[cmartin]

I think I'm going to order a plasma cutter shortly and need some advice. My primary purpose for the cutter is sheet metal and the misc 1/8" stock for brackets and the like. Of course the more you spend for a plasma cutter the thicker material it will cut. Not being Jesse James I dont see myself cutting an El Camino frame anytime soon, so any reason to cut anything thicker than 3/8"? I know bigger is always better, but budget is the key concept here. I have 220v in the garage, but would have to run another breaker, so I'd rather go with a 120v machine if it'll do the trick. One good thing is the vendor I'm going with has a 90 day money back deal so you can trade up/down as you see fit.

Thanks for any insight

Chris

[Vicegrip]

Bigger is better for plasma cutters but for home and auto work the 120v units if well made and controlled work well. (just ask a certain 914 in my shop ) If you are planning on cutting thick stainless or other nonferrous metals go for as much capacity as you can. I have found that for normal use the plasma cutters are best for cutting all kinds of sheet metal. They are fast, impart little heat into the cut stock and thus cause little to no distortion. I prefer gas or blade cutting for thick stock as it is a cleaner cut but this might be an aspect of the size of the unit I have. For the most part gas cutting makes a cleaner cut in steel than hand held plasma cutting. Plasma is the way on aluminum and dirty metal. I was cutting in the rear trunk and it was coated with about 3 coats of paint on the top surface and a 1/4 inch of oily dirty crud on the bottom. The cutter zipped right through produced little smoke and didn't start any fires. The oily dirt was not even disturbed on ether side of the cut. The thick PVC seam sealer on the other hand, made a bright red flame and copious death smoke and I am now careful to cut it out prior to any cutting!

They are not the end all for metal cutting. They have some limitations but overall are well worth the $$$ spent in the long run. Get name brand! Plasma cutters do have some small, inexpensive, consumable parts. They are deceivingly complex regarding the internal control system and it would be a drag to have one conk out and not have service support. The quality of the cutting head is important as well.

The unit I have has a self contained and controlled internal air compressor and I have found that to be very handy. No setting up clean DRY air source, just plug it in and cut away. One plug and no air line to tangle with. The air feed and pressure are controlled by the on board microprocessor and are always just right for the use.

If you haven't used one you are welcome to stop by and try your hand. I have plenty of cut off scrap to play with.

[cmartin]

Thanks for the help Kurt. I started cutting the rockers out of my MG with a wizzer wheel and got discouraged. After spending more than a couple hours of being covered in metal shavings/dust and still have a long way to go. Looks like plasma might be a nice thing to have, although I'm not sure how much I'll use it once the MG is done. I have the odd idea of building a lotus 7 type car though, who knows.

I'm either going with a 220v or 110v model as seen here http://www.usaweld.com/product_page/...tters/200.html
http://www.usaweld.com/product_page/...tters/300.html

[BillJ]

Kurt,

I think you must have mistaken the pristine original undercoating for the oil/dirt you mentioned earlier...

Grinning from ear to ear every time he shows the cutters potential!