cutting is hard

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
11/20/2019 at 17:37 • Filed to: None

Finally got the cutting torch I got for my birthday all put together. I don’t know how anyone uses these things for any kind of precise work.

DISCUSSION (15)

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 17:49

I use a plasma cutter for precise cutting, but some post work with a grinder is required. Not as bad as a cutting torch though.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 17:50

Perversely, the thicker the material vs. the flame, the more precise. Thin sheet, you’re much better off with a nibbler or a plasma cutter or shear - or even a 1/16" cutting wheel in a 4 1/2" grinder. Cutting anything 16GA or less with a torch is suboptimal for most things.

also, I’m not 100% sure you’ve got the steadiness of hand yet.

Future next gen S2000 owner > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 17:51

Use your hands and just rip it, like Chuck Norris. Psht, cutting torch.

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 17:53

Sovande > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 18:09

Once you get the hang of it, you can be pretty precise. Though it's very hard to cut thin metal.

ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied. > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 18:26

Hi! Welding instructor here.

1. The oxy-fuel cutting torch is not really meant for sheet metal. The heat spread alone will warp the material before the flame fucks up the kerf ; plasma cutters work much faster and have much more focused cutting beams which reduce warping (and really you should be using a shear) . Look at the heat stain on the cut piece! Way too hot.

2. You should be using a cutting tip sized appropriately for the thickness of material - in this case the smallest you can get. This stuff also probably wants to be cut as quickly as possible.

3. You c ould be using a guide for straight cuts - clamp angle/square stock down about a quarter-inch from your cut line and press the tip up along it.

ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied. > ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
11/20/2019 at 18:29

Also, is that galvanized? The hints of yellow along the cut are concerning and you should not be cutting it with a torch.

HammerheadFistpunch > ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
11/20/2019 at 19:18

no it’s a ready to paint primer. no zinc

HammerheadFistpunch > ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
11/20/2019 at 19:20

good advice for sure. i have 1 tip and this was just for learning. it’s a number 1, which is to big for the sheet I’m practicing on. this is me just working out the basics.

HammerheadFistpunch > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/20/2019 at 19:21

I’m 100% sure i don’t have my hand steadiness dialed in. first time using a torch.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > HammerheadFistpunch
11/20/2019 at 21:40

Aviator snips or t hroatless shears for precise sheet metal cutting. Snips are cheap and available everywhere, like any hardware store. They’re the ones in a set of three, with yellow, green, and red handles. Yellow for a straight cut, the others for left and right cuts.

Nice thing about a torch is you can use it to shrink and stretch sheet metal, weld, braze, cut, anneal aluminum, heat rusted stuff and free it up . Love oxy torches. When you weld sheet metal with them, there will be a fair amount of warping, but it will stay much more pliable than with MIG or even TIG welding.

Takes practice to master them, but it's worth it. Keep at it!

HammerheadFistpunch > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
11/20/2019 at 22:23

party of the reason i wanted it was for rusty part heating for sure. this was 14 gauge so too think for shears. it's probably too much for my metal break.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > HammerheadFistpunch
11/21/2019 at 06:52

There is a reason we call it 'the gas axe'.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch
11/21/2019 at 09:29

Well, you could conceivably have had previous experience holding something like a very heavy pen (that draws sideways) with a heavy lead attached. Worse than a dremel tool, but if you’d used, say, a big die grinder a bunch it wouldn’t be completely different.

HammerheadFistpunch > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/21/2019 at 10:07

with a mouse or even a mig I'm actually pretty steady. truthfully it looks worse than it is because the melted steel kept reforming behind me. i think i need more O