Well, I got wantalitis for a plasma, started thinking about it more as I found they could be bought for sub £200 (Cut 40's from eBay etc.)
Anyway, then got myself thinking about the Cut-50's (from LTS), looked at the Rtech stuff (would've been nice to go with the welder, but bit out of budget). Decided I wanted pilot arc, which seemed to put the price up by £100+, ended up getting the Eastwood Versa Cut from Frost Auto.
Well, it arrived when they said it would, got it all out of its box and generally pleased with the build. I'll list some good and bad points at the bottom.
Had to have a play, so I donned my welding mask, and tried cutting up an old stainless patio heater, about .6mm thick (I want the steel for another project). As you'd expect, it shot through the metal, but didn't do a particularly neat cut. Scoured the internet for advice on settings etc. but didn't find a lot. Also - welding masks aren't great, you can't see anything. (I've since bought some #5 shade cutting goggles).
That was a quick play. Left me a little disappointed. Tonight, tried some 3mm mild steel against a straightedge. Wow! Care with the travel speed, dragging the torch, was very pleased with the resulting cuts. Small kerf that I chipped off with a small hammer. FWIW - 27A and around 55psi air pressure.
I'm now trying to suss what consumables this takes - I think they are Cebora/Trafimet CP50.
What I like
+ Integrated water filter - neat and tidy.
+ Pressure control and gauge on the front of the machine
+ Pilot arc, although never tried HF start so can't compare
+ Torch seems serious, and a step up from those with cable tied on switches
+ Build quality in general seems okay
+ Torch is CE marked and has the switches to lock the machine out if the shroud is removed.
+ 3 year warranty
+ Long torch lead
What I like less
- Plastic connector for the torch control to the machine looks brittle
- Instructions could be less vague, especially about settings to use
- Why is the earth lead so much shorter than the torch?
- More info on the consumables
Anyway, then got myself thinking about the Cut-50's (from LTS), looked at the Rtech stuff (would've been nice to go with the welder, but bit out of budget). Decided I wanted pilot arc, which seemed to put the price up by £100+, ended up getting the Eastwood Versa Cut from Frost Auto.
Well, it arrived when they said it would, got it all out of its box and generally pleased with the build. I'll list some good and bad points at the bottom.
Had to have a play, so I donned my welding mask, and tried cutting up an old stainless patio heater, about .6mm thick (I want the steel for another project). As you'd expect, it shot through the metal, but didn't do a particularly neat cut. Scoured the internet for advice on settings etc. but didn't find a lot. Also - welding masks aren't great, you can't see anything. (I've since bought some #5 shade cutting goggles).
That was a quick play. Left me a little disappointed. Tonight, tried some 3mm mild steel against a straightedge. Wow! Care with the travel speed, dragging the torch, was very pleased with the resulting cuts. Small kerf that I chipped off with a small hammer. FWIW - 27A and around 55psi air pressure.
I'm now trying to suss what consumables this takes - I think they are Cebora/Trafimet CP50.
What I like
+ Integrated water filter - neat and tidy.
+ Pressure control and gauge on the front of the machine
+ Pilot arc, although never tried HF start so can't compare
+ Torch seems serious, and a step up from those with cable tied on switches
+ Build quality in general seems okay
+ Torch is CE marked and has the switches to lock the machine out if the shroud is removed.
+ 3 year warranty
+ Long torch lead
What I like less
- Plastic connector for the torch control to the machine looks brittle
- Instructions could be less vague, especially about settings to use
- Why is the earth lead so much shorter than the torch?
- More info on the consumables