Plasma Questions

dragoneggs · Feb 8, 2015

Shield Arc said:
Propane does make some nice cuts.

Wow that does look pretty clean from here!

Hilbilly · Feb 8, 2015

Scooby074 said:
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.

I just found out about the possibility of using propane from this forum and did some checking. I have type R hose that looks like new but what I've read that I need type T. I would also need some sort of adapter for my propane tanks and different cutting tips (probably only 2). But I really like the idea of being able to go the local gas station to get fuel. I think I'll check it out when I go to the city.

SA on my computer those look like laser cuts. I see you have developed all sorts of cool jigs and automation tools for welding. Must be nice.

wldrbob · Feb 8, 2015

well i taught a few welding classes ... plasma is way easier for a newbie to learn and as for leaving holes along the side well practice helps .. plas is easier to start back in the kerf

Hilbilly · Feb 8, 2015

wldrbob said:
well i taught a few welding classes ... plasma is way easier for a newbie to learn and as for leaving holes along the side well practice helps .. plas is easier to start back in the kerf

I was hoping that plasma would not create the little gouges when the cut is lost but if not then there really is no point in me getting one. I am getting better with OA cutting, just from the work I'm doing on the grapple build and for the $1500 I was about to spend on a plasma I can get a lot of other goodies. All my cuts today were good enough for me and the one I screwed up yesterday was easy to fix. A little welding to fill the hole and then some grinding. Not production work by any means but I am enjoying the learning experience. So far I think my biggest issue is with longer cuts where I have to reposition my arms / body but I'm sure this will come with more practice.

wldrbob · Feb 8, 2015

up to you of course ..but i have had oxy for 40 years and plas for at least 10 and a good plas is pretty hard to beat. oxy set up is 420 contract is 106 oxy 106 acet per yr 100 each refill and plas consumables last pretty good last week i cut 360 inches of 3/16 and the tip was fine at the end i have oxy only because i run a mobile truck and its handy for bush equipment real heavy plate and large bevels . once i quit the mobile i will prolly buy a small oxy tank and use it with propane other than that my plas is used almost always

Hilbilly · Feb 9, 2015

Just to give you and idea of how much cutting I do, I bought the OA set up about 10 yrs ago, including the tanks, and my oxy tank expires in Sept of this year. When I bought them I lived in the City and had a specific hobby project that warranted the need for an OA setup. Well that was my excuse at the time. In the 10 yrs I've had them, I refilled them once and they are small tanks. I think the acetylene is 40 cu ft and I know the oxy is 55 cu ft. I use it a lot more now because I retired 6 years ago and moved to the country and there are times that something made of steel needs to get repaired, or as in this case, I have decided to make a grapple instead of buying one. So I suddenly have a need to do a lot more cutting than I have in the last few years and since I am not good at OA cutting (lack of practice) I thought that plasma would be the magical solution for me. But it appears I was wrong.

In any case I am getting better at OA cutting and stick welding. I think it just takes practice and I am getting a lot now, with my grapple build. Maybe a little more than I should, because I have to redo things sometimes.

Oh I forget to mention, I'm not getting a contract, since I can buy a 110 cu ft oxy tank for $220 and get it filled for $28. The acetylene is a different story. A 75 cu ft tank is $200 to buy and $100 to fill. That is why the propane looks so inviting. I already have the smaller tanks and the welding / cutting equipment I need. For now anyways.

wldrbob · Feb 9, 2015

any body that dosent have to redo the odd thing never did much lol

Hilbilly · Feb 9, 2015

There are 2 good things about having to cut apart a weld I just completed; the first is that I get see how bad or good the weld was and the second is that I get more practice.

wldrbob · Feb 9, 2015

plas is pretty good for cutting welds you know lol

Hilbilly · Feb 9, 2015

I think somebody might be trying to talk me into getting a plasma cutter.:wink:

Even though I'm the guy that says to his wife " look honey I can pay somebody $2000 to do the job or I can do it myself for $1500 including materials and the cost of some new "essential" tools. I'm pretty much convinced that a plasma is not the "essential" tool I need to get this job done. lol.