beveling plate

[deereman75]

I am wondering how all of you bevel the edges of plate before welding. I use a 7 inch angle grinder, but there has to be a better way.

 

[mrmikey]

Depends on your budget, level of experience, thickness of plate and how elaborate you want to get.
A small amount I'll use a grinder, heaver plate say for a loader cutting edge I'll use a radiograph Products , a small amount a hand torch and a grinder to dress it up...Mike

 

[Shield Arc]

Yup, a tractor torch is the only way to go. I paid $50.00 for this one. :thumbsup:

 

[deereman75]

wow another good deal....
Since I do not have the space for a tractor torch, how hard would it be to free hand it with a cutting torch, and clean it up with a grinder. This is mainly for fairly small pieces, I am wanting to try multi pass welds on scrap plate when I get the powerarc 200, and I will probaly using up to half inch thick, and 6 inch wide, for that should I free hand it with the torch and clean it up with a 5 inch grinder, or get out the 7 inch and just grind it all.

 

[J_J]

Just put a straight edge on the plate, and tilt the plasma torch to ride the edge at a 45 degree angle.

 

[J_J]

Yup, a tractor torch is the only way to go. I paid $50.00 for this one. :thumbsup:

I have one similar to yours, but no track. Do you think it would ride two small angle iron strips?

 

[Shield Arc]

You can free hand that, or build yourself a burning bar. You don't need a magnetic one, just use a pair of vice grips. Maybe take two pieces of 1 1/2-inch flatbar 18-inches long, tack them together on edge at say 35-degrees, tack another piece in the center 90-degrees from the two others, this is where the vice grips will clamp.
Here is a magnetic burning square I've had for years.

 

[deereman75]

Ok so free handing will work. I think I will try to build a burning bar like you sugested. Just have to get the oxygen tank filled first.....

 

[Shield Arc]

I have one similar to yours, but no track. Do you think it would ride two small angle iron strips?

I don't see why not, just use flatbar to maintain the width.
I worked where someone took a piece of 6-inch round stock inserted a concrete nail in the center of the round stock, drilled a 1/2-inch hole through the round stock, inserted a piece of 1/2-inch round stock, as a shop built protractor, and cut large diameter circles with a tractor torch by turning the wheels. Worked great.

 

[dstig1]

We used a track torch like that to cut our beveled plates for the plate tests we were doing in class. We'd clean them up on a large belt sander/grinder with a flat section. The track torch had a front pair of wheels with a groove in them that rode on a piece of angle as the guide track. The back wheels rode on the flat platform, unguided.