Anything welding

the lotos kicks ass. ive been using landons for everything and it works great. the tips are dirt cheap too... youll go broke putting tips on a hypertherm. send him a pm i'm sure he will address any questions you might have.
cuts 1/8" like butter and does great on 1/4" too! once you learn how to use one you'll never go back. I couldn't have straightened out my truck without one.
he actually ditched a "name brand" model for it, due to cost of tips, iirc.
hit him up and pick his brain. tell him i told you to ask him about it.

 

If he goes through tips so often that a $25 tip is too expensive, he is using the cutter wrong or his air isn't dry. In my opinion.

 

Ditto.

I can't remember the last time changed tips.

 

X2 you shouldn't be changing nozzles all the time if used properly. Dry air is key on electrodes.

 

25/tip vs 25 for 10 tips... doesn't matter how often you're going through them, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the price difference. btw i didn't say he was running through them. lotos just offers a great value. but what does he know... he just caged his whole truck, has experience racing and running a fab shop, building lt kits and you name it.

will it breeze through 3/4" or 1" thick steel? definitely not quickly, but when's the last time you used that in a truck build? i personally used the lotos for 1/8, 1/4 and .120 wall tube and the bang for the buck is there, it cuts like butter and is cheap to boot. between building a new bumper, him finishing his cage, chopping up my old subframe, cutting plates for the lower arm tabs and new cam tabs, and all the miscellaneous tabs and mounts and other bullshit we made, didn't change tips once. pretty sure it's being used correctly.

its true you oftentimes get what you pay for in life, but that doesn't mean there aren't some products that offer a great value, especially for the hobbyist building a truck that will utilize 1/4" thick plate, max. not everyone has 2k to burn on a plasma and high-priced consumables.

i'm not here to advocate that china brands are better than a hypotherm. but if you want to pay 10x more for consumables, and 4x more for the machine, just to cut 1/4" plate max, i think that's a waste of money.

 

I wouldn't buy that junk but that's just me. I would rather suicide wheel it.

 

x2.

 

What hyperthurm cost 25 bucks for one nozzle? You can buy 5 for the PM45 for under 20 bucks.http://www.harrisweldingsupplies.com/hypertherm-powermax-45-consumables.aspx

 

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?262161-50A-Plasma-Cutter-3-year-warranty

Not to get into semantics, but this..

I've got two driers and a Motor Guard filter.

As far as the plasma.

It's your money, and ultimately you'll make your own decision. For better or for worse - this is the general direction that our economy is heading in. Actually had a rather heated discussion at a party last weekend about a relatively similar concept..

"I don't care if I have to get three of (Tool X) just to get the job done. They're all going to be cheaper than one of your (Brand Y) tools. When I'm done I'm just going to throw them away anyways!"

Sure, there might be some good value to be had - and it'll probably perform just fine for your expected use. But I love being able to go down to my LWS and get whatever I need for my machines. No BS. No ordering on eBay.

If I have a problem, I'll contact either Jim Colt or call Hypertherm in New Hampshire.

Same with my Thermal Arc. Sure, it's a Chinese machine - but if I have an issue - I just make a call to Victor Technologies down in Texas.

My advice is to do your research. Check out Welding Web.

Often times the advice you'll get here is, "Well my friend used one for this, or my brother's father in-law had one for this long..." For me that doesn't cut it.

Do your research and make your own decision.

Keep scouring CL. I picked up my nearly new Powermax 600 for $800! Oh, and it came with 10 complete tip assemblies, too.

Good luck.

 

Not to mention the salvage value when you are done with a Chinese machine is about zero and a name brand one is close to what you paid.

 

Just think its silly to disregard it as Chinese junk. Works fine for me and if you'd rather use a death wheel that's your choice, this is America after all. It's like saying snap on ratchet is the only one to buy. 9/10 a craftsman will work fine. Sure it's china. Sure it's not as nice. Will it do the job? Yes.. Will it make it easier than a open ended wrench..
I agree with what your saying jake. But some people can't afford to pay for that convenience. Not to disregard it.. It's definitely the way to go if you can afford it. But oftentimes it's out of the reach of hobbyists. And if it works, why not?
There will always be better more reliable tools, but the cost can be prohibitive. I'd
Rather have a mediocre plasma than no plasma. But I also hate cut off wherls

 

Hey Guys, Im looking for a mig welder for my son. I dont know much about welding. Hobby type stuff.

 

Hobart handler 140 from tractor supply.

 

Thanks Ill check it out.

 

Hmmm..

 

I did that...

 

The pipe nipples were a nice touch..

 

Ilove these shitty weld pics, but what is the issue with this gate? If it fails, pretty much all that happens is you build a new gate.

Considering that it was most likely a remote repair, I'm guessing someone was using a gasoline driven welder. i've used some that would barely run, but they got the job done. I, for one am not gonna give a shit about how the welds look when I got stupid cold temps to work in and the snowballs are packing me in the ass.

Now if this was on a roll cage that someones life would depend on, that would be a way different story.

 

To me I wouldn't be proud to leave it looking like that. At least run a grinder over it for a few seconds. I may lay an ugly weld once in a while but I blend it a little and you would never know I got the shakes.

 

I totally understand what you're saying..

There were three Bobcats on skids just past the gate, pretty sure it was something to do with the active mining operation just over the hill from the gate...

But yeah - at least a few passes with a grinder. Would've made it a hell of a lot easier to paint..