My team just got a lot of Versa stock and I’m trying to figure out to best way to cut it. Main objective is to make sure the spacing of the pre-drilled holes closest to the ends of the cut pieces stay accurately at on or 1/2" away from the end.
Also, what tolerance should we try to keep to best allow a good gusset connection?
Make a jig with a pin/pins that go into the holes of the VersaFrame. Align the jig accurately and you can cut any length (that’s a whole number of inches) quickly and accurately. A cold saw, drop saw or chop saw with a metal blade (ducks) will give you straight, smooth ends.
Personally my favorite tool for cutting tubing is a horizontal band saw. You never have to be anywhere near the blade while it is running and they include a vice so that the material is securely held in place.
As far as figuring out where to cut I’d start by using one of the versa gussets lined up with a couple of rivets to create a straight line that is squared to the piece in theory. You can then scribe a line to follow. Now you just need to figure out how to place that line in relation to the blade to get the desired length. You could also line the edge of the blade up with the edge of the gusset so that the cut will be flush with it.
I do like the idea of a jig that would be attached to the saw that would allow you to drop the piece of versa frame over a couple of pins to line things up exactly. Of course you’ll also need some way to line up that jig with the saw in case you want to use the saw for other things too.
Dry fitting a gusset to the stock material and scribing a line would be the best way to mark the cut line. My favorite way to cut aluminum is to clamp it into a miter saw with a carbide blade installed. You can line the material up with the tooth edge perfectly, clamp in place, and then cut. The carbide blade makes the cut quick and easy and only requires the edges to be broken with a file before it is ready for use.
Check out our thread “VersaFrame Tube Cutting Fixture”.
It discusses how we cut our VersaFrame tubing.
Way more involved than most but is the only way to fly when you need to cut 50-100 pieces in an afternoon.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1516764#post1516764