liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:07 PM |
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plasma cutters
could you guys give me some advice on plasma cutters, i am sick of grinding, everything i have had to do over the last month seems to have envolved 20
mins with the grinder. and they scare the crap out of me.
i want a portable (compressor built in?) 4-6mm capacity. wheres the best place to go stuff like that cheers guys
Liam
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big_wasa
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:17 PM |
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 not cheap !...But awsome bit of kit 
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:29 PM |
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i know they're not cheap but i have just landed a tidy job, first outa uni so i have a bit of disposable income , and i hate grinding THAT much
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gazza285
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:30 PM |
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Flame cutting gear is much cheaper and has other uses as well. I paid £15 for a set of baggins, regulators and cutting torch, found an oxy bottle at
the side of the road (really) and nicked an acetyline from work. You can use propane if you want as its easier to get hold of.
DO NOT PUT ON KNOB OR BOLLOCKS!
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suparuss
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:32 PM |
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yep i agree, awsome kit. i picked up a snap-on 30 amp on ebay for about 500 quid if i remember correctly. its a bugger though cos it doesnt have a
built in compressor and eats air like theres no tomorrow. before i rewired the garage i only had one plug so when i want to run the plasma i was going
through 13amp fuses at about a 2 per foot (or everytime the compressor kicked in to refill its self) on the extension lead!
so i would try for one with a built in compressor if you can unless you have a decent sized compressor already.
russ
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 04:43 PM |
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Flame cutting gear needs a fair bit of practice to make neat cuts and still would probably need an angle grinder to tidy edges, also need to be very
careful with hot metal and fires etc Also some of the smaller plasma cutters still take a fair bit of power and compressed air I have a Clark plasma
cutter that hasn't been used for 5years It's often quicker to get metal cut to size on a guillotine.
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 05:05 PM |
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i have a HUGE compressor and PLENTY of power in the shed. but i realy want a built in comp one
i don't like flame cutting although good for thicker stuff. I have been cutting 4x4 box and 1 and 3 mm steel plate this weekend and i'm
buggered if i am gonna do any more with a grinder.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 05:56 PM |
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Cutting with an angle grinder is no bother with the right disc ie Bosch Professional 125x2.5x22.2mm metal cutting --- with cheaper discs you can
smell the disc burn not with Bosch.
5"/125mm grinder cuts a lot better than than a 4.5"/115mm --- a 9" of course cuts even better but isn't muct use for th more
complex cuts.
There isn't actually that much cutting work that requires a grinder on the chassis anyway -- a decent hacksaw will do 95% of the cutting
easily.
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 06:03 PM |
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i feel like everyone is trying to talk me out of buying a plasma cutter, i know its easy doing a chassis with a hacksaw i've done one.
its other things i need it for
anyone recommend some good manufacturers, sip any good or is that just rebadged jap stuff?
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mark chandler
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 06:50 PM |
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I purchased a Cerbora plasma 30 from Ebay for £300, cuts up to 6mm uses loads of air so I have to pause after 12" cuts in thicker stuff (tired
1960's compressor).
Cutting tubes and box is easy, because cut is so quick and clean air is not a problem for this type of work.
Using Gas makes everthing really hot and is harder to control so lost interest in that (you can cut with propane and oxygen actylene requires a
licence to keep)
I also tried air cutters for steel sheet, hole saws for fish mouthing tube now all that stuffs at the back of the tool box ! Its worth getting one,
just make sure the consumables are not OTT.
Regards Mark
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 07:10 PM |
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Liam,
I know what you mean about plasma cutters - I'd have one if I could justify the expense. My pet hate is cutting sheet metal, which a plasma
cutter does VERY well!
David
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big_wasa
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 07:18 PM |
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Dont get me wrong its very hi on my tool wish list..And I like it a lot more than oxy..Bit nervouse of oxy..
In my experiance you get what you pay for....Like a budget welder it will do the job but a beter quality item is easier to live with..
Tons of cutters on this link
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 07:26 PM |
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Would it be worth saving all your cutting jobs until you have a load and then hiring a combined plasma cutter/compressor . My brother once needed to
cut up an old cold water storage tank in a loft he managed to hire one for not an awful amount of money.
