Plasma vs OA

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I have been debating between getting a plasma cutter or an OA set for cutting in my home shop.  I HATE cutting with my sawzall and grinder and am looking for a quicker better way.I do general "farm" type repairs and fabrication and work with 1/8-3/8" mild steel, very seldom  thicker then 3/8".I have been looking at used plasma cutters $6-800 and just realized my little pancake compressor probably won't provide enough CFM for cutter.I have seen used OA sets on craigslist for $3-450.00I am interested in any feedback you guys can offer.Thanks,George
Reply:If all you are working with is steel, then you may want to go with the gas apparatus.  It's something you need to have, since you can use it for cutting, heating, brazing, soldering, and welding.  I don't have TIG yet, and am amble to weld some small stuff that I couldn't do with stick because I have a torch.  Also, brazing is a very useful too.Of course the REAL answer is that you want BOTH setups, but I would go with gas apparatus first if you are working steel on a farm.Lincoln Idealarc 250Lincoln Weldanpower CC/CV engine driveLincoln LN-25 wire feederMiller Syncrowave 180 SDVarious oxy-fuel setups featuring Victor, Harris, and Prest-o-lite products
Reply:Gas if it were me.  I have torches, WANT a plasma but for the thickness of stuff you are doing, I can fire up the torch and cut away with minimal amount of prep/time used.  Just as easy, well not AS easy as plasma, but it gets the job done.Come try it out and stay a while.
Reply:I see a lot of OA sets for sale.  Is there anything I have to be aware of when it comes to the tanks.  I know when I had an old propane tank the gas company wouldn't fill it once it was out of date.
Reply:Look into your local welding supply or airgas location.  They can set up a tank exchange program for you.   You buy the tanks and then can just walk in with your empties and get new ones for cost of the fuel.Of course being on a farm, you may also be able to work out delivery if you are near the route.Come try it out and stay a while.
Reply:As far as cylinders, some places won't fill large cylinders unless you have an account. They don't recognise any cyl over say 150cf, as customer owned and see them as lost or stolen. Other places it doesn't matter as long as you have  a reciept and the neck collar is blank or marked customer owned. Very few places near me fill any more, they almost all just swap cylinders out. If a cyl is out of test date, they will usually charge an extra fee and then swap the cylinder. If the place refill, they'll want to send out the tank to be tested, then if it passes they will fill.It's a good reason to get to know your LWS guys. I think in all the years I've only had one cyl that they charged me a test on that I've bought used. It was very old, dirty and unlabeled (O2 sticker had fallen off).For farm type repairs where heating can be as important as cutting I'd vote hands down on Oxy fuel over plasma. BTW you can still get that propane cyl filled if you take it in and have a hydro shop test it and possibly swap out the valve for the newer OPV style. Unfortunately it costs almost as much as a brand new tank. Many places now days will just swap out emptys rather than fill yours. Depot, Lowes,Sears and many filling stations do this. Often the clerk doesn't even look at the cylinder before sticking it in the cage. I've swapped out several older non OPV tanks for the newer ones that way. It's more expensive than just paying for the propane, but I get a tank with a good test and newer valve that I can easily get filled other places..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:You can also rent cylinders too. Not a bad deal really. They have to test them when they go out of test. I know one time I took about twenty cylinders in. Of the twenty cylinders six or eight were out of test. That was a lot of money. Heck you never get your own bottle back nowadays anyway. So next thing you know, you have an out of test bottle, how are you going to know if you won or lost, when you have twenty bottles? What could I say?       Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:Originally Posted by William McCormick Jr. . .They have to test them when they go out of test. I know one time I took about twenty cylinders in. Of the twenty cylinders six or eight were out of test. That was a lot of money. . . .
