RioDPax
Aluminum
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2003
- Location
- Jessup, Maryland
Is there any such thing? Everything I find is over 800 pounds. I don't need precision, just a quick way of getting low carbon tubes to nest. I've used angle grinders, belt sanders, mounted points in a mill, a Type 27 wheel on a table saw where I put the fence up and shove the tube through, and all kind of other variations of removing what is just minimal steel off the tube to get it to nest. They make mini-mills, mini-lathes, and mini-about everything else, but I've never seen a surface grinder that is somewhat portable. I thought about getting one of those Powermatic Drum Sanders(they have a table top model) but I figure they can't work any better than my belt sander. Hot Rolled sq tube isn't exactly precision stuff. Seems like there is always some minor dip on every side. The edges are OK, but the flats take a lot of wasted energy to flatten. Anybody know any shortcuts? A 7" angle grinder does the trick, but then the tube is all scarred up and I have to go back and polish it up. These tubes have to extend(exercise equipment) and I don't want them looking all sloppy. I use 11 gauge on all the tubes. Using 14 gauge on the outer tube works, but then the fit is sloppy.