plasma cutter

[keenie]

I'm after a cheap plasma cutter for small projects at home cutting up to 6-8mm max
the ones on flea bay are cheap chinese crap by the look of them any ideas or recommendations
i have a compressor already
also I'm after pure argon gas bottler my tig , without monthly or yearly rental , is there anything like a deposit scheme like calor gas ?

[Dave54]

There's a fairly recent thread here about them.
plasma-cutter-t88961.html

[keenie]

thanks i read that but it didn't have relevant advice on an actual cutter

[Someone-Else]

also I'm after pure argon gas bottler my tig , without monthly or yearly rental , is there anything like a deposit scheme like calor gas ?

Yes you can buy one. ££££££ Click here

I wanted nitrogen, but the cost for what I wanted it for made it too much for the project

[Hitch]

For the argon, look up you neares 'Hobbyweld' dealer...
https://www.hobbyweld.co.uk/products/argon/

Plasma, A far as i'm concerned, theres only one name in Plasma cutting, Hypertherm. Top notch gear, using it at a professional level, i dont have room for any inferior machines.
Not very helpful for a DIY forum I know, but i just dont have any experience of lesser machines..... but is a plasma cutter really what you need? As in the other thread- Retired mentioned a plasma many times, but discovered a bandsaw was a better investment...

What sort of stuff do you plan on cutting/making?

[keenie]

thanks hitch
it is a plasma i want as its for cutting sheet stock about 1.2mm thick,with lots of curves.
i have a hitachi tct circular saw i use for cutting thicker stock
thanks for the argon tip, just need to get it it and start to learn the tig welding.
Any tips for that, I'm a competent stick welder of many years so have a steady hand, I'm using my parweld 160 inverter with a tig kit

[Hitch]

Sounds like you are heading along the right path then.

I keep linking back to http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tig-tutorial.htm for welding related tips and such.
Might be worth looking on the forum section regarding the plasma too, fair few of the guys there have budget cutters.

The tutorial was created with the assistance of a dceent time served Tig welder.
The biggest tip I can give you is make sure you are resting your hands steady and practice welding with the torch and rod before you press the button on the torch- easier to see where you are going wrong when everything is daylight and you havnt got a head shield on.
Just practice moving the torch along without touching the tungsten, then start pretending to add rod without touching the tungsten or taking it too far away.
Youll save yourself a fair bit of gas and consumables if you master that.... when you actually go for it, it will feel different, but youll be half way there.

[Jonno34]

Dead link removed by Admin

I bought the one above, have yet to use it but will report when I do!

[Bob225]

The SIP plasma isn't a bad bit of kit, the lower end of the market is all Chinese made stuff, quality depends on brand

Get a decent air filter (not a inline one) as the air needs to be clean for plasma

Rent free bottles are easily available (One off £60-ish deposit and a fill on top, ,£38 for 7 litres of pure argon) you will need your own reg and a whip pipe) Depending on what you welding - your maybe better off with a mixed gas

There is Adams gas or https://www.hobbyweld.co.uk/ (hobby weld is what a local supplier stocks, so a easy collection for me)