Cutting Slots in Tubes

I had to cut slots in a tube with a router , which is a real good way of having your hand chewed to the elbow ... I needed a holder that would hold a tube parallel to the direction of movement , that wouldn't allow it to rotate or shoot off the table @ 100mph . So all it has to do is :

• hold a cylinder
• be non-slip
• protect your hands
• allow you to see  what’s happening
• be cheap
• be simple

Yeah that looks like a lot trouble ….But there is a vacuum form machine @ the TechShop , so I made it at the tech shop. All I needed was a form … I had some leftovers, some 2"x4"  , a piece of PVC pipe and a board from the trash … ok I added some screws and holes , lots of holes …….

Step 1:

I built this in an hour …..  for spacing I dropped a 2X4 piece between the tube and the back support so the tube (I used ¾”pvc ) will be parallel to the back … no measuring required. BTW just to stop the vacuum from drawing into the tube ( pow)  I stuck in some cutoff pieces and a silicon plug …..

Step 2:

Off to the vacuum form machine ……



Ok I spent money here …. I got an oversized piece of PETG so the cutoffs can be used as stiffeners then some adhesive sandpaper.…


For those the TechShopies.. I used a little extra heat so the draw would be easy and leave the ribs if you don’t get ribs from your draw , drop in some of the extra plastic in between the back and tube … see pix

Step 3:

Step 4:

Then you grab some of the adhesive sand paper cut into strips  …. Stick to the inside walls of the tube area and you have a holder …..The back was a little thin so I used part of my cutoffs in the back support …
FYI when I used it I was cutting PVC pipe and after a couple tries I found you just need to go slow and use a slide guide …
A board clamped to the router  table works too ,have fun ….try it at : www.techshop.ws/