Some wrong ways to cut much steel of any thickness include:
Skill saw with abrasive blade, angle grindeer with cutoff blade, any wood working type tool with any blade EXCEPT a good SAZALL. My 20 year old Milwaukee will cut 4 1/2 or 6 inch HD steel pipe just fine. Get maybe 10 or more cuts per blade with a decent blade.
14 inch abrasive cut off saw is nice. I burned one out just yesterday, a Ryobi. I have another burned out Ryobi donated to me because they are cheaper to replace than fix the motor. I have a third Ryobi that has a cracked housing because I droped it 3 ft. I will put thte dropped one's guts in a burned out ones body and be back in business. Meanwhile I can use the nice Black and Decker one I have.
Flames shot out of the motor vents about 8-10 inches without warning. I clamped my gloved hand over the vents to put out the fire which reignited the first two times I removed my hand. I finished the 90% completed cut in the last cut I needed to make in 4 1/2 inich heavy wall pipe with a cut off blade in an angle grinder.
I have a 40 amp plasma cutter but it wasn't that easy to get the cutter to the pipe and the lengths of pipe challenged me to pick up just one end to get the saw "around it." Getting a length of pipe to the cutter was not happening.
Plasma cutters are very versitile tools and will cut any conductive material. Brass, copper, lead, iron, aluminum, etc. Stufff you can't cut with a torch irrespective of your skill and experience can be cut by a newbie with a plasma cutter. My first plasma was a 27 amp model but I took it back and got a 20-40 amp which does just fine for me. Plasma is terrific! Plasma is expensive to buy and not free to operate as the "consumables" are not real cheap. YOiu have to have compressed air so for me my generator is too small, it can't possibly run an air compressor and a plasma at the same time so there are times when O-A cuting torch is useful.
Plasma can cut as good or better in the hands of pretty much newbie amature as most pro welders can do with a torch. I love it. It was EXPENSIVE!!! I have been doing things with it that don't lend themselves to just about any competing technology except O-A and I can do so much better with the plasma that it is like night and day. I have never used any other brand of plasma but these two HyperTherm models so I can't say how less expensive plasma cutters might work but if it is anything like MIG, where the old recognized brands like Hobart, Miller and Linicoln (what I have) are way better than brand x then I'd stay away from Harbor Freight, Campbell Hausfeld and other brand X plasma cutters.
HyperTherm specializes in Plasma and they do it well, just not cheaply but I'm begining to think what was an extravagant gift to myself is making so many things that were difficult for me into easy quick jobs that it will pay for itself in results.
Pat
