Just in the middle of cutting some rear radius rod brackets, ran out of acetylene. It seems to take so long to flame cut and then grind into shape brackets like this. Anyone using hand held plasma cutters and are they much of a time saver over O&A. I've used a baby one on sheetmetal and thought it was great but what about bigger ones for thick plate? I suppose it comes down to how steady your hand is, does it? I've got some money as a Christmas present from my mum and she said "buy something you need for the shed". Do I need a plasma cutter? Pete
couldnt live with out mine.just a tip buy something bigger than what you think youll need. it ill save you money when your not goin through so many tips and consumables
You will use a Plasma cutter twice as much as your torch.......It will also save you a lot of grinding time on those brackets. On long straight cuts you would use a non conductor such as a wood yard stick or masonite strip as a straightedge/guide to allow you to quickly cut.......
I did try propane for a while. Seems that it's OK for cutting but I also use my OA set up for welding panels occasionally. It was impossible. Maybe I need a TIG as well. Trouble is I still need the OA for heating, bending etc. So many tools, so little money. Pete
How thick does the material need to be see a noticable deflection? I can't imagine anything thicker than 1/2" being cut. The clean air would be a matter of a good quality in line filter, wouldn't it? Pete
I can't live without my plaz now. I have several lengths of 1/8" thick aluminum I use as straight edges. Then I have a drawer full of patterns made from scrap aluminum that I use. I have patterns for frame horns,pedals,motor mounts,and lots more. Another thing I do is cut holes in aluminum with a holesaw. Then I use them to cut thicker steel with. Saves the holesaws. I do get the deflection from time to time. Not sure what causes it. I'm gonna experinment with the ground and see if it has anything to do with it. Clark
I use my plasma all the time. The offset on my tip is 3/16 of an inch so I draw out the shape I want, then inline it 3/16 and tranfer that to some masonite or similar material. then just follow the pattern with the plasma. Makes some really nice brackets with minimal grinding just for slag cleanup. Gary
Clean dry air required. For sheet stock, lots of fun, fast. Heavy stuff, a steady well adjusted torch can at times be hard to beat. What are we calling heavy? 1/4? What I do is use a vertical bandsaw for curved cuts and shapes as often as possible. I fabricate for a living and we have everything. I hate fuckin grinding. A little foresight and a scroller blade goes a long way. I have the same 3 scroller blades here at home that I bought for the shop 8yrs ago. One is a little wasted one excelllent and 1 new one left...after a dozen or more complete jobs. Think of the time spent setting up the plasma cutter, making a straight edge or curved guide, cutting it out, grinding the slag left from the plasma, where are you at? If a cut takes me 5min to complete (that's a long time on one cut!), I'm still time and attitude ahead. But that's just me. I also really dig my 1hp Dotco cutoff wheel! Thin blade and look fuckin out!
been using one for years and they are sweet hell before i got my sheer it served double duty use a streight edge and keep the tip parallel and your golden tom
If you step up and buy a plasma, figure it will cut cleanly about 1/2 the thick ness it is rated at. Want to cut 1/4 plate the plasma better be rated at 1/2" at least. Also, as the tips wear, or the thickness reaches closer to capacity, the cut gets sloppy and will require more grinder clean up. My plasma is rated at 1/4" and cuts 1/8" clean, if the tips are new. Tip life is realitivly short and they can add up some cash layout pretty fast. I don't use mine as much as I used to, but there are some places where they are priceless. I just wished I would have bought a bigger one when I bought mine so many years ago. Last summer I almost bought a new, bigger one, but didn't. Haven't regretted not buying it yet, but then, I still have my small one. Gene
Mine cuts 1/2" and down like butta, I've cut 3/4" and .840 also. Below are 1/2" I just cut.....top side is razor sharp edge, the verticle piece shows the backside after you knock the dross off.....it just flakes away, no serious chipping. I couldn't live without it and wouldn't buy any other brand if I had it to do over again. Unless the prices have come down on other brand consumables it was the cheapest on those also. Hypertherm Powermax 600
I love the plasma cut but because of my electronic heart I can't use one anymore. So as an after thought Check out the Henrob 2000 videos on cutting. It shows the guy cutting 1/2 paper thin. I'm buying one because of the of the electronic arc of the plasma. www.cut-like-plasma.com Mick
Thanks for all the input guys. I had a look on a couple of sites for a bit more info. I would really want one that would cut a max of about 1/2" mild steel. Without going too far into it, it would seem I'm looking at $1200+(US). Thats about $1600+ Oz. As much as I would like one, I think it'll have to wait. Might have a look at that HENROB site, since I already have the cylinders, regs etc. The bandsaw idea is also appealling, but 1/2" would probably test most vertical bandsaws. At my old workplace we had a big industrial belt linisher. I used that for shaping some thick plate at times. Worked pretty quick to clean up roughed out shapes. That's another option. Thanks again and feel free to make any other suggestions. Pete
plasma cutter.....mmmm, would be nice...Im in the same boat Pete with the OA......another mate has a henrob...Ill ask him what it cuts like, next time I see him.Im curious myself....then again they arent cheap, I think he paid $700 or so for it.....sheeezz.....Bert
plasma is the way to go! i have two.one 1/4 " and one 3/4 " use them all the time...hardly use the o/a for fabricating.my 2 cents!
And to think when I first started screwing with hot rods, I used an AC buzz box (stick arc welder) to cut steel...dipped the electrode in water first....
That henrod at under 400. seems like the way to go, plus you can tig weld with it. Anyone done any tiging with it?
It was like pulling teeth to get my club to buy a HTP microcut 300 Plasma cutter, but we got one for the tool list with a LOT of grumbeling,...... it's tiny like a loaf of bread,..... we use 2 inline filters,...... well all the guys that grumbled, fight over wanting to use it all the time. we had it for 2 years and I haven't been able to get it to my garage yet ! does a incredable job,....... http://www.htpweld.com/products/plasma_cutters/300.html http://www.htpweld.com
Do a search on it . That's how I found out about it. It will weld aluminium and stainless. Like a tig it doesn't push the weld it puddles it. And they are under 4 bill in the US I don't know what it would cost to ship overseas.
There's a link back a couple of posts to the Henrob site (or one of their dealers) $349 US. Probably cost you $500 Oz. Cheaper than buying a plasma and a TIG. Thinking about it. Love to hear the feedback from your mate, Bert. Pete
Tungsten Inert Gas welding really can't be done with an oxyacetylene torch....no matter how nice the torch is.
just because it can produce welds that are near TIG quality, does not make it a TIG welder. It is still a gas weld. You still need a flux on aluminum. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welds are more formally referd to as GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Weld). These term specify that the TIG or GTAW process involves an inert gas(argon or helium (heli-arc)), a tungsten electrode, and an arc. Thus, a gas weld can never be a "TIG" weld, even if it is done with a henrob. And FWIW, I find the henrob kinda awkward to weld with. Maybe it just take more time to get used to it, but i've used one for several hours worth of welding. I personally prefer a small body standard torch on sheet metal. sorry for the deviation from the thread topic... plasma eats torch cuts hands down. My tax refund is buying a plasma to have at home.
OK, next question. What plasmas are you guys using (cutting capacity) and how much are you spending on them? Pete
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