Welding Tips and Tricks

Alright so this project, unlike the gantry build, is currently on-going. That is, I haven't finished it just yet. I'm closing in on it though. I've wanted to add a plasma capability to the workshop's arsenal for a while now and decided to bite the bullet and just do it. I began by researching various plasma boxes, then looked at table designs. I had kinda settled on the Everlast 62i for the box. However concerns regarding their customer service and warranty fulfillment caused me to abandon that idea and search for another option. I just hope that my 275p holds up, BTW, fingers crossed. Given my use case scenarios and the fact that I am a family man who will use the plasma but a few times a year I decided that a lower budget selection was appropriate. However I didn't like the fit-n-finish and/or quality and/or features of what I was seeing in that range. Until I found the PrimeWeld.

Like Alan (and many others), I researched PrimeWeld and came up empty WRT many complaints regarding their customer service or warranty fulfillment. For that reason, coupled with the fact that the CUT60 is a dual voltage critter, has the Nema 6-50 plug if-n-when I need 220V and generally good reviews, well ... I decided to give it a punt. Earlier today I purchased it through Amazon. It is supposed to arrive on Friday. It'll be my first foray into the world of plasma, so needless to say I am looking forward to it.

Then there was the table. Mine ended up being a combination of several tables that I saw pictures and/or video of; as I recall Jody built one at some point in the past as well. I watched his video, but that table was designed more for the school/teaching environment, so it was intended to have a fume extractor, etc. I won't have that in my workshop, again, considering the use case scenarios and frequency of operation. So a little more of a fundamental design was the way I elected to travel.

These were the plans that I drafted. Ignore the "62i" in these pictures, as I was still eyeing that box at the time I drew these.

More plans (7 pages as I recall - sheesh!):

So I got to work last weekend or the one before that, don't remember. I began with the raw materials: The tubing is 2" x 2" x 1/8", 1.5" x 1.5" x 3/16. Angle is 1.5" x 1.5" x 3/16". The slats are 2" x 1/8" flat bar.

I put the ends together as a start: Here I have the fundamentals up-n-stitched:

I would look at the Langmuir Systems table:

https://www.langmuirsystems.com/

There's a guy on YouTube that got a Primeweld 225 recently, he's done a lot with the Langmuir Systems, his Channel is AM Custom Fab (Alex Jordan). You guy, but good fabricator. He's got a Hypertherm 45 on his table. He has a lot of videos on the table.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC63HmF ... 0WbefrG4PQ

For just a table, and no CNC, checkout the Certiflat:

https://weldtables.com/products/pt2436- ... odular-diy

Somewhere I had a link to an Open Hardware project that would be cool to adapt to the Certiflat.

Building your own will work also, but there's a fair amount of work to get it the point of having steppers and a controller, it is doable though. I like your DIY attitude.

I chose to elevate the longitudinal crossmembers (lower) by the height of the tubing (2") purely as a "stylistic choice". From a practical perspective it would have been better to leave them in the same plane as the other lower crossmembers, as that would yield greater height to deal with the collector. However I went this route and chose to live with the slight difficulty that decision brought to the project.

This is where I left it this past Sunday: I have the slats and the smaller tubing that supports them installed. The To-Do list as it stands at present:

1) Cut and install the collector
2) Cut and install the lower shelf (and its supports)
a) The supports will be made of whatever I have lying around
b) The shelf will be 1/8" diamond plate
3) Fabricate and install hooks on which I'll store the torch cable
4) Install bucket and bucket holder (which will be 1/2" flat bar)
5) Decide whether or not to even bother painting it or leaving it in rusty metal primer
6) Cut some 2" x 2" flat bar to plug over the tubing holes on the bottom
7) Install casters or other means of mobility
8) Consider installing a handle
9) Fabricate and install table extensions (which will be placed in the tubing holes on the top, increasing the table's width)

So that's a fair chunk of stuff that remains outstanding, but mostly of the "little tasks" variety, so it should go quickly.

Thank you for reading.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:I would look at the Langmuir Systems table:

https://www.langmuirsystems.com/

There's a guy on YouTube that got a Primeweld 225 recently, he's done a lot with the Langmuir Systems, his Channel is AM Custom Fab (Alex Jordan). You guy, but good fabricator. He's got a Hypertherm 45 on his table. He has a lot of videos on the table.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC63HmF ... 0WbefrG4PQ

For just a table, and no CNC, checkout the Certiflat:

https://weldtables.com/products/pt2436- ... odular-diy

Somewhere I had a link to an Open Hardware project that would be cool to adapt to the Certiflat.

Building your own will work also, but there's a fair amount of work to get it the point of having steppers and a controller, it is doable though. I like your DIY attitude.

