Plasma Questions

[Hilbilly]

I'm thinking of getting a plasma cutter and have a basic question. With my OA setup I get poor cuts (lousy operator) but am getting better with some practice. The biggest problem seems to be that I cannot get the cut speed right and when that happens I loose the cut and have to restart. That causes a hole in the steel and I loose my straight line. Then there are notches along the side of the cut that I have to grind out or fill in and then grind. Will the same thing happen when using plasma or is it more forgiving for the novice?

 

[Shield Arc]

Will the same thing happen when using plasma or is it more forgiving for the novice?

Nope same thing will happen with a plasma.
How about getting a burning square to help you?

 

[Hilbilly]

Thanks SA. You just saved me a bunch of money.:cool2:

I might as well just stick to the OA for cutting, since I already have that. I rarely work with steel so I don't have much experience, although I'm getting a little now that I'm fabricating a grapple. I am using a straight edge to guide my cuts but I still don't get the speed right. Getting better but still get those nasty restarts. Between those points I'm pretty happy with the results.

Is the speed square used as a guide or to mark out square cuts? I use a square now for marking and a piece of angle for a straight guide. Is the other tool a circle guide and is it made by you or bought?

 

[Shield Arc]

There are a lot of magnetic burning straight edges on the market. I've never been real good with a torch. Over the years I've worked with some guys who were just amazing!
One thing I do, is try to stand where I can see the cut, but also see the amount of sparks falling from under the cut. This helps me with travel speed.
In my opinion plasma are a luxury, unless you're working with non ferrous material. For the cost of a plasma, compressor, and air dryer, you can buy a lot of oxygen & acetylene. You can always switch to propane and save on the cost of acetylene too.

 

[Shield Arc]

Oh I forgot! Yes I made the circle burner. I have a rotating table, I can make some nice circle cuts with it. The burning square I posted a picture of is used to hold the torch steady while burning. I added the aluminum angle for the plasma torch.

 

[jake98]

Those wire bugs on the square stock is a great idea! I'm so stealing that SA! I've had some success using drywall 'hat channel' with a filler piece under it, to give the tip height, for a straight edge.

 

[Rustyiron]

Although not nearly as experienced as Shield Arc, as I read through his responses, he was taking the words right out of my thoughts! :laughing: Practice with the o/a & spend the plas. money on something else. Grinder's, saw's, clamp's, drill's, on & on. In a closed (winter) shop, the plas. also makes a terrible smelling smoke, unlike anything else. Makes the grinding & welding smoke smell like an air freshener in comparison.

 

[Hilbilly]

Thanks for the replies. I've been outside welding and cutting most of the day, working on my grapple. Although I've made a few mistakes that had to be redone, I'm still enjoying this build. Lots of new challenges for me. I'm also,getting better at OA cutting. Not good but better.

My oxy tank reads 300 psi and the gauge stops at 200, so I'm pretty much out of oxy but still have 130 psi in the acetylene tank. Tomorrow is a holiday here so I can't get the oxy tank filled until Tuesday. I've only got a 55 cu ft tank and it expires in September. So I'm going to get that one filled a buy a bigger too. Figure I'll get a 110 cu ft tank and that should last me a long time.

Now that I've been talked out of getting a plasma cutter I'll have to find something to buy. Woohoo.:dance1:

 

[Scooby074]

Its been covered, but there is no replacement for practice. OA is fine and has been around forever. Consider shifting to Oxy propane. Its a pretty cheap change to make, just a tip usually, but you may need to change bottle adapters and youre supposed to change hoses (but thats overkill for home users if you have a quality ace hose (type R) IMHO). Switching to propane cuts the main cost of using oxy fuel IMHO. Acetylene has gotten foolish expensive.

 

[Shield Arc]

Propane does make some nice cuts.