Tool Reviews

Why pilot arc helps with expanded metal Expanded metal is a tough test for a plasma cutter. The strands are narrow, and the openings break the arc’s path. A basic…

A 120V plasma cutter can handle sheet metal, brackets, and light repair work without a 240V circuit. Its limits show up in thicker plate, long cuts, and sustained use: lower…

Stainless steel is easy to cut with plasma, but a small-shop cutter has to do more than produce an arc. It needs stable output at low and medium amperage, clean…

Choosing a plasma cutter for art and signs For sheet-metal art, a plasma cutter’s useful qualities are clean starts, a narrow kerf, steady low-amperage cutting and a torch that can…

What a Half-Inch Cut Requires Cutting 1/2-inch steel plate is within reach of many 50-amp plasma cutters, but rated capacity and a clean, continuous cut are not the same thing.…

Choosing a mobile plasma cutter A plasma cutter can save time on a repair truck when the job means cutting dirty, painted or rusted steel that would be awkward to…

If you fabricate steel brackets, tabs, gussets, and small mounting plates, a plasma cutter saves hours over an angle grinder or bandsaw. For material in the 16-gauge to 1/4-inch range,…

Aluminum boat repair is almost entirely thin sheet and patch work, not heavy plate. Most jon boats, bass boats, and welded aluminum hulls use 0.080" to 0.125" (14 to 11…

What Makes Cutting Scrap Different Than Cutting New Steel Cutting scrap into reusable pieces is not the same job as cutting clean sheet off a rack. Scrap is rusty, painted,…

When to Replace the Whole Torch A damaged hand torch is not always worth rebuilding. If you have a cracked torch head, melted handle, burned trigger wires, or pitting and…