I just got a new (to me) plasma cutter running. I'm having an awful
time with getting too far away (manual says hold 1/8" away) or
something and losing the arc and then a restart.

I know, practice, practice. Any suggestions?

So far, I'm not impressed. The torch is far easier. Plasma cutter does
work way better on AL though. I'll concentrate on AL and thin sheet
steel.

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:

I just got a new (to me) plasma cutter running. I'm having an awful
time with getting too far away (manual says hold 1/8" away) or
something and losing the arc and then a restart.

I know, practice, practice. Any suggestions?

So far, I'm not impressed. The torch is far easier. Plasma cutter does
work way better on AL though. I'll concentrate on AL and thin sheet
steel.

Karl

You don't have a drag shield for it? My Powermax 1000 has drag shields
(I use unsheilded on the CNC table) and standoff distance is not an
issue. If you recall the rod recommendation thread, I used my plasma
cutter to cut the door and window openings in steel cargo containers.
Measure and mark with a sharpie, use a couple welding magnets to stick a
piece if 1/2" square steel tube as a guide, shift the guide into proper
alignment, and then cut. Perhaps 20 seconds to cut a side of the opening
top to bottom. Way better than an O/A cutting torch.

On Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:16:54 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Karl Townsend wrote:

I just got a new (to me) plasma cutter running. I'm having an awful
time with getting too far away (manual says hold 1/8" away) or
something and losing the arc and then a restart.

I know, practice, practice. Any suggestions?

So far, I'm not impressed. The torch is far easier. Plasma cutter does
work way better on AL though. I'll concentrate on AL and thin sheet
steel.

Karl

You don't have a drag shield for it? My Powermax 1000 has drag shields
(I use unsheilded on the CNC table) and standoff distance is not an
issue. If you recall the rod recommendation thread, I used my plasma
cutter to cut the door and window openings in steel cargo containers.
Measure and mark with a sharpie, use a couple welding magnets to stick a
piece if 1/2" square steel tube as a guide, shift the guide into proper
alignment, and then cut. Perhaps 20 seconds to cut a side of the opening
top to bottom. Way better than an O/A cutting torch.

I've been surfing the web for this idea. A drag cup is offerred for my
unit. But I also found one fella that said this didn't work well on
this machine because it just plugs up. He went on to say he built a
custom fixture for standoff guide. Its an old thread from a group
that's not active. So, I'm sure this poster won't reply. Any
suggestions on building a guide fixture?

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:16:54 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Karl Townsend wrote:

I just got a new (to me) plasma cutter running. I'm having an awful
time with getting too far away (manual says hold 1/8" away) or
something and losing the arc and then a restart.

I know, practice, practice. Any suggestions?

So far, I'm not impressed. The torch is far easier. Plasma cutter does
work way better on AL though. I'll concentrate on AL and thin sheet
steel.

Karl

You don't have a drag shield for it? My Powermax 1000 has drag shields
(I use unsheilded on the CNC table) and standoff distance is not an
issue. If you recall the rod recommendation thread, I used my plasma
cutter to cut the door and window openings in steel cargo containers.
Measure and mark with a sharpie, use a couple welding magnets to stick a
piece if 1/2" square steel tube as a guide, shift the guide into proper
alignment, and then cut. Perhaps 20 seconds to cut a side of the opening
top to bottom. Way better than an O/A cutting torch.

I've been surfing the web for this idea. A drag cup is offerred for my
unit. But I also found one fella that said this didn't work well on
this machine because it just plugs up. He went on to say he built a
custom fixture for standoff guide. Its an old thread from a group
that's not active. So, I'm sure this poster won't reply. Any
suggestions on building a guide fixture?

Karl

The shield tips on my Powermax 1k don't generally plug up, at least not
when cutting thinner materials. The only reason one would plug up would
be from spray back during difficult piercing of thicker materials, and
that can be avoided by starting with the torch tilted at an angle so
spray back deflects away from the torch. For cargo container wall
material (10ga-ish?) piercing can be straight on and is pretty much
instant. The shield is copper so anything that is starting to build up
wipes of easily with gloves.

I've seen in I think a Haynes welding book, a picture of a clamp-on
collar that used a couple shielded ball bearings as standoff guide
rollers. The same setup could be attached to a compass arm with a mag
pivot point as a circle cutter. Certainly something that could be easily
built, but a roller shield won't fit into the tight spaces that a drag
shield will.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:42:01 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Karl Townsend wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:16:54 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Karl Townsend wrote:

I just got a new (to me) plasma cutter running. I'm having an awful
time with getting too far away (manual says hold 1/8" away) or
something and losing the arc and then a restart.

I know, practice, practice. Any suggestions?

So far, I'm not impressed. The torch is far easier. Plasma cutter does
work way better on AL though. I'll concentrate on AL and thin sheet
steel.

Karl

You don't have a drag shield for it? My Powermax 1000 has drag shields
(I use unsheilded on the CNC table) and standoff distance is not an
issue. If you recall the rod recommendation thread, I used my plasma
cutter to cut the door and window openings in steel cargo containers.
Measure and mark with a sharpie, use a couple welding magnets to stick a
piece if 1/2" square steel tube as a guide, shift the guide into proper
alignment, and then cut. Perhaps 20 seconds to cut a side of the opening
top to bottom. Way better than an O/A cutting torch.

I've been surfing the web for this idea. A drag cup is offerred for my
unit. But I also found one fella that said this didn't work well on
this machine because it just plugs up. He went on to say he built a
custom fixture for standoff guide. Its an old thread from a group
that's not active. So, I'm sure this poster won't reply. Any
suggestions on building a guide fixture?

Karl

The shield tips on my Powermax 1k don't generally plug up, at least not
when cutting thinner materials. The only reason one would plug up would
be from spray back during difficult piercing of thicker materials, and
that can be avoided by starting with the torch tilted at an angle so
spray back deflects away from the torch. For cargo container wall
material (10ga-ish?) piercing can be straight on and is pretty much
instant. The shield is copper so anything that is starting to build up
wipes of easily with gloves.

I've seen in I think a Haynes welding book, a picture of a clamp-on
collar that used a couple shielded ball bearings as standoff guide
rollers. The same setup could be attached to a compass arm with a mag
pivot point as a circle cutter. Certainly something that could be easily
built, but a roller shield won't fit into the tight spaces that a drag
shield will.

I found a place on the web, weldingsupply.com, and ordered consumables
including a crown cup for drag and a regular cup. I see the newer
plasma units have a better drag shield available. I think I can
fabricate something similar.

Karl