I went with a plasma cutter because I was cutting a lot of cheap, thin, painted and galvanized metal. Yes, I could have done it with my torch, but the plasma cut was 4 times faster, cleaner (both the edge and the amount of paint burned off next to the cut) and the slag pockets didn't slow me down. I'm drooling over a new cutter (lost my old one in a fire) and as soon as the budget allows I'll have one. (Note: the "cut" and "sever" ratings are a joke -- kinda like factory HP ratings used to be. )
I respect everyone's opinions. And plasmas are lots of fun. They are a luxury. They are not needed at all to build a single car, or to do many things. They are great for production though. An oxy acc set up is super cheap and will do just about everything an expensive mig, tig, and plasma ( with air compressor ) will do. That is a whole lot of money : mig $1500 plus tanks = close to 2000, 2500 tig with tanks is 3000, then a plasma for 1200, then a compressor to run it say 1,0000. Plus running power etc.. etc.. That is about $7500 after tax that could be put into your hot rod, or days you could take off of work and build your hot rod with your oxy acc set up on all the days you take off of work. This IS The Hamb. Why not build it with old school tools? Take Care Wil
I bought a used thermal dynamic at a garage sale and is design for 1/4 in and i have cut 1/2 steel plate easily and the consumables are resonably priced a great bonus. I go mine at HTP and they have stuff form my lincoln wire welder great people Ed
Fire Safety. Sometimes I choose my torches over my plasma because I don't want sparks flying everywhere. Especially if you are in a wooden home shop that is packed in with all kinds of nooks and crannies for sparks to fly up into and start a fire. Or there is another car close by. You can turn your torches down and not shoot sparks for 20 feet like a plasma. Not trying to be mr. know it all, or a buzzkill; and I used my plasma this week, but it seems like a lot of people have forgotten about plain old torches, and that they are better for a plasma in a lot of situations. Plus, why not build a traditional rod with traditional old schools tools? Have fun take care wil www.sakowskimotors.com
I've got a little cheapy no name plasma cutter and it works fine. But it keeps breaking the ceramic tip and swirl ring. Its not from rough handling, cause it does it while I'm cutting. The tip's not done up super tight or anything. What am I doing wrong?
One thing a few guys have mentioned is cut capacity.... Plasma cutters are rated with TWO cut capacities... clean cut, and shear. A plasma cutter than will clean cut 1/4" might SHEAR 3/8".... but it ain't gonna be pretty. That's the difference between the two, and you would be well suited to ASK your sales rep what the cut capacities are in terms of clean cut and shear.
Saying that you can do anything with an O/A setup that you can with a MIG/TIG/Plasma setup for fabrication is really stretching it. There are things you can't do with one that you can do with the other. Sure, O/A is great, and it's a good skill to know how to use it for cutting and welding, but there are reasons why it's not the preferred method of welding anymore. Times change, technology advances, and improvements are made. There's nothing wrong with grasping that and running with it. Some people used to think that using coat hanger for filler was a good idea..... would you recommend using coat hanger on a ch***is, since it's "traditional"? FWIW: I just picked up a Lincoln SP175+, and I've got $350.00 into it with tanks and wire and everything. You CAN get by cheap with stuff.... you just gotta know where to look.
I agree with what everyone has said in the thread. Although this last christmas I bought a Plasmadyn M50 and love it. It is a multi-function machine plasma/tig/stick. It was a great by for me. I still have not had time to use the tig portion of it, but I have used the stick, and the plasma a wholeeeeeeeeeeeee lot It is 50 amp rated and I have easily CUT 1/2" plate. Even Dirty material, painted, and galvanized, stainless, aluminum, pipe etc. I still am working out the air/amp settings on some materials but it has not let me down so far. So anyhow check it out at www.plasmadyn.com. The guy who owns the place is super cool. I have not tried to buy consumables locally, though I bought quiet a few when I ordered it. No i am not affiliated with them at all, I just love the product I got from them. Oh yeah it's the new inverter technology too not a transformer like some of them, and uses huge mosfets to power it. Oh yeah shipped to my door for $700 Will
i bought my plasma cutter 19 years ago when they where still the new cool thing to have. it was great in the body shop for cutting spot welds. I have not used it in many years. there are so many better ways of cutting metal. only time i think of a plasma cutter is if im doing a complex shape in 3/8 or thicker.
When we decided to buy a plasma cutter we didn't want to spend a lot of money so we bought a cheap Riland "cut 40" on ebay just to try and see how it did and what size we really needed. We have used the **** out of that thing. It is a 220 volt and the consumables are cheap also. We cut 1/4 inch and use it a lot to cut out wheel studs that are striped and cant be removed conventionally. We have been using it for about 4 years and we use it almost every day. It cost around $475. They say you get what you pay for and we certainly got a great deal on it. Thanks BOBBY FORD
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