PVC Pipe Jig

[ADAPT_Shop-Brady]

We have a couple AT devices we make out of furniture grade PVC and have used the chopsaw/PVC pipe cutters in the past, but it would be efficient to create a jig to hold the raw stock on the bot to drill, mark, and cut the pipe to length.

Has anyone made a jig to hold pvc on their bot?
We use 1/2" up to 2" pipe.

Image of devices:
30108

[guitarwes]

Not to go against CNC or anything, but for the particular picture you posted this looks like a good job for simple miter bench and drill press stop jigs. I may be looking at it wrong, but It seems like it would take longer to set the job up on the Bot than to cut the pipes to length and drill holes.

On a similar note, there is a part that I have been recently asked if I could mill on my Bot. It uses 2" solid round plastic stock and a .75" dado needs to be cut the entire length of the stock about 1" deep. I have come up with a hold down jig in my mind consisting of 2 beveled runners riding slightly on top of the stock (for horizontally and down pressure) that you could slide the stock in one end, mill, and slide out when done. That's the best I can come up with right now on holding round pipe to machine.

[Brady Watson]

You can make a V-shaped jig to accommodate all sizes that hold the pipes with adjustable set screws or clamps. Just route a V into a 1.5" thick MDF glue-up.

I would still recommend using the chop saw for cutting to length. PVC easily explodes if routed too aggressively & light cuts make it incredibly inefficient.

You may find what this guy did (http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/Projects/CrossDriller/crossdriller.html) helpful.

-B

[knight_toolworks]

Plus it will just cut faster on a chopsaw.

[ADAPT_Shop-Brady]

Yeah, completely hear what everyone is saying about speed. But if we're making a large quantity the setup time may be worth it.
I like the V-shape jig.

[knight_toolworks]

I can see drilling those 4 holes if you can find a fast way to jig and hold the piece in place.but the chop saw for cutting length would be faster and more accurate.

[JimDav]

I cut 1.25" and 1" PVC to use as adjustable legs for a stool for kids. The 1.25 has 4 through holes, each countersunk. The holes have to be quite accurate to work with a spring snap. I use a chop saw to cut to length. I find it is a very fast and precise process to build a simple jig for the drill press. It would take me much longer to do with the ShopBot. I do these in quantities of at least 30 each time I build them. I do use the Bot to cut the Baltic Birch tops, of course, and the attachment block. I also found recently a slower speed to drill the holes works better than a fast one.

[knight_toolworks]

yes about as slow as you can't with HSD spindle is 3k way too fast.

[ADAPT_Shop-Brady]

I had to learn the hard way :) takes longer to reset the jig than it would to drill the holes on the drill press.
Here's what I ended up cutting out to use as a jig on the chop saw:
30113
And in use:
30114
Here's what I thought I would use for the Bot Jig:
3011530116
New jig for the press to come.

[knight_toolworks]

yes to make a jig to really hold the pipe well to drill will take some work and some setup time. cant see it being practical.

[ADAPT_Shop-Brady]

yes to make a jig to really hold the pipe well to drill will take some work and some setup time. cant see it being practical.

Well I did actually make the jig rendered in the last couple of images. Just isn't as efficient as I hoped it would be. Takes about 3 minutes to load/unload the pipes and fittings just to drill the 8 holes. If we were pumping out a lot of these, I could justify having two jigs, one running on the bot while I unload/reload the other to increase production. But since I'll just be making a dozen or so at a time, it doesn't make sense and the drill press will be quicker. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

[knight_toolworks]

Well I did actually make the jig rendered in the last couple of images. Just isn't as efficient as I hoped it would be. Takes about 3 minutes to load/unload the pipes and fittings just to drill the 8 holes. If we were pumping out a lot of these, I could justify having two jigs, one running on the bot while I unload/reload the other to increase production. But since I'll just be making a dozen or so at a time, it doesn't make sense and the drill press will be quicker. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

yes where you said a lot I was thinking hundreds. yes one person could not keep both going. I can work out a jig that only takes 10 seconds at most to reload it but it would be work to set it up and the rpms issue may cause issues too.

[guitarwes]

As much as I would LOVE to do EVERYTHING on the Bot, a wise man on the SB forum once said, "Just because you have a hammer, not everything needs to be a nail."

[ADAPT_Shop-Brady]

As much as I would LOVE to do EVERYTHING on the Bot, a wise man on the SB forum once said, "Just because you have a hammer, not everything needs to be a nail."
Great point!
30117

[knight_toolworks]

As much as I would LOVE to do EVERYTHING on the Bot, a wise man on the SB forum once said, "Just because you have a hammer, not everything needs to be a nail."

yep sometimes a hard lesson to learn.