Reply:I think it matters what you want to do with your cuts.  I have a small plasma cutter (Hypertherm 190) with the built in compressor.  Cuts 1/8 and down like a dream, does good on 1/4 if it has a new tip and an OK job on 3/8" if you take it real slow.  But I do "art" with mine so I'm looking for thin kerf or cut so I can do sort of intricate work.  I can't do that with my O/A outfit -- maybe someone can, but I can't -- even if the book says the cutting tip gives a 0.06 inch cut.  Not with me behind the torch.  I use the O/A for cutting off  pieces of thicker stuff and materials where I'm not so picky about following the lines.  BUT, I love the versatility of the O/A for welding and brazing.  I added the O/A after I had my plasma cutter, but I already had a "stick" welder and a small Lincoln mig.   That said, I think if I was on the farm, I'd go the O/A because is does so many tasks and the plasma only does one.Good luck in your decision -- by the way, I spent $623 on new Victor mid level torch set, 75CF A and 125 CF ox bottles (purchased) plus a cart (which I could have built but they through it in) from the local Norco gas place.  Not a great deal but I looked at a bunch of used sets in the $300 range but was afraid of old bottles and torches that would need rebuilds and didn't have the latest flashback devices on them -- although I know I could have added them later for a price.  Not being real experienced with O/A equipment and not wanting to take the chance the gas supplier wouldn't fill the bottles or I'd have to pay the $25 inspection fees first, I decided to go new.  If you or you have someone that can look at the used stuff and give a solid thumbs up, by all means go for it as you will save some $$.BobLast edited by caldwellcpl; 02-24-2010 at 12:06 PM.Reason: spelling
Reply:o/a....and only o/a.  I don't know if plasma can burn the fire aints as well.  if you do much welding on broken farm equipment you will run into fire aints.
Reply:oa oa oa.....gotta have  it.if a project requires a real neat cut i would either end up grinding my cut or doing it with a thin 4 - 1/2"  cutoff wheel...which is expensive..i can burn one of those $3 things up in 20 minutes... most of what i do i torch cut it and its good enough..
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbead. most of what i do i torch cut it and its good enough..
Reply:GLwelder..................If a plasma can do thisPlus cut, heat, bend, shrink, melt, sweat, braze, weld, .........................I WILL SEND YOU THE MOOLA TO BUY ONE.If you do farm work, which is all I do, you do not DO NOT need a plasma machineI go over this ad nauseum, and it still has to be brought out once in a while.Learn to use OA, and you have the most powerful metal working tool other than a welding machineIf you're working on equipment, the bulk of your work will be cutting broken parts off, removing stuck bolts, sweating parts off of shafts, etc.  And you will cut a lot of metal to repair those parts, and most of it won't be 1/8 thick stuff. Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:IN OTHER WORDS, OA ROCKS!!And what she has to do with OA doesn't matter, I'm in an Olympic mood Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I  agree with Sam, nothing like the portability of an o/a setup in the shop or out in the field, & with practice some guys are like surgeons with the old smokewrench!!
Reply:Yup......I got out the trusty OxyFuel torch yesterday, put on the rosebud tip....and used it to warm up a set of clamp on bucket forks that I just built.....so the paint would stick! It was a little chilly in the shop. By the way...every piece of metal on the forks was cut with either a hand plasma or on my cnc plasma...heres a few pics.Jim Colt Attached Images
Reply:Very Nice work on those bucket folks. They certainly look better built than the ones I have seen at both Tractor Supply or Northern Tool.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:Nice forks Jimcolt!! I'd have never thought about that.Plasma shines on SS, thin sheetmetal, and aluminum; all 3 give O/A fits. Other than that, I believe in O/A, and it is the most versatile heat making tool in the welding world. If you need to do SS or aluminum, then plasma is great.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Ahhh...but the forks in the picture are steel. The clamp assembly is 1/2" carbon steel, the fork is 1/4" rect tube, the front nose is cut from 1/4" steel plate...and the rear shim is cut from 3/8" plate. It takes me an hour to produce this set of forks....including paint. All cutting is done with plasma....some by hand with templaes and jigs....the slots in the bucket clamp are precision cut on a PlasmaCam 4 x 4 cnc with a Hypertherm Powermax45.Plasma has its place cutting steel as well as oxy-fuel does. In fact the materials cut for these forks do not require much grinding...fit up is very nice....and cut speeds are amazing.I produce these forks and sell them just to support my shop.......I have sold over 50 sets of them in the last year!Jim
Reply:I got along on the farm for years fine without a plasma cutter. Takes some time to cut thru and then cleanup the stuff!! But now I have a farm and heavy equipment shop that plasma cutter has more than paid for itself. However!! I could not do with out the O/A torch.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:Here's two pictures of the forks I built for my tractor. The two forks came off an old forklift.\http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...r+forks&page=8Yes that was a NY State Trooper  Truck in that last picture Attached ImagesLast edited by specter; 02-27-2010 at 03:21 PM.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.