Has anybody got one at home, are they as good as the look on TV(knife through butter!)
Was looking at one of theses;
http://www.johndavies.co.uk/nplasma.htm
LG-30E
Is this to cheap or about right for a light duty version.

And before anyone ask's, no I don't need one, but when has that ever stopped us!!!!
Ta
Col

They are as good as they look, but unless you are going to use it alot, it would be a waste of money.
I got my metals pre-cut from a local firm on their cnc machine. It saves a lot of hassle.
Don't forget that you need an air compressor too!

they are a very good tool.
use one at work,
need one for home (just to play with)

as for the price not too sure looks ok
we use a snap-on version

LOADS OF FUN ALL DAY LONG

ive had a cebora for a few years,60 amp and its like having oxy acetylene bottles they sit around doing nothing for ages but really handy, i made oversize templates out of mdf for cutting guides but its still quicker than a jigsaw for anything over 3mm,they hold there money well too i havent seen one even the cheapest clarke go for less than 300 quid no matter how old they are

ive got a clarke one from machine mart and i would say without a doubt it is the most usefull tools to have, if i didnt have it i would have to grind what i needed from plate, which im sure you cna imaging is an awful job!
If you can easily afford one as a nice to have tool i would say get one with out a second thought.

I have one from machine mart also. Spent ages running a proper power line for it then it worked for about 1 minute. I'll let you know if they are good when I get one that bloddy works.

me too, ive got the clark/machine mart one. It was only £400 a few years ago. Stopped working the other day

I used to think Plasma cutters were the tool until I was told about 1mm thick cutting discs for stainless. These are the business and cut really quick and neatly. As they are only thin they can also cut around corners.

A Plasma cutter leaves a very hard edge to the cut that has to be dressed. The cutting discs leave a neat clean edge.

John

after the cutter broke, i used a thin disc (0.8mm maybe?) to cut an extractor chimney in half. It was indeed very easy.

Plasma cutter is all very well, but i spent £400 and havent cut more than 20 linear metres in 3 years. Waste of money to be honest.

with the thin discs, you have to be careful you dont stress them incase the break. Apparently that is messy!

[Edited on 8/3/06 by JoelP]

I've used John Davies before and there's VAT to go on top of the price, that knocks it up to £420 which is a lot for something you don't need. Unles you're cutting a lot of fancy shapes out of plate it will be a nice ornament most of the time.

My old boy showed me a shell corporate safety poster. A Phillapeano (sp) bloke was using a nine inch disk on a 4.5 inch grinder. He was confused as it woudn't fit under the guard so he took it off.
He was warned to stop.
He kept going. He was cutting corregated sheet steel without a safety visor when the disk split neatly into three pieces.

One went straight into his face. Not pleasant.

I'll try and find it. I have treated my grinders with much more respect since seeing that.
Probably why my Dad showed me it.

quote:

---

Originally posted by JoelP
after the cutter broke, i used a thin disc (0.8mm maybe?) to cut an extractor chimney in half. It was indeed very easy.

Plasma cutter is all very well, but i spent £400 and havent cut more than 20 linear metres in 3 years. Waste of money to be honest.

with the thin discs, you have to be careful you dont stress them incase the break. Apparently that is messy!

[Edited on 8/3/06 by JoelP]

---

The Clarke plasma cutter with built in compressor is on my wish list.

I bought a 9" angle grinder from B&Q last week for 39 quid good quality but too heavy for more delicate jobs but as I have some paving slabs to cut I can justify it --- discovered today that Wickes were selling thier cheaper range of 9" angle grinders for 20 quid.

This metal cutting circular saw saw is interesting http://www.evolutionrage.com/ 99quid at B&Q.

[Edited on 8/3/06 by britishtrident]

Another great use for a plasma cutter is "spitting" small 0.5mm dia holes in thin stainless sheet (when to use a centre punch would dent the sheet), to act as centres for later drilling, stops the drill wandering and will also go through the box section behind if necessary, making drilling the hole a piece of cake.

Otherwise, do other people find that it generates a lot of slag, that needs dressing off, when cutting thicker sheet? (Hypertherm 380)

I didnt needone either but they are blood handy. i picked up a snap-on 30 amp one off ebay for 500 quid a couple of years ago and should hopefully last my lifetime. (if it doesnt go rusty in my damp garage) just recently used it to cut the 6mm plate for my front lower wishbones easy as pie. and yes they do tend to leave a lot of slag unfortunately, i just chip most of it away with a hammer then dress it with the angry grinder.
no good for chopping up old donor cars though!

I'll stick with my bottles, useful for more things than just cutting.