Anything welding

stop trying to make me spend money

 

I can’t believe I waited so long to get one, seriously!

 

Same. My 'nice' ring is wooden, so at least it can't burn me. Wear a silicone one the rest of the time.

 

So HF plasma cutter good for the money or what?

 

I say yes. I have limited experience with plasma cutters in general, but I've used my buddies hypertherm before. Both cut the same to me

 

Great video, learned a good bit. Learned the plasma column comes out counter-clockwise so if you're cutting out a circle, the direction you travel matters. Little cool things like that.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcGPeM6A3G0

 

One of our customers brought some welding rods by for us. Salvaged some of the 6013’s, the rest went in the scrap pile.

 

I've been real happy with my PrimeWeld 60 amp. I have had it over a year now. I had a little trouble finding consumables at first even thought it has the ITP-60 gun, the threads were slightly different.

However, George's Plasma Shop fixed me up.

Same price buying direct or off Amazon.

https://tinyurl.com/y9q5ufjo

Edit: I know you aren't asking for buying advice, but others reading might be

 

Picked up this old USA made vise off craigslist for $150. I wanted just a big hunk of American steel for a vise and new they start at $500. This thing still operates extremely smoothly, I was surprised. May give it a paint job later on.

 

Woah, after a little searching, the vise was made between 1929 and 1947. That's some authentic shit.

 

And this my friend is where electrical safety briefings are born. Haha.

nice find on the vice.

 

Yeah it looks sketchy. I'm aware of how much current I'm drawing at any given moment though and have only tripped the breaker once or twice.

 

Got a question for you guys about metal chop saws. I'm aware they arent as precise as a band saw, but this Ironton chop saw I just bought from Northern Tool CAN NOT cut straight. I'm not talking about the miter fence; it seems either the blade is canted to the left, or the entire tool is assembled improperly (based on the cuts).

When I make a cut some some 2"x3" 11ga, the the cut gradually goes farther and farther to the left, leaving me with a slanted cut. This would be just fine for roughly cutting down stock, but for table legs this isn't useful at all. I can snap some pics if that would help you guys understand what's going on.

So, i'm aware this could be operator error. This is my first time using one of these, and I figured it would be as simple as my miter saw, minus cutting speed. I've tried making cuts very slowly being careful not to flex the blade. I've tried propping the metal up on one end. I've tried cutting 1/4 inch at a time, it always makes slanted cuts.

Is this a defective product? Or am I doing something wrong? Or is this an entirely wrong tool to precisely rectangular tubing?

 

Are you using the wheel that came with the saw? It might be That a thicker / better disc would make for a better cut.

 

Yes, I am. I bought a second blade, same thickness though. I'm gonna head back outside to swap blades and try again.

 

I was going to build a new cart to house the plasma but this thing is so little that it fits on the harbor freight cheapo one lol it’ll do for now. I’m pushing this cart to its limits.

 

Do you have a square of some sort? (speed square even). if you do place it on the table of the saw and hold it against the blade. Based on what you said I would bet the blade wont be square to the table. (just unplug it and lift the guard). If its not square there probably isnt much you can do but return it. You could remove the blade and make sure all the parts are actually there but outside of that not much....well not much that would even remotely make sense lol

 

Thanks for the suggestion, that's a smart idea. Visually it looks straight but that would be a better indicator. If I end up returning it, i'll probably buy the more expensive Dewalt chop saw. And if that aint working for me, well then I KNOW it's time to start looking at another class of tools.

 

We have a DeWalt at work and it cuts crooked. I don’t use it, I can cut straighter with a cut off wheel on a grinder.

 

You sold me on the plasma cutter. Unfortunately a better deal came along. Looks like I’ll have to wait.