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Fabricating spacers

rv12iS-builder

Well Known Member
Friend
How did you fabricate spacers from AT6-058 x 5/16 aluminum tube? I no longer have access to a band saw or bench-mounted disc sander, which is what I've used in the past. This time I'm thinking of cutting the spacers to the approximate length with a hack saw, then putting the spacer in a drill press chuck and grinding them to final length against a flat file sitting on the platform where you would normally place the material to be drilled. Does anybody have a better idea?

Thanks!
 
Tubing cutter

I use one of these
Ridgid-Quick-Acting-Tubing-Cutter.jpg
 
Cut it with a regular old tubing cutter and then file and debur the ends. Works great.

Edit: Looks like I type too slow...haha
 
When I can't find my tubing cutter, I do what you said -- hacksaw and drill press. I use a file and then some emery cloth to get it to the exact final length needed.
 
Thanks, Colin and Tom; I knew their had to be a better way! Thanks, Dale, for confirming that my idea wasn't totally off base!
 
Last edited:
I put mine in the drill press and used a small hack saw to cut it, then while still spinning, drew it down onto some sand paper on top of a piece of wood several times to finish the ends.
 
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