Anything welding

Probably overkill, but for the price they are hard to beat.
http://www.mscdirect.com/product/62112214?fromRR=Y

 

You have a work table yet?

That only cuts tube right? Hot damn that is pricey.

 

Yeah, square and round. Not that bad for an entry level cold saw. Some of the better/ higher capacity saws like Dake or Scotchman are upwards of 7 Grand.

 

That's a sick saw, but definitely out of my price range. I was thinking about one like this: http://www.mscdirect.com/product/09233529?fromRR=Y The intent is to make my projects, not go into mass production.

I have a workbench topped with plate steel. Its got a vice on the left and is cluttered with shit, but after a quick cleanup will be much more usable.

 

Any recommendations on a fairly cheap 110V plasma cutter ($300-500)? I won't be cutting anything too thick, mainly because I only have a 110V welder. I'm looking at something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/SIMADRE-50R...475?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2588b886db

 

Built this with my Miller 211.

 

my Junk.

 

+1 for the sickest Radio Flyer mod on the planet!

 

I run one of these for general cutting and they're awesome saws.
It's a non-lubricated cold saw so the metal barely heats during cutting so you can touch it after a cut and little burring, no sparks or dust comes out, just metal chips (they're pretty loud though). Blades last well when properly treated and can be resharpened several times to get the most out of the cost of a blade.

$367 Evolution Power Tools EVOSAW380 15" Steel Cutting Chop Saw , Blue

http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Pow...8&qid=1391619027&sr=1-6&keywords=evolution+14

 

The only problem that I did not like about the metal blade chops is the fact that if you dont tighten the material down all the way every time you can bind the blade and chip a tooth. The cut is nice but composite blades are more forgiving.

 

You should be fine with a chop saw for home use they are loud and messy unless you get a steel blade. Cold saws are not really for mass production they are great for short runs and custom stuff but for production you want a hydraulic feed band saw. I have a Ellis 1600 in my shop and it's great I can do short production runs of nine 2"x 2" tubes at once just start it ans walk away wile it cuts it really speeds up the production when you have to cut 1000+ slider legs in a day .

This is what I think of when I think of a production saw and something like it will be my next saw
http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/automatic-bandsaw-bs-20a

 

yeah I convinced the last multi-million dollar residential builder to buy a 12" horizontal. Before I showed up they were cutting 20' sticks of 6-12" 1/4 flat with horses and Milwaukee metal skill saws.... fucking shop was a joke.

 

Sounds like my current shop. An aluminum shop with no shear, a 4 foot brake press, and a panel saw thats out of square.

 

Pretty much what I'm thinking.

Duly noted.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

For tube, you could also use a porta-band with a Swag stand if you don't have much to cut. A chop saw with steel blade would be better. The composite blades throw a lot of sparks so you need to watch where that goes. They also leave a lot of slag on the table-which makes it useless for anything else.

 

I feel your pain brother, we had a plasma but it couldn cut through anything greater then 12ga and they didn like the look of a plasma edge. Some quality fabricators in that shop, but because of their ancestral back ground they did not think they had the ability to speak up about the tools they needed to do the work properly and efficiently so they milk the system and the higher ups fuck them over. I rolled in and turned that place on it's back and started shifting shit around before I finally said fuck it and moved on to bigger and better things, for the most part.

 

A horizontal band saw is going to be my next investment.. Give it some serious thought.

Built a backstop for my abrasive chop saw that I can use to repeatedly cut and notch tube; but honestly the dust, noise and general inaccuracy of the saw typically adds more time to the job. Blade deflection/kerf will change as they get worn down, everything in your shop is going to get coated with dust - and the noise is insane.

Check Craigslist for used horizontal band saws.. I've seen quite a few on there that were reasonably priced.

Got bored.. Built a welding cart. All out of scrap - that tube is DOM.. it's an odd size, and I didn't think I'd ever have a usage for it. Made my tank tabs too low.. Plasma cutter is freakin' awesome!

 

Consider a portable band saw. I do a lot of fanning, and that saw is just as important as the welder, and they don't take up a lot of space.

 

Thanks! I'll definitely have to check them out.

 

Laid my first beads today. Was told they are pretty good for my first time. Need to work on seed a little and staying in a nice steady movement. . . .