Recently, I bit the bullet and bought a pretty nice 110/220 volt MIG welder, a Hobart Handler, and I'm pretty pleased with its performance. It welds mild steel and stainless from sheet metal thickness to 3/8" or so with no problems. I haven't set it up with a spool gun for aluminum, but a friend who has a similar machine reports that he's using his machine on aluminum plate with no issues as long as the metal is clean and joints are properly fitted.
Now I'm considering buying a plasma cutter. Some of the Ebay ads I'm looking at feature multi-purpose machines that can stick or TIG weld, plus plasma cut fairly thick metal. Prices vary from $200-ish to $1k or so. I'm considering a machine in the $600.00 range that welds up to around 200 amps, and plasma cuts at 50 amps. I know that a VERY dry air supply is needed, as even a tiny drop of water in a plasma torch has explosive consequences. That shouldn't be a problem, as I've had plenty of experience dealing with air line moisture in a body shop environment.
Anybody with some plasma cutting experience got any comments or suggestions? Thanks!
Jerry
