anyone use a plasma cutter. . .any good ?

[benters]

doing a restoration currently and the cutting out with a grinder isn't always straight forward. . so, has anyone got a plasma and is it straight forward to use. .any hints tips and advice welcome.

[HughG]

I used one briefly on a welding coarse and it was very easy to use precisely, I was very impressed tbh. Understand they aren't cheap though.

[benters]

HughG said:

I used one briefly on a welding coarse and it was very easy to use precisely, I was very impressed tbh. Understand they aren't cheap though.

looking at Ebay. . .it seems £400 gets you one. . .but i wouldn't know if that's good, bad or indifferent .. .anyone ??

[hidetheelephants]

I have an R Tech one; it's ok, it does the job, they have a very good rep for customer service and the guarantee is pretty reassuring given the reputation Ebay specials have for being DOA or dying quickly. It was a coin toss whether I bought R Tech or an Inverter Fusion one, I was swayed by R Tech doing a sale with a large bag of extra consumables. Unless you've got a grand or more for a european- or US-made one they're all chinese in origin, the difference in cost is reflected in the back-up.

Edited by hidetheelephants on Thursday 30th October 16:14

[fatjon]

I got the cheap Chinese one off Ebay. Worked fine but packed in after 2 years of light use.

[grumpy52]

Used one ages ago but it was a very good one , you could set it for metal thickness and also cut out spot welds .
Early days were called butchers tools as they were a bit crude.

[RC Developments]

Very useful for difficult to reach places but the cheaper units do not give such a clean cut especially on thicker steel.