Lidl Plasmas Coming Soon!

[James1979]

Just bought one of these green plasma cutters in Lidl last week. When I see special buys which look potentially good I just buy on the spot knowing I can research the purchase later on and return it unused within 30 days if it doesn't seem like a good buy.

I'm just wondering how much I might actually use it, is it much use for car or chassis work? I don't do a huge amount of fabrication tbh so I'm considering returning it. A cut off grinder and some good reciprocating saw blades might be more use. Can buy a lot of grinding discs for £150.

I have heard you can use plasma cutters to cut out chassis sections which are difficult to access with a grinder... but right next to a GRP body shell? looks like the heat would spread a lot so I probably wouldn't be able to use it on this job welding up my scimitar chassis.

It’s the same principle as oxy gas cutting, in that you’re making metal molten then using a stream of high pressure gas to fire it out of the kerf of the cut.

That’s got to go somewhere.

If heat is going to be an issue then any cold cut method will be better - recip saw, chisel, whatever.

I find they’re handy for getting up into corners and around out riggers and things but I’ve never done it with a fibreglass body. If you’ve already bought one, can’t you mock something up and try it and see what you think?

A friend bought one of this crop and they have a stupid wire thing that’s supposed to give you correct torch to work positioning. It’s too long. I took his off and it’s cutting fine now. He did a 9mm piece with it the other day.

The batch we had here are 30A

 

[GRW]

Just bought one of these green plasma cutters in Lidl last week. When I see special buys which look potentially good I just buy on the spot knowing I can research the purchase later on and return it unused within 30 days if it doesn't seem like a good buy.

I'm just wondering how much I might actually use it, is it much use for car or chassis work? I don't do a huge amount of fabrication tbh so I'm considering returning it. A cut off grinder and some good reciprocating saw blades might be more use. Can buy a lot of grinding discs for £150.

I have heard you can use plasma cutters to cut out chassis sections which are difficult to access with a grinder... but right next to a GRP body shell? looks like the heat would spread a lot so I probably wouldn't be able to use it on this job welding up my scimitar chassis.

I just bought one... and did use it to cut out a bit of awkward chassis on my LDV Convoy, right by the spring hanger.

About 3" behind where I was cutting were my plasticky diesel fuel lines.
I draped a welding blanket over the pipes and had at it, with no dramas.

Yes you'd need to be careful and take precautions, but then that's also true of grinder sparks & actual welding too.

If you use your head and in the right situation it should be ok

 

[charlysays]

I just bought one... and did use it to cut out a bit of awkward chassis on my LDV Convoy, right by the spring hanger.

About 3" behind where I was cutting were my plasticky diesel fuel lines.
I draped a welding blanket over the pipes and had at it, with no dramas.

Yes you'd need to be careful and take precautions, but then that's also true of grinder sparks & actual welding too.

If you use your head and in the right situation it should be ok

This sounds promising. Will order some welding blankets if I open the box and try it (commit to keeping it). I didn't buy the consumables kit at the time which is annoying but looks like that one on ebay is OK.
There are so many situations where you can get a welding torch in there but can't get in there to clean up or cut.

 

[GRW]

This sounds promising. Will order some welding blankets if I open the box and try it (commit to keeping it). I didn't buy the consumables kit at the time which is annoying but looks like that one on ebay is OK.
There are so many situations where you can get a welding torch in there but can't get in there to clean up or cut.

My newbie plasma cutting efforts were none too special, but got the job done.
I then dressed up my mess with a Die Grinder to give me a face to weld the new steel to.
(I have also after a suggestion from a other member, just bought a B&D Finger Grinder, but not had chance to try it yet..... but none of is need any encouragement to buy a new tool).

I also used the plasma at the bench to cut my longer section cuts of 3mm plate for the chassis rail repairs. Using a thicker piece of steel as a guide, I was able to cut pretty straight, and a quick whizz with a flap disc to clean up for use.
The short side cuts were bunged into the metal bandsaw.

 

[Turbo]

looks like the heat would spread a lot

Because it cuts so quickly the surrounding metal doesn't heat up, especially on thin stuff like body work. A few seconds after cutting you could touch the cut with a bare hand!

 

[Onoff]

Today I resisted & did a Dionne:

https://flic.kr/p/2ooCXp3

 

[charlysays]

Because it cuts so quickly the surrounding metal doesn't heat up, especially on thin stuff like body work. A few seconds after cutting you could touch the cut with a bare hand!

Sounds cool. I will "unbox" and give it a go Found a demo on youtube of it slicing all sorts like butter, without the arc length guide. With that fitted the cut seems messy and slow.

