Can't afford a plasma....any micro cutting torches available?

[gearhead1]

I can't afford a plasma cutter at this time. I'm wondering if I can cut sheetmetal with similar results with a small cutting torch. (Free hand jagged cuts that will be wire brushed later) Materials will range from 20ga to 1/2" plate. I saw a micro torch somewhere. It was like a pistol design. It seemed like people either loved it or hated it.

Thanks in advance

[Boogiemanz1]

The torch of which you speak has several names. but DHC is the new one. One of our members is a specialist and a dealer for this tool see http://www.cut-like-plasma.com We call him Henrob Jim Spradley.........I think he is making MM05 again this year also..............john

[jeffglantz]

The henrob torch makes great cuts. Check out http://www.cut-like-plasma.com

[imagedude]

The Henrob will only cut mild steel. With a plasma you can also cut copper, stainless, Aluminium etc

[Boogiemanz1]

A DHC torch will not only cut but also weld. Sure a plasma does a better job on some things, but a DHC is less than $ 350.00us and how much is a plasma?

[CCWKen]

I think I got a couple of small cutting torches in the last batch of aution stuff. IIRC, these use the small hose connections. If you email me (as a reminder), I check and get some pics. If you're interested, they'll be a LOT cheaper than $350! ;)

[Boogiemanz1]

Thanks Ken, but I have a Henrob and a victor. The price was in comparison to a plasma cutter................john

[CCWKen]

Ops sorry, I was talking to Scotty. I thought HE was looking for a torch. I now see he's in "North Texas" (also known as Canada) so I don't know if I could send it to him anyway. :( ;)

[gearhead1]

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't even concider the cutting of non-ferrous mat'ls. How true. Most of what I do as of late is mild steel anyway so a Henrob torch would be the cheap alternative. (Cutting wise anyway....still need a medium or large torch for heating)

Thanks anyway Ken. To pick one up would be a haul....Nice drive though.

[captainkirk]

I sent a small lathe to Canada using the UPS Store and they had all the forms and were a great help, they were also the cheapest route and the box arrived safely. The cost for around 120 lbs at the time was about a dollar a pound that was a little over a year ago so not sure about now and it likely depends on where in Canada it's going as it's a pretty large country.

As always your mileage may vary.....All advise might be worth what you paid for it. excluding state and local taxes dealer prep and options, no animals were hurt during the making of this post. I have no money so don't bother to get a lawyer to try and sue me if you hurt yourself through your own stupidity....Nope don't know nothing about carburetors

[CCWKen]

Well I know regular post (USPS) isn't bad to Canada. I borrowed an MT1 reamer from a now good friend in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 5,000+ mile round-trip was under $4. But that was standard mail. The last time I checked, sending a package to Canada required all kinds of hoops to jump through and plenty of red tape. Not to mention all the taxes/duties on the other end.

Hey Scotty, you're going to have to make friends with someone on the US boarder and pick up your packages there. ;)

[Henrob Jim]

Hi guys,

The DHC 2000 does a great CONTROLLED melt on aluminum,copper and stainless and it looks almost as good as a plasma on thin stuff -.030-1/8

I can ship to canada for $27

Also my website is undergoing a move to a new server for better security as per credit card company regulations so it may be down some this weekend but you can call and we will be happy to help.

My email is down an alternate email is hotrod55truck@gmail.com or jspradley@sc.rr.com

[jvo]

I bought a Miller Spectrum 300 plasma about 7 or 8 years ago, and I wouldn't spend the money on it again, if I had known better. I rarely use it, because of the mess it blows all over. I always try to use my little bandsaw if possible, unless its a piece that's too big to fit the bandsaw. I'm not good enough with the plasma to cut a perfect line, unless its a straight line, then I'll use a piece of strap iron for a cutting guide. If I had known better, I'd have bought a big bandsaw, preferably upright, for the $1500.00 cdn I spent on the plasma.

