about plasma cutter.

The Hypertherm is an excellent machine. Where are you located? Maybe there is someone nearby who can demonstrate it. Is there a university nearby, or a welding equipment store ?

I'll second the recommendation for Hypertherm. Excellent machines and customer support.

John

I'll third that recommendation.

i

Fourth vote from me!

I have a Hypertherm 1000 and love it - here's a youtube clip of a plasma cutter under CNC control. you can get great results with a template and the hand torch

TOm

Thank you all for responding..... I just wondering How much clearly can you see cutting line while you actually cutting with plasma torch? Because I see so much fire spark on the surface of material. Any dificulty following cutting line by manually?

Thank you again..

Yoshi.

You can use a line drawn with a soapstone stick. These are at Harbor Freight or Home Depot or your welding supplier for a couple of dollars.

I have moved from trying to follow a soapstone line to using a template. I do furniture and wall art, so my plasma cut pieces usually have to be fitted, so I usually can't cut freehand anyway. I cut out a piece of masonite or thin plywood using a jig saw or scroll saw, then lay it onto the metal and trace around it with the plasma torch. Much better results for me, as my hands are too shaky and the cuts were very rough, now the cuts are much cleaner.

The reason the welding shops are busy is because they are answering questions for people, so step right up and ask them your questions. Many of their customers are people who have questions. If they spend a lot of time, then they deserve your business, especially for the high margin items like consumables, rod, gloves, grinding wheels, and even those super cool welder hats!

But you won't go wrong with the HyperTherm unit, so just buy it. I bought mine on eBay for about a third of the cost of a new one, but it took me a long time, and I actually bought three of them before I got the one I liked, so new would have been easier.

What are you making?

Thank you, Emmo. I am jewelry designer right now.. But I want to make some kind of abstract sculptor and lampshade in the future. Also,I'd like to make sign and display staff for my shop.

Does plywood jig stand well with fire spark??

Yoshi.

I make my templates from MDF - seem to last longer - 20 to 30 cuts no problem. I also have metal teplates for often cut parts.

Tom

Thank you, Tom.

What is MDF ?

Yoshi.

MDF is Medium-density fibreboard

It's a particle board made from what is basically sawdust. It's very easy to cut and form and can be used for shelving and the interior structure for just about any wood project. Because it has no grain, it's ideal for cutting out complex shapes and will still have a smooth edge. It's very dense but not as strong as most other wood materials so it tends to be used in thicker sizes than when using other material like plywood. It's cheap and available at any home supply store.

They also make highway signs out of it. Naturally the outdoor paint seals it!

Mart> snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

That's MDO, medium density overlay

messagenews:1181957374 snipped-for-privacy@sp12lax.superfeed.net...

thank you all...

Yoshi.

Oh - MDO means it is on one side of ply board IIRC.

Thanks

Mart>> They also make highway signs out of it. Naturally the outdoor paint >> seals it!