

Myself I would use a 4 or 4 and a half inch grinder with a cutter wheel, cutting slowly and carefully....

[tigster]

Myself I would use a 4 or 4 and a half inch grinder with a cutter wheel, cutting slowly and carefully....

thanks for the idea, unkle spike, never even thought of it! i think maybe i'll try that before i try the torch.

[MichaelP]

How about tack welding the pipe to a bar or angle and using your chop saw? You'd just use the handle to retain the pipe in your chop saw vise.

[Hotfoot]

I also would just use a 4 1/2" grinder with a cutoff wheel, Put the pie "cut side up" in a vise and carefully cut. Should take all of about a minute to do a careful job. I use a set of long nose vise grips to garb the two-cut section and wiggle-bend it out. If the pipe is thick wall, do multiple slices with the disc, cutting two outside lines first. Your welding will "heal" any but the worst of over-cuts or wandered slices. I use the cutoff discs a lot for cuts like this.

[hankj]

Ach du liber Gott!

Turn, turn, turn.

"Skritccch" - - Poof!

Adjust.

Heat. Red. Push lever. Move 1.5"

Release lever.

Turn, turn, turn.

Done!

You know I love 'ya, Foot, but GEEZ!

Hank

[tigster]

i totally agree, the cutting torch would be quicker. but, i know i can cut it quicker with the cuttoff wheel faster than i could get set up to do the torch, in my particular situation. my O/A tanks and torch are out in my "shed", where some things are stored for the winter, and the front door has about 2 feet of snow in front of it! soooooo....., i'll try the cutoff wheel.

[usmcpop]

I used to have one of those "Skritccch" things. But I found something at the drug store that took care of it.

[ZINOM]

I have a piece of square scrap stock screwed into my 4-1/2" grinder (screwed into the vacant "handle hole") and I mount it in my vise all the time to perform off-hand grinding......it allows me to get into areas that my bench grinder wouldn't be able to.

I think you'd have no trouble doing it that way.

Good luck.

John