Let's talk plasma cutters
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 758
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From: Alabama
Hey Bob, during all of your research did you run across anything about a Ramsond plasma cutter? They have a unit that cuts 1/2 inch for 500 bucks with free shipping. I don't know anything about them but a coworker said his dad bought one and is very pleased with it. That company is into all kinds of things from air tools to wind mills and solar panels.I just googled them and read a little about the company.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 16,882
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Correction and update.
I bought the Cutmaster 42.
I've been cutting with it for the last couple of days and as long as I operate it correctly it hasn't let me down. I've been able to cut my stainless panels, 14 and 12 gage without a problem and the painted enclosures cut with very little paint burn off. The torch leaves about a 1/16 of an inch kerf.
I've made a half dozen or so tracing patterns for the square holes I have to cut out of 1/4" Masonite and they work great. Making the patterns are easy, I just make them 1/4" larger than the hole I want to cut. I mark the center linew of the hole I want and line up the pattern with center lines I have on the pattern. I then use stainless tape, the type used to seal heating ducts, not duct tape, to hold the pattern in place while I cut with the plasma cutter. I only used 2-3" long pieces of tape to hold the pattern.
I've cut the time down from a 1/2 to 45 minutes to maybe ten minutes to cut a hole in mild steel, from an hour to ten minutes with stainless. This time includes the light grinding to clean up the minor slag left by the plasma cutter. Before, when I was using a saber saw, I'd have to grind 10-15 just to get all the lines nice and straight.
I bought the Cutmaster 42.
I've been cutting with it for the last couple of days and as long as I operate it correctly it hasn't let me down. I've been able to cut my stainless panels, 14 and 12 gage without a problem and the painted enclosures cut with very little paint burn off. The torch leaves about a 1/16 of an inch kerf.
I've made a half dozen or so tracing patterns for the square holes I have to cut out of 1/4" Masonite and they work great. Making the patterns are easy, I just make them 1/4" larger than the hole I want to cut. I mark the center linew of the hole I want and line up the pattern with center lines I have on the pattern. I then use stainless tape, the type used to seal heating ducts, not duct tape, to hold the pattern in place while I cut with the plasma cutter. I only used 2-3" long pieces of tape to hold the pattern.
I've cut the time down from a 1/2 to 45 minutes to maybe ten minutes to cut a hole in mild steel, from an hour to ten minutes with stainless. This time includes the light grinding to clean up the minor slag left by the plasma cutter. Before, when I was using a saber saw, I'd have to grind 10-15 just to get all the lines nice and straight.
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Lakotas53,
Sorry, for some reason I didn't see your post until after I posted the post above. No, I never heard of the company. I did amount of research, at least I think I did, decided from the start I wanted to buy a unit from some place local. Some place I could deal with in person if I had a problem. I considered going cheap because I thought since I'm not a professional fabricator, well not a mainly a metal fabricator, I might not need the best but after reading the suggestions here and a few welding sites I decided to spend the extra money and go with one of well known companies.
Sorry, for some reason I didn't see your post until after I posted the post above. No, I never heard of the company. I did amount of research, at least I think I did, decided from the start I wanted to buy a unit from some place local. Some place I could deal with in person if I had a problem. I considered going cheap because I thought since I'm not a professional fabricator, well not a mainly a metal fabricator, I might not need the best but after reading the suggestions here and a few welding sites I decided to spend the extra money and go with one of well known companies.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,591
Likes: 14
From: Pflugerville, tx
Correction and update.
I bought the Cutmaster 42.
I've been cutting with it for the last couple of days and as long as I operate it correctly it hasn't let me down. I've been able to cut my stainless panels, 14 and 12 gage without a problem and the painted enclosures cut with very little paint burn off. The torch leaves about a 1/16 of an inch kerf.
I've made a half dozen or so tracing patterns for the square holes I have to cut out of 1/4" Masonite and they work great. Making the patterns are easy, I just make them 1/4" larger than the hole I want to cut. I mark the center linew of the hole I want and line up the pattern with center lines I have on the pattern. I then use stainless tape, the type used to seal heating ducts, not duct tape, to hold the pattern in place while I cut with the plasma cutter. I only used 2-3" long pieces of tape to hold the pattern.
I've cut the time down from a 1/2 to 45 minutes to maybe ten minutes to cut a hole in mild steel, from an hour to ten minutes with stainless. This time includes the light grinding to clean up the minor slag left by the plasma cutter. Before, when I was using a saber saw, I'd have to grind 10-15 just to get all the lines nice and straight.
I bought the Cutmaster 42.
I've been cutting with it for the last couple of days and as long as I operate it correctly it hasn't let me down. I've been able to cut my stainless panels, 14 and 12 gage without a problem and the painted enclosures cut with very little paint burn off. The torch leaves about a 1/16 of an inch kerf.
I've made a half dozen or so tracing patterns for the square holes I have to cut out of 1/4" Masonite and they work great. Making the patterns are easy, I just make them 1/4" larger than the hole I want to cut. I mark the center linew of the hole I want and line up the pattern with center lines I have on the pattern. I then use stainless tape, the type used to seal heating ducts, not duct tape, to hold the pattern in place while I cut with the plasma cutter. I only used 2-3" long pieces of tape to hold the pattern.
I've cut the time down from a 1/2 to 45 minutes to maybe ten minutes to cut a hole in mild steel, from an hour to ten minutes with stainless. This time includes the light grinding to clean up the minor slag left by the plasma cutter. Before, when I was using a saber saw, I'd have to grind 10-15 just to get all the lines nice and straight.
Sam
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
I have it set at 100lb. There is very little slag, just enough that I have to dress it up with the grinder a little. The guy at the store told me this unit wants 100 lb, no more and no less.
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