Ever wanted an inexpensive way to notch tube without breaking the bank? Follow along as we build a tube notcher on the cheap!
There is about $50 worth of materials in it so far.
Started with an old fairlead roller and a fold up jack.

trailer jack and roller fairlead

I took the roller apart (it’ll make sense in a minute) and got to work on the jack. First I cut the mount off in order to get it spaced down since I was mounting it upside down to my shop table and using my vise to hold the tube.

jack and fairlead disassembled

Trailer jacks have a dimple in the body that keeps the leg in a track to prevent it from spinning. That was a problem for me since I needed the leg to spin in order to get different angles of notches. I decided to take the jack apart and cut the dimple out

nut and bolt to hold jack in place

Since i had removed the dimple the leg was now free to spin. Now all I needed was a way to keep it in place while notching. I already had it apart so the Simple fix was to drill a hole, weld in a nut with a set bolt.

Now back to the roller: In order to make the notcher I took the long bolt that went through the long side of the fairlead, choped the head off and threaded it and screwed the holesaw on, slid it in the short roller and blam!

fairlead bolt with head cut off to make notcher shaft

drill bit screwed onto new drill shaft

Now it was simply a matter of attaching the jack to the side of the workbench next to the vice. As you can see, I can adjust the height to control where on the tube the notch is drilled. To attach the short roller to the bottom of the jack you can simply take a piece of 2×4 tubing and cut a hole in it the same diameter of the fairlead roller and weld the roller inside the 2×4. Also, though it was not done on this notcher, you may want to consider drilling a grease zerk port on the side of the fairlead roller as this will lengthen the lifespan of the notcher. This is certainly not a replacement for a professional notcher, but for the guy who is building on a budget this should meet the needs of basic fabrication. Enjoy!

jack attached to table and ready to notch

preparing to drill

90* angle notch into tube

notching on lower side of tube for offset tube

This is a project I did on my Jeep but it really would be similar for most any project.

This is my homespun In-Cab Winch control setup for my Smittybilt XRC8 winch

I have seen this issue come up a lot and have been “Gonna do it” for a long time, well, I was at 4 Wheel Parts last Friday and was checking out Ethan’s Sami buggy and his homemade in-cab and decided to do it but a little different.

The research and design had to come first and I found that the XRC8 is a 3 wire control with White as the hot lead, Green as the In lead and Black as the Out lead…..Can you get any better than that…..the same color code as common house wire. So, first stop was Home depot for wire and sure enough, no helpers and I am in a hurry, the spool of cheap stuff is empty so off to the extension cord isle……AhA, I nab a 25′ 16/3 bright orange extension cord for $4.97, yes, a little more than the plain wire but quick. For those “not in the know”, 16/3 means that this wire has 3 conductors that are all 16 gauge. Typically extension cords are also stranded copper wire and run standard internal color code of Black=hot, White=neutral and Green=ground……that matters not in my case except that the colors match the project and make it easier, also, being an outside extension cord, the 3 wires are encased in a water and oil proof sheath. Makes running the wire easier and look better.

Next stop is Radio Shack for the electronics. I went a little extra because I wanted protection from accidental engagement and I wanted lights to verify direction and movement. Here is my rough schematic: (Disclaimer…….I worked in electronics for over 20years so I know the stuff BUT the schematic is so bad because I have NOT worked in MS Paint for 20 years!!)

So, I picked up an Arm/DisArm style Master switch so it could not be “bumped” on, a momentary push button, a 3-way (on-off-on) and 2 LED lights (red and green).

This install/build took place in the driveway at the RV park where my Parents are snowbirding here in Mesa, so it’s definately not a hard job!!!

I started off with the solenoid cover and on the Smittybilt it is riveted on, so I had to drill out the rivets. Next was to fanagle the wire from the winch to the firewall and inside to the location for the controls. Take time on this job, make it look good but make it safe and secure. Use wire ties to keep the wire in place so it will not get caught on something or rub a hole.

Since the winch is always “hot”, I wired the inside first….yes, I know, you should always disconnect the battery and I will say here that for safety, I suggest you do that even if I don’t,. I decided to use the small square panel where the ashtray used to be on the jeeps but mine does not have. This picture already has the pushbutton in:

Next was the master switch:

Then the 3-way and 1st hole for the LED’s:

I am not going to post the wire connection as I used push connectors as a temp setup and I intend to get a 12-pin connector for all the switchs on this panel and then solder all connections when I put the panel connector in. So, with all connections made inside but the panel still off in case troubleshooting is needed we head back to the winch.

Wiring is cut to length, half rings crimed on and screwed in:

I then secured the wire in place with tie straps (UV safe) and then reattach the cover using sheetmetal screws in place of the rivets. The wire coming out was also secured to the main winch wires with straps:

Back to the inside, we tested the setup and all works great so we reattached all the panels and completed the work. The finished dash…..sorry for the dirt but….1. its a jeep, 2. it was on the trails this weekend!!!!

With the system set up this way, the master switch has a red LED built in that comes on when it is engaged. The 3-way is flipped up for in and down for out. When you press the momentary button with the 3-way in the up position, the green LED will light while the winch will spool in, like wise, in the down position, pushing the momentary will cause the red LED to light while the winch spools out. I intend to have some small stickers made to denote directions and functions but I have to send out for them. We are going wheeling this weeked, maybe we will get to test it out!!! Must say thanks to my Dad and my son for helping along on this and other projects!!!!

Note: The small connector above the master switch is the IPOD input for the stereo.

Approimate costs:

Master switch… $4.99
3-Way.. $2.99
Mom Switch… $2.29
2 LED’s … $3.38
Ext Cord… $4.97
Straps… $1.79
Connectors… extras but say $1.29 for a pack

Brings it all in at just over $20 depending on the switchs and lights you choose, also, buying the wire off the spool in the lengthyou need will save a little.

Thanks
AZLugz

SCREEN AT KOH

building screen

We were in need of a new screen on the side of the BigRig for showing movie and power point on at Jamboree.  So Dad, Jake, Brad and I built one out of 1×2 .120 wall.  It is 16 feet long by 10 1/2 feet tall, mounted at about 6 feet of the ground. so the over all heigth is almost 17 feet tall, which should be seen from all over the desert.  The first trip for the new screen will be The King of the Hammers.

back side

double hindge

angle support