MrMikeyG
SILVER Star
I've been stalled out on my Summit Cruisers Jr. Swing out kit for quite a while. One reason out of many is that I wanted to retain the ability to tow. My truck had a what I thought was a factory hitch welded to the frame.
Fast forward a bit;
I've done most of the preliminary fitment and welding for the swing out, but still had not deleted the old hitch and it was most definitely in my way. I started a tentative grinder/Sawzall mission about a month ago and gave up after about 5 min of crawling around under the truck and not wanting to pull the last section of muffler, etc.
Fast forward again;
I had an Amazon gift card from Christmas still. I did a bunch of looking online, and watching youtube videos. I almost ordered a Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 40 (1200 bucks). I ended up getting the Amico power cut-40. $259 dollars.
It is a pretty small machine; with torch, ground clamp and short air whip attached, probably 25 pounds. It is 110 or 240 volt, and comes with a decent feeling adapter in the box. I was worried about my air supply after watching videos and such as I only own a typical construction type 4.5 gal twin tank compressor. It turns out that this cutter only needs 70 psi intake pressure. The unit also has a built in air filter.
I have no 240 volt out at mu garage, so in my case I also had to use about 200 bucks worth of extension cord and adapter. I didn't count this in with the plasma cutter expenses, since this stuff was "built in" to my welder expenses.
My dryer circuit is on a 30amp breaker, so I set the cutter on 30 and started cutting. I think I had the hitch off of the truck in about 1.5 hours.
I had never used any plasma cutter before, so I double checked my setup a couple of times and practiced on a piece of scrap or 2 just to get a "feel" for the tool before putting torch to truck.
It seemed to work ok. I had a couple of instances of "non-start," which are due to torch placement and/or worn consumables. My air compressor was adequate for the task. The unit shipped with a couple of extra cups, electrodes, and drag tips, but for this machine, you need to order more from Amazon it seems. You can order this same unit from Home Depot web site, but you cannot order consumables from Depot.
This is not cheaper than a few cut off disks and Sawzall blades, but it was a lot more quiet (compressor in garage and unit near truck), and plasma torch is way easier to maneuver under and around the back end of truck.
My final thoughts; It seems like a pretty good budget option.
Fast forward a bit;
I've done most of the preliminary fitment and welding for the swing out, but still had not deleted the old hitch and it was most definitely in my way. I started a tentative grinder/Sawzall mission about a month ago and gave up after about 5 min of crawling around under the truck and not wanting to pull the last section of muffler, etc.
Fast forward again;
I had an Amazon gift card from Christmas still. I did a bunch of looking online, and watching youtube videos. I almost ordered a Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 40 (1200 bucks). I ended up getting the Amico power cut-40. $259 dollars.
It is a pretty small machine; with torch, ground clamp and short air whip attached, probably 25 pounds. It is 110 or 240 volt, and comes with a decent feeling adapter in the box. I was worried about my air supply after watching videos and such as I only own a typical construction type 4.5 gal twin tank compressor. It turns out that this cutter only needs 70 psi intake pressure. The unit also has a built in air filter.
I have no 240 volt out at mu garage, so in my case I also had to use about 200 bucks worth of extension cord and adapter. I didn't count this in with the plasma cutter expenses, since this stuff was "built in" to my welder expenses.
My dryer circuit is on a 30amp breaker, so I set the cutter on 30 and started cutting. I think I had the hitch off of the truck in about 1.5 hours.
I had never used any plasma cutter before, so I double checked my setup a couple of times and practiced on a piece of scrap or 2 just to get a "feel" for the tool before putting torch to truck.
It seemed to work ok. I had a couple of instances of "non-start," which are due to torch placement and/or worn consumables. My air compressor was adequate for the task. The unit shipped with a couple of extra cups, electrodes, and drag tips, but for this machine, you need to order more from Amazon it seems. You can order this same unit from Home Depot web site, but you cannot order consumables from Depot.
This is not cheaper than a few cut off disks and Sawzall blades, but it was a lot more quiet (compressor in garage and unit near truck), and plasma torch is way easier to maneuver under and around the back end of truck.
My final thoughts; It seems like a pretty good budget option.