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 09:27 PM |
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basically i'm gonna get a plasma cutter and i want to know of reputable manufacturers, things to consider, who to steer clear of how much i
should be paying that sort of stuff
I like to be able to do things myself which is why I want one, its either a plasma cutter or a milling machine
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lexi
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 09:28 PM |
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The mans right cutting steel with angry grinder especially in a small garage is bloody awfull! I`ve seen me labouring with hacksaw before I`ll start
that barsteward up and I have them in all sizes. I`m for one too. Have a 3hp with50 ltre tank. Have always said when I strip my Landy for resto rather
than pay £1200 for new chassis I would to rather buy Plasma and decent welder to rebuild it and still have the tools left for other projects. Also
with grinder you are eating metal for days.
Alex
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 09:52 PM |
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up for plasma
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JoelP
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 10:19 PM |
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i bought a clark plasma cutter from machinemart. It was around £400, but i count it as 500 because i had to buy a compressor too, but obviously thats
been used a lot since.
The cutter works well. Ive cut up to 3mm plate, but ive never tried thicker. If you like, i'll try some 6mm bars sometime to test it.
You have to develop the knack of making a good jig and following it well, as its easy to wander even with a guide.
And yes, its a ridiculous amount of air! The compressor can keep up, but its a fairly low duty cycle and never runs out of puff before the cut
finishes.
I run it all on my garage supply. At my old house i wired it directly onto the consumer unit on a 20A MCB and ran a long 2.5mm 3 core flex out to the
garage. When setting it up at this house though, i used a switched fused 13A spur, and that hasnt blown yet, so i presume all is well.
If you can be arsed driving up to leeds, feel free to borrow mine for a week if you want a fiddle before buying
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 19/9/05 at 10:27 PM |
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Cheers Joel be there bought quarter past 9 in the morning, best leave now
thanks mate really appreciate the offer, would be interested to see how it goes with thicker stuff. Eg what happens if you have a go at somthing too
thick? Will it just cut a 6mm trench? how clean are the cuts?(on thin stuff)
[Edited on 19/9/05 by liam.mccaffrey]
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NS Dev
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| posted on 20/9/05 at 07:39 AM |
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I have used a few at work (old place) but don;t have one at home. Always wanted one but never got round to it.
If you do any serious modifying or cars with bodyshells then a plasma cutter is indispensible.
We used to have a CNC plasma 20ft by 10 ft bed cutter at work which was brillliant, all the brackets etc in the past were done on that!
In terms of good makes, Butters are very good indeed, if you can get a s/h one, as they are pricey new.
Never really heard of any serious problems with any make though.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 20/9/05 at 07:40 AM |
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I'd guess that reliability and spares availability is something to consider - I believe that the tips do wear out with use.
DJ
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 20/9/05 at 09:25 AM |
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Think mine is a small clark King 25 , its been stuck in the shed for ages Good on clean metal , brilliant for cutting thin bodywork and upto about 3mm
but consumables are expensive and not always easy to get (nozzles etc) Havent used it for ages must get it out and see if it still works.
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NS Dev
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| posted on 20/9/05 at 09:28 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I'd guess that reliability and spares availability is something to consider - I believe that the tips do wear out with use.
DJ
they do indeed. The plasma jet gets more erratic and kerf width wider until it becomes unacceptable, then you have to change the tip (inner and outer
if it's a 2 piece one, which most are)
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Mr G
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| posted on 15/11/05 at 08:29 PM |
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Bump for any new info as looking into built in compressor/seperate tank option.
Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a
car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes
and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.
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Confused but excited.
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| posted on 16/11/05 at 07:57 PM |
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Just typed 'home made plasma cutter' into Google. Hey, Locost yeh?
Got a hit.
It would appear that one of our more enterprising colonial brothers in the US has made himself one that will cut up to 1/2" plate for the
princely sum of $277 and with minimal consumption of consumables.
Might be worth a look.
Tell them about the bent treacle edges!
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lexi
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| posted on 16/11/05 at 11:20 PM |
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How are they for cutting rusty metal out of chassis say 2 or 3mm thick?
Alex
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