Shipping stuff to Canada is no big deal. Usually I send stuff to the UPS warehouse in Sweetgrass MT, only problem is that UPS doesn't know it exists. I always have to fight with them to do it. UPS bought W.Y. Moberly Customs Brokers a few years ago, and changed the name to UPS something or other. Thus, they have a small warehouse where you can ship stuff to, and have someone pick it up for you, and pay the 7% goods and services tax on it to import it into Canada. If you're bringing in something made other than in North America, there are duties and bigger taxes to be paid on the items. (The North American Free Trade Agreement got rid of the duties and taxes on stuff made in North America when NAFTA was signed.) When I went to get my Enco box & pan brake in Sweetgrass,MT, I returned to Canada Customs with my crate, which had stamped right on it, "made in China", but they never asked where it was from, so I got lucky and never paid any extra on it. Everyone knows when you are talking to a customs officer, you just answer their questions and don't try to interject anything else into the conversation. They are the most anal people on the face of the earth. If they don't ask, I don't offer any extra info.
The problem with shipping direct to Canada, is you never know what the charges will be till you get the package. I placed an order with McMaster Carr a few months back, and I explicitly told the guy on the phone to ship it to UPS in Montana. Two days later, Purolator in Lethbridge (my home town) called saying they had a package for me. I went there to pick it up, couldn't believe it was there that quickly and was ready for a big big fight over what I perceived would be a large bill for brokerage charges. Purolator had no idea what the freight charges were, as they had been charged to my credit card. I went home and called Mcmaster Carr, and asked why they hadn't shipped to UPS in Montana like I had very explicitly told them to do. I asked them how much they had charged to my credit card, without my approval, turns out the total was just over $20.00. Thus, I was very happy with this particular transaction. I had the same thing happen about 5 years ago, from Speedway Automotive, and the package was sent right to my door, and there was about $75.00 in EXTRA brokerage and shipping charges. That was for a box about 10 inches wide, by 8 inches high and about 14 inches long, weighed probably 10 pounds. Boy was I ever steamed about that one. The problem is not in getting it up here to Canada, but you just never know how much its going to cost you.
That's why I always try to have stuff shipped to UPS in Sweetgrass MT, most companies will ship within the continental U.S. for free, or quite cheaply, and its only 60 miles for me to drive down there to get it. (Its just a pain to deal with the big egos of the "tax collectors" at the border.) By the way, never call those idiots tax collectors, it really pisses them off. Yes sir, no sir, look at the floor with your hat in your hand, extreme patience when they totally ignore you for ten minutes or more at a time when they're standing less than 10 feet away from you, etc. I'll bet it would really annoy you Americans to know that a tax collector, I mean, customs officer, can come to my house, walk in the door, search my house any time they want to without any kind of a search warrant, harass me and my family, and basically not have to answer to anyone for their actions, if they believe I have smuggled something across the border into my own country. We usually have more trouble getting back into our own country than going into yours. My trucker buddies go through there on a daily basis, so I have them pick up all my small packages, to save me the aggravation. Sorry if I went slightly off topic. There, I'm done now, I think I need a big hug and a cup of coffee,maybe even a cigarette.(and I don't smoke.) John V.O.

[Boogiemanz1]

John, if you are doing straight cuts, they can be done on a table saw or circular saw also.

[CCWKen]

A skill saw does a good job for straight cuts. Here's how I cut the side panels for front-end loader bucket. The "scrap" steel is 1/8" thick. It was a piece of 18"x48" piece of pipe when I got it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/CCWKen/Projects/FEL/KenbotaFEL05.jpg

[Wray Schelin]

I bought a Miller Spectrum 300 plasma about 7 or 8 years ago, and I wouldn't spend the money on it again, if I had known better. I rarely use it, because of the mess it blows all over. I always try to use my little bandsaw if possible, unless its a piece that's too big to fit the bandsaw. I'm not good enough with the plasma to cut a perfect line, unless its a straight line, then I'll use a piece of strap iron for a cutting guide. If I had known better, I'd have bought a big bandsaw, preferably upright, for the $1500.00 cdn I spent on the plasma.

