|   Recognize these tracks? | radair
Dec 30, 2001 4:27 PM | | Wild Mythos and Tioga on the loose, I think. |
| And the creature that left them | radair
Dec 30, 2001 4:29 PM | | Hmmm, now how do you re-size these things? |
| While some would say Hacksaw, I'm a fan of the Plasma Cutter. | Twilight Error®
Dec 30, 2001 4:55 PM | | Oh. You meant the pics. Nevermind.
Nice ice ride. I'm very jealous. |
| Do you have a plasma cutter? | AK Ken
Dec 30, 2001 5:55 PM | | Thinking of buying one for the home shop, but have little experience. The one at work is supposed to cut up to one inch, and requires external air (not a problem), but I don't need to cut anything that heavy. That machine retails for about 2200 bucks. I see some self contained ones with their own onboard air for about a grand, and will cut 3/8 or so, which would be fine for me.
Thoughts?
Ken |
| I've only used one once. | Twilight Error®
Dec 30, 2001 6:17 PM | | 99% of the time I use gas, and for jobs that don't warrant dragging out the tanks I use the Sawzall.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING comes close to the cuts one of those machines makes. Okay, maybe a CNC operated laser, but seeing that those run in the 10k range (altough they do make DANDY welds)...
Slag free, fast, the cuts are smoooooth and need almost no work - if you are going to do a lot of cutting, go for the one needing air simply because its a bit more rugged. Otherwise the self-contained unit is probably the best for your needs. I've got no use for one in my own workshop becuse I can go to the shop at the camp and use the gas and Miller thats already there. |
| Gotta like the low heat factor | AK Ken
Dec 30, 2001 7:32 PM | | I've used the one at work mostly on thin stuff. I really like being able to cut sheet goods an eighth or less thick without any distortion from heating . We have a track torch for straight cuts that you can set pretty well to minimize distortion, but for curves or short angle cuts, the plasma cutter is very trick.
Maybe I'll see if I can rent one of the lighter self contained jobs and see how they do before I drop two grand on a big one.
Thanks for your input.
How's the convalescence going? Stir crazy yet? I don't know what you do, are you able to work? You're WAY more hurt than I am (partially torn bicep), but I'm not allowed to work unless I'm a hundred per cent. Hell, I wasn't a hundred per cent when I started! But that's what they say, you have to be able to perform ALL possible job functions. The only thing I couldn't really do would be to change cutting edges on the equipment by myself, as the doc says I'm limited to lifting 40 pounds. Cutting edges on the trucks and graders are steel, 3/4 thick by 8 inch wide by 6, 7, or 8 feet long.
Oh, well, I'm getting some projects done around the house.
Happy new year.
Ken |
| No work for me, six months. | Twilight Error®
Dec 31, 2001 5:39 AM | | As a ranger at a summer camp, I do a little bit of everything - plumbing, electrical, auto repair, landscaping, carpentry... I'm on my feet 8 hours/day during the summer/fall/winter months, in the spring we'll go 12-14 hours 7days/week right through June. The work is hard, hours long and pay pitiful BUT I'm outside 340 days/year and thats what matters.
The boss doesn't want me back until I can work without restriction so this "vacation" will last for the next couple months. I'll know more next Monday when I see the surgeon to have another set of Xrays. My hope is that I'm healing faster than he expects and I can be back to work by February.
Changing plow blades? A pair of HiLift jacks are just dandy for lifting the blade into place while a third person tightens the bolts... |
| THIRD person?? Not even a SECOND person | AK Ken
Dec 31, 2001 7:33 AM | | Wow, too bad about your work situation. I can only hope this was a job related log you kicked so you have some sort of workmen's comp income.
The reason they won't let me work is I can't change cutting edges BY MYSELF with the 40 pound lifting limit in place. We try not to have to change cutting edges alone, but sometimes that's how it works out. The 12 foot edges on the front plow is always a 2 man gig, but that doesn't have to be done more than once or twice a year since we run wheels under the front plows. The edges that are the problem are on the belly blade under the trucks. No high lift jack option there. Sometimes we change those edges twice a day on each rig.
I built a dolly to wheel the edges under the truck with, and use long pins to lever the edges up against the mold board, but you still have to be able to lift these 100-140 pound slabs out of the rack and onto the dolly.
Changing edges on the graders is actually easier for me than the trucks, even though the edges are heavier. On Cat graders where you can unpin the mold board and bring it out beside the cab, all work can be done standing up. I much prefer that to rolling around on a creeper underneath a wet slushy truck that is raining and avalanching on you while you try to get the 32 bolts into the holes and hammered down in a hurry.
Good luck on your recuperation.
Ken |
| Blech. | Twilight Error®
Dec 31, 2001 8:34 AM | | We've got one 8' Fisher plow at work, the blade comes off once a year for tuning and thats about it.
Of course the winters here in R.I. are somewhat milder than Alaska...
The hardest part is yet to come - when I'm *feeling* good enough to ride but shouldn't. One of the last things I want to do is loose the comp paychecks (puny they may be) because I went for a ride. |
| good thing your not wearing lycra, chocko would say your gay! nm | titainium spokes
Dec 30, 2001 5:14 PM | | |
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