 

[GRW]

I was using mine to begin with with the clip on spacer thingy, then without..... but I was trying to maintain a gap... but this video shows the tip being dragged on the workpiece?
For sure he was getting tidier easier cuts than I was getting (mines a 30, not a 40 btw) - so I'm guessing my technique & gap was rubbish

 

[James1979]

I was using mine to begin with with the clip on spacer thingy, then without..... but I was trying to maintain a gap... but this video shows the tip being dragged on the workpiece?
For sure he was getting tidier easier cuts than I was getting (mines a 30, not a 40 btw) - so I'm guessing my technique & gap was rubbish

You get drag tips that are designed to be in contact with the workpiece and, umm non drag ones (can’t remember the name), which aren’t.

His may have been supplied with drag ones.

I went to look at a friends the other day when he couldn’t get it to work. Binned that stupid wire thing and kept a gap and it’s fine now.

 

[GRW]

You get drag tips that are designed to be in contact with the workpiece and, umm non drag ones (can’t remember the name), which aren’t.

That's something else new I've learned! Didn't know that!
I wonder how you can tell which ones you've got, and what the difference is when buying

 

[Erie Fred]

That looks like a PT-31 torch, you should be able to find much info on it.

 

[James1979]

That's something else new I've learned! Didn't know that!
I wonder how you can tell which ones you've got, and what the difference is when buying

They look a bit different and the end is generally slightly castellated but depends on the tip / torch.

If you Google it there’s plenty of info.

Tons on gaztube but haven’t time to siphon out the crap sorry.

 

[GRW]

I've done somme googlin' & tubin' - & tbh there seems to be a lots of material out there that doesn't spell things out clearly (so not good & a waste of time).

It' seems that if you have a non-pilot arc PT31 Torch, then you use drag tips & drag method.

However if you have the pilot arc WSD-60 torch, then it seems that the "stand off" 1/8" / 3mm gap (by good technique or use of a Guide of some type) is the idea (also said to wear tips less ).

The design and tips are notably different between a PT31 non-pilot & the WSD-60 pilot-arc torch - but I wasn't able to find out if that means the pilot arc version can/can't should/shouldn't be dragged on the material you're cutting.

Finding out if you can use a WSD-60 pilot arc torch using the direct contact drag method to get better, neater cuts and easier to manage...... seems to be something I could not get a straight, clear, unequivocal answer to - no matter how I phrased the search string.

 

[Turbo]

Sounds cool. I will "unbox" and give it a go Found a demo on youtube of it slicing all sorts like butter, without the arc length guide. With that fitted the cut seems messy and slow.

First time I used on thin steel I was amazed, it was like slicing paper with a stanley knife.

 

[charlysays]

First time I used on thin steel I was amazed, it was like slicing paper with a stanley knife.

Good stuff. I was in Lidl yesterday for "food" and whilst the plasma cutters are all gone I managed to find a consumables kit, happy days.

 

[DAPPH]

Good stuff. I was in Lidl yesterday for "food" and whilst the plasma cutters are all gone I managed to find a consumables kit, happy days.

What was the price ? . I got a set of 25 complete units of consumables for £13 off Ali Ba Ba .. the same place where yours initially originated from I guess. It took three weeks for the package to arrive including strike days .

 

[charlysays]

What was the price ? . I got a set of 25 complete units of consumables for £13 off Ali Ba Ba .. the same place where yours initially originated from I guess. It took three weeks for the package to arrive including strike days .

£14.99 so probably a lot more expensive. Could you share a link please? Will save for future reference. I buy off aliexpress a bit and tbf it's been excellent. No quibles with refunds and most of it shows up and is decent.

 

[DAPPH]

Just get " ali express " into your search engine and look for plasma cutter consumables .
I'd have to wade through thousands of deleted emails to find it . As it is over six months ago .

 

[Onoff]

Can you all just stop it please! Having second thoughts that I should have actually bought one yesterday!

 

[DAPPH]

FOMO .... On /Off .......... get one now and don't open it , sell it for double on ETSY in early Dec as " A mans ideal Crimbo prezzie from a loving wife..... " .

That is of course if you can resist the temptation to open it , have a play and learn ...... cutting those caravan panels would have been a doddle with one especially one with the integral compressor in it .
I'm already starting to save on thin slitting discs for the angle grinder .
So far I've used it to cut 10 mm x 40 mm flat steel bar to make a pair of shelf supports for car battery & charger shelf , cut out half a dozen 5 mm thick adjustable support brackets for the air tubes & exhaust pipe on the Chinese diesel heater .


I'll be using mine again for a , " Roundtuit" job in a couple of days , to make a new rear axle frame for one of the plastic four wheeled garden trollies , It cost £45 about 12 yrs ago , tthe invisable Welsh iron moths have had a feast on the cheap Chinese poormans backyard made soft iron tubing that formerly supported then axle . A new trolley is £120 ... so it will have well & truly paid for itself in the six months I've had it .