Plasma cutter vs. oxy-actylene

I just picked up some metal for my front forks project and they used a plasma cutter. Guy says they are the best thing for slicing bread.

I priced some smaller 40 & 50 amp plasma cutters on ebay that are in the same price range as the bottles. One also included a tig welder with it.

I don't do that much and whatever I get won't be used too much. A guy says the plasma doesn't leave the slag, makes a smoother cut, and you don't have to hardly grind on it. The other factor is that it has to be around an electrical plugin along with an air compressor. The only other thing I have used the torch for is to heat up something to break it loose. Will a plasma do the same thing without cutting? I learned to braze with a torch but doubt I would ever do it much and I don't know if you can braze with a plasma, can you?

I have a small mig wire welder to do any light welding that I plan to do. It doesn't have a gas bottle.

What do you guys think? I know a guy who just bought his wife a new plasma cutter for a Christmas. He is really proud of her Christmas present!! Don't know what she got him.

When asked about buying cylinders somewhere to swap out, they give me the dodge and said most companies have their own cylinders and some of them they don't take. They specifically said they don't take the ones that can be rented from TSC.

The biggest cylinders they sell are a 40 cft oxy and the corresponding size (prob a 20 cft) acty for about $190 plus refills. Then they just swap them out for refilling. That may work for now for what I want to do. Ebay sells an 80 cft oxy for $145 with free shipping but then I would run the risk they don't swap that brand. I know for liability reasons they only want to mess with the heavy duty ones.

This weekend I'm going to try out my little 90 amp MIG welder. I'm going to see how it does with the flux core wire. They sell the 20 cft argon bottles for $65 plus $18 for the refill. I've heard different stuff on what works best (solid wire with gas vs. the flux core) but I'll just have to try on my own to see what kind of beads I can make.

If you want the best bang for the buck, use your torch set with a BBQ size LP tank, and an oxygen bottle of your choice. You can heat, braze, and cut, but not weld, as there is just not quite enough heat to weld.

I use a standard BBQ LP tank, and an oxygen bottle that is about 4 ft tall. The LP gas will outlast the oxygen. I refill both about once /year, more often if I am cutting up a machine for the scrap yard. I have used this combo since 1970 and find it a satisfactory compromise. I do have a MIG and DC stick machine and have never been good at Oxy-Acetylene welding, so the welding part has never been an issue for me. I did buy a good size plasma cutter about 6 years ago and love what I can do with it, but if you are looking for as much versatility as you can get for low $$, then the LP-Oxy is your best bet.

As to the choice of MIG, I will not use the flux core wire. It makes an ugly dirty weld and costs more than solid wire, and much more frequently becomes "bird-nested" by the wire drive system and becomes a source of future rust on your welded product. If you can pop for the machine with the gas solenoid and an Argon bottle, you will be proud of what you can do with it and have far fewer problems.

Good Luck in your choices.

Paul in MN