Air Carbon Arc Cutting with AC Buzzbox

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Hi all,I'm new to the world of welding and to this forum.  I just got an old used buzzbox and have been practicing striking an arc and laying beads in my garage.  I kept running into home repair or car/motorcycle repair projects where a welder would be useful and finally figured I'd take the plunge. Anyway, I have been thinking about a few simple projects to build that would allow me more practice, but also have a (hopefully) useful outcome.  But, one of the things I'm going to have to do is be able to cut metal.  I have very little money to spend so buying something like a plasma cutter or even O/A  is out of the question for now.  Air carbon arc cutting looks promising, but from what I have read you should use it on DC only.  Anyone know why this is the case?  Has anyone ever cut metal using an AC only box?  Am I nuts and missing obvious ways of cutting metal?  Thanks in advance for your help, -Jeff
Reply:tried it once with a tombstone i had. good luck! doesnt work very well. you can do it with a mig welder too. cc and cv power sources both will do it. the ac isnt very nice though!
Reply:Thanks for the info guys.  I appreciate the help!
Reply:Besides not having adequate amperage or duty cycle with a buzz box.  A carbon arc torch is generally used for removing welds, not severing metal.    Not that it couldn't be done. but instead of removing .060 kerf of material with Ox fuel  you'd be talking more like 1/4" or more & have a good bit of grinding to do for fit up..IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT2 Lincoln CV-300 / LN-7 GMALinde-VI 253,400 & 450 w/MIG35 feedersCNC Table with Oxweld O/A & Hypertherm 1250G3Lincoln Ranger GXT 250Hobart-MicroWire 300ESAB Heliarc 161ESAB-Mobilemaster 2 CC/CV Feeders& more
Reply:Aside from huge current demands not that machine is not capable of providing, the fact that air arc is a terrible process for cutting, and that your air compressor probably isn't big enough... Your neighbors will hate you because carbon-arc is LOUD!
Reply:Hmmm.   Seems like a bad idea all around.  I really appreciate the feedback from this forum.  So what should a guy on a limited budged buy to cut metal.  I checked with craigslist and in my area right now the cheapest o/a rig is $150.  With gas I'd be up to $200.  As a first project I'd like to build a telescoping baby/dog gate for the garage.  I was looking at materials cost and was amazed at how expensive metal is.  Add in a cutting rig and I'm just being stupid with my family's money.  It amazes me that I could buy something fabricated in China and shipped all the way over here for about half the cost of building it.  Should I just buy some of those fiber cutting wheels for my chop saw?  Thanks again, -Jeff
Reply:Originally Posted by mithrandirSo what should a guy on a limited budged buy to cut metal. Should I just buy some of those fiber cutting wheels for my chop saw?  Thanks again, -Jeff
Reply:First off mithrandir, may I say welcome to the forum.I agree with BNF and 7A749 on the cutoff wheels.  These corners were done with a 3" air cutoff wheel and didn't require the clean up that an air carbon arc cut or even a plasma cut would need.  1-1/2"x1-1/2"x1/8" bed frame angle.  You'd want to use a bigger (4-1/2" or larger) grinder and cutoff wheels if doing much thicker material.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Originally Posted by mithrandirHmmm.   Seems like a bad idea all around.  I really appreciate the feedback from this forum.  .  I was looking at materials cost and was amazed at how expensive metal is.  Thanks again, -Jeff