First use of plasma cutter

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This rainy day project was made from salvaged 5\16" A516 steel plate and 3\4" A36 pipe.    All tack welds were done with 1\8" 6011 rod on A\C using my Squarewave 175 machine.  All the seem welding was one pass using 5\32" 6011 using D\C electrode positive, 150 amps using my Weldanpower which is 100% duty cycle.  I love being able to burn a 14" electrode, one after the other, without regard to letting the machine cool.  The base is also salvaged 2" galvanized angle.  Approximate weight is 450 pounds.I just have to put in a plug for the steel supplier:  http://www.ordermetals.com/index.htmlThey have a yard in Newcastle, Delaware(no sales tax) that is like a Home Depot/Lowes, but for us welding\fabricating types.  Except they also sell excess and used stuff...no need to buy brand new expensive steel if pre-owned will do the job just as well.  I bought for 35 cents\pound.The Hypertherm plasma cutter worked well even on the 3\4" pipe which is at this machine's normal limit.  Dross was minimal and no finish grinding required.  The drag shield made all the difference...just place it on the workpiece, pull the trigger(ala mig gun) and start cutting.  BTW, I only used a clear face shield; no need for a shade.  I know using it saved me $$$ over the cost of Oxy\Acetylene and did a better job.  Thanks Ebay and Harris Welding for a great price and fast shipping!  I could have bought right from Harris's website, but they offered the same cutter on Ebay for $5 more and they threw in 5 more nozzles, 5 more electrodes, a pair of leather gloves and a Hypertherm ballcap.  Well that was a no-brainer!Now for the question...what sort of apparatus is this?  Hint:  think recycling.  I apologize for the crap pics.  I probably should have taken them before painting with automotive chassis black.Attachment 9416Attachment 9417Attachment 9418WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:O, O, O, pick me Monte!I know, It's a giant whistle ... and you thought we wouldn't be able to figure it out!Washman
Reply:I know it's not a whistle cause there's no ball inside!WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:Maybe it's a trap that it will catch and contain those fast little fairies of the lead variety, so they can be melted and cast into shiny silver ingots (at least for the first few days.)  That's my lame guess.cricman
Reply:I figure a projectile trap also.
Reply:I'm not sure what it is...but I'm wondering how the recycled stuff makes it way out of the gigantic whistle. John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Give all the men a cigar!  Yes, it is a bullet trap.  My theory is that the bullets hit the curved pipe at the end of the funnel and keeps circling inside until it loses momentum, then drops out the bottom.  It has worked so far with 32 caliber cast lead and jacketed bullets.  No time to try larger diameter and heavier bullets, yet.Attachment 9447Attachment 9448Last edited by 69 chevy; 05-02-2007 at 08:08 PM.WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:That is a neat idea!  I need to make one now for my pellet trap in the basement.
Reply:Sweet idea.  Is this your design or your version of someone elses?DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:Good design there - first one I've seen like that.When I was in the 9th grade ('85), I took a class called Outdoor Recreation.  I was a country boy that had just moved to a big city so this was right up my alley.We actually got to shoot .22 cal. rifles INSIDE a classroom!!!!  We shot short rounds into targets made from old tires.  The front side had a target taped onto a piece of cardboard, inside the tire was full of cardboard, and the back of the tire had a piece of 1/4" steel bolted to it.  Total thickness of cardboard was probably about 6-8", so by the time the lead hit the steel, it was no doubt really slow and getting flattened out.  Not much chance for ricochet.  Do you think any schools in the nation offer a class like that today??  I doubt it.Nice lead trap, 69Chevy.  Sounds like you've got a good place to buy some steel to play around with!!
Reply:Yep Plasma is magic, I had an old pair of fenders and a wheelbarrow that needed to get tossed, 10 minutes later I had them plasma'd down small enough for the recycling bin.
Reply:Inexpensive, simple and lightweight pellet traps for your basement have been available for some time.  There is no need for this kind of contraption.  Although there's certainly no one going to stop you from DIY'ing your own.  That's why we all have arc welders, right?I'll admit the design was not all my imagination.  I had been discussing bullet traps on another forum, and had it in my mind that a circular receiver seemed like it should work to decelerate the bullet, when I was directed to Savage Range Systems.  They don't offer anything simple and inexpensive for the hobbyist, so I decided to weld up my own.  You've all heard the saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way."  Mine is certainly crude by private range standards, but then again I only intend it to corral my spent bullets so they can be melted again and recast.  Garages and service stations in my neck of the woods do not give away used wheel weights anymore.I used to put my target in front of the firewood pile thinking that the bullets would remain at the bottom of the wood stove when I cleaned out the ashes.  Imagine my surprise!  Not even a little melted lump.  Nada, nothing.  It must have all gone up the chimney.  That's when I started thinking 'bullet trap.'I'll let you know how well my choice of steel fares.  A36 and A516 might not be strong enough for repeated use in this circumstance.Attachment 9462WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:So you put yer friend in the the wood chipper ehh (FARGO ACCENT)Seriously--great idea--I bet is will sound cool
Reply:So far it has absorbed 1150 fps, 300gr jacketed hollow points at 10 yards from my 45 Colt and S&W 44 mag without any stress at all.  No back splatter either.In conclusion, as a means to recycle lead, it works.  But most bullets end up flattened like a pancake or broken to bits.  Laser-Cast store-bought bullets which contain some amount of silver in the alloy broke up into tiny pieces.  They are hard and apparently, brittle.  I have, so far, no sign of any bullet actually spinning around inside the receiver pipe as the design was intended to operate.  Perhaps they just smash into the 3\4" thick A36 steel and drop out the bottom.  All I know is I now have a way to recycle lead into more reloaded bullets...and they're the most expensive part of the loaded cartridge.WeldingWeb forum--now more sophomoric banter than anything else!
Reply:Couldn't you just melt down the bullet fragments and cast new bullets from them? I'm no expert, so it may be a lot harder than that.
Reply:Originally Posted by maxyedorCouldn't you just melt down the bullet fragments and cast new bullets from them? I'm no expert, so it may be a lot harder than that.