Shipping stuff to Canada is no big deal. Usually I send stuff to the UPS warehouse in Sweetgrass MT, only problem is that UPS doesn't know it exists. I always have to fight with them to do it. UPS bought W.Y. Moberly Customs Brokers a few years ago, and changed the name to UPS something or other. Thus, they have a small warehouse where you can ship stuff to, and have someone pick it up for you, and pay the 7% goods and services tax on it to import it into Canada. If you're bringing in something made other than in North America, there are duties and bigger taxes to be paid on the items. (The North American Free Trade Agreement got rid of the duties and taxes on stuff made in North America when NAFTA was signed.) When I went to get my Enco box & pan brake in Sweetgrass,MT, I returned to Canada Customs with my crate, which had stamped right on it, "made in China", but they never asked where it was from, so I got lucky and never paid any extra on it. Everyone knows when you are talking to a customs officer, you just answer their questions and don't try to interject anything else into the conversation. They are the most anal people on the face of the earth. If they don't ask, I don't offer any extra info.
The problem with shipping direct to Canada, is you never know what the charges will be till you get the package. I placed an order with McMaster Carr a few months back, and I explicitly told the guy on the phone to ship it to UPS in Montana. Two days later, Purolator in Lethbridge (my home town) called saying they had a package for me. I went there to pick it up, couldn't believe it was there that quickly and was ready for a big big fight over what I perceived would be a large bill for brokerage charges. Purolator had no idea what the freight charges were, as they had been charged to my credit card. I went home and called Mcmaster Carr, and asked why they hadn't shipped to UPS in Montana like I had very explicitly told them to do. I asked them how much they had charged to my credit card, without my approval, turns out the total was just over $20.00. Thus, I was very happy with this particular transaction. I had the same thing happen about 5 years ago, from Speedway Automotive, and the package was sent right to my door, and there was about $75.00 in EXTRA brokerage and shipping charges. That was for a box about 10 inches wide, by 8 inches high and about 14 inches long, weighed probably 10 pounds. Boy was I ever steamed about that one. The problem is not in getting it up here to Canada, but you just never know how much its going to cost you.
That's why I always try to have stuff shipped to UPS in Sweetgrass MT, most companies will ship within the continental U.S. for free, or quite cheaply, and its only 60 miles for me to drive down there to get it. (Its just a pain to deal with the big egos of the "tax collectors" at the border.) By the way, never call those idiots tax collectors, it really pisses them off. Yes sir, no sir, look at the floor with your hat in your hand, extreme patience when they totally ignore you for ten minutes or more at a time when they're standing less than 10 feet away from you, etc. I'll bet it would really annoy you Americans to know that a tax collector, I mean, customs officer, can come to my house, walk in the door, search my house any time they want to without any kind of a search warrant, harass me and my family, and basically not have to answer to anyone for their actions, if they believe I have smuggled something across the border into my own country. We usually have more trouble getting back into our own country than going into yours. My trucker buddies go through there on a daily basis, so I have them pick up all my small packages, to save me the aggravation. Sorry if I went slightly off topic. There, I'm done now, I think I need a big hug and a cup of coffee,maybe even a cigarette.(and I don't smoke.) John V.O.

Hi John,

Great rant and insightful too!!:D
Sounds a little like Andy Rooney on the hoary US TV news magazine show 60 minutes.

Hey I think this is my 3000th post!!!

Beat that Anders.:lol::lol:

[anders nørgaard]

Hey Wray,

OK, you just wait and see.... I mean, you've been here since the start of MM. I only just got started.... 1 year on the 18th http://206.125.208.236/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif http://206.125.208.236/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gifhttp://206.125.208.236/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gifhttp://206.125.208.236/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif
If I keep going like I did for the past 1 year, I'll be on 4,000 + in 2 years, so..... WATCH OUT I'm right behind you http://206.125.208.236/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif

[Henrob Jim]

Just being a Smart***

[jeffglantz]

how do you do the controlled burn on aluminum and copper?

[Henrob Jim]

Put the tip on the torch as if you are going to weld and turn the flame to the highest setting that it will support,ie just before the flame blows away fron the tip,

start a puddle like you are going to weld, then push the flame (CONE) through the puddle to force it to blow out,then like chopping wood just keep repeating the process, the concentrated heat affeced area of the DHC2000 will keep a pretty tight melt and it is faster than it sounds.

I have it on video I will try to figure out how to post it,

Any suggestions on video posting, I have MotionDV studio. Any help would be apprecieated

[anders nørgaard]

Hi Jim,

I read about video posting in a couple of threads earlier this week. I think they were both started by either Wray or Pedalcar. In one of those threads someone made a test with a zipped video file.... it worked. I suggest: Try and zip it. Then post it and let's see how it works.