Hi Alan,

Thank you for the feedback. Well, yeah, no CNC planned in my application, though the CUT60 is technically capable of it, assuming that I read the literature correctly. Nah, I plan on cutting by hand/torch only. I'm a software engineer and get entirely too much of the computer thing during the day. If I need anything that intricate, the steel supplier I use does CNC cutting for reasonable prices...

BTW, I plan on going with the PrimeWeld 225 TIG box, just as you did. Yours was but the latest review that I read regarding that machine. And your conclusions matched mine; given that Justin gave it the thumbs up also, I decided to give it a punt as well. I plan on ordering it later in the week. But I digress, as that is a bit off topic. I plan on building a cart for that and will post that build here too. I already have a cart for the MIG box that I have, but decided to build a second for the TIG stuff...

Anyway back on-topic; I'll have updates on the plasma table build as I progress during the next few days. Not sure if I will wait until Friday to cut the collector. I'm using 16ga sheet metal, so the electric sheers that I have should work without much of a problem. I will possibly wait on the plasma to cut the diamond plate; I suppose I could use an angle for that if I wanted to have the table prepared and ready-to-go by the time Friday rolls around ... meh, we'll see. TBD.

Thank you for reading.

av8or1 wrote:Thank you for the feedback. Well, yeah, no CNC planned in my application, though the CUT60 is technically capable of it, assuming that I read the literature correctly. Nah, I plan on cutting by hand/torch only. I'm a software engineer and get entirely too much of the computer thing during the day. If I need anything that intricate, the steel supplier I use does CNC cutting for reasonable prices...

Jerry,

If you don't plan on CNC then your table looks like it will work fine. Are those slats replaceable? I hear they will get chewed up fairly quickly. Yeah, I get plenty of computer stuff at work also... I saw Alex Jordan's video where he takes a picture from a cell phone and turns it into a fusion 360 part to cut out on his plasma table and I must say, that's the shizzle...

However, that's why I decided to go with the Evo cold cutting saw, the plasma seemed like a can of worms to me...you need the compressor, the table, then upgrade to water, then the CNC, new torches for the table, etc...I have other stuff I'm trying to build right now...so....

RE: Primeweld cart
At the rate I'm going you may have yours done before me...

TraditionalToolworks wrote:If you don't plan on CNC then your table looks like it will work fine. Are those slats replaceable? I hear they will get chewed up fairly quickly.

Yes, they are removable. They merely rest in their respective slots and on top of the 1.5" x 1.5" tubing. And yes, they will become shadows of their former selves, but that is normal. I have 4 extras on standby...

TraditionalToolworks wrote:However, that's why I decided to go with the Evo cold cutting saw, the plasma seemed like a can of worms to me...you need the compressor, the table, then upgrade to water, then the CNC, new torches for the table, etc...I have other stuff I'm trying to build right now...so....

Well that kind of plasma table is indeed a time and $$$ sink. However that was never the plan for me. Just a manual plasma cutting table, if you will. The idea is to use the plasma for longer cuts of 1/4" material or less. 'Might use it for thicker stuff on shorter runs too, but TBD.

I have the DeWalt chop saw and have been happy with it. However there is the Evo chop saw that can load a 15" circular blade whereas the DeWalt is only 14". So I would kinda prefer the Evo for that reason, but I have the DeWalt and don't need two of them. I did just order the Evo circular saw for cutting metal. Looking forward to using that!

TraditionalToolworks wrote:RE: Primeweld cart
At the rate I'm going you may have yours done before me...

Eh I dunno. I will order today then wait a few days. Then gotta design it and order material, then wait on that, then ... you get the idea. That said, it'll be interesting to see how our respective builds turn out!

av8or1 wrote:Yes, they are removable. They merely rest in their respective slots and on top of the 1.5" x 1.5" tubing. And yes, they will become shadows of their former selves, but that is normal. I have 4 extras on standby...

That's perfect, as they're just straight pieces, you can slam new ones out easy enough.

av8or1 wrote:Well that kind of plasma table is indeed a time and $$$ sink. However that was never the plan for me. Just a manual plasma cutting table, if you will. The idea is to use the plasma for longer cuts of 1/4" material or less. 'Might use it for thicker stuff on shorter runs too, but TBD.

I've had several projects where I'd like to CNC pieces out but don't have a way to do that. A CNC plasma would be convenient for that, but it's a huge learning curve. The other factor for me is I don't use Windows, I have a long (and rocky) history with Gates and Balmer, so mostly use Linux for everything I do. Most of the Fusion 360 is done on Windows unfortunately.

av8or1 wrote:I have the DeWalt chop saw and have been happy with it. However there is the Evo chop saw that can load a 15" circular blade whereas the DeWalt is only 14". So I would kinda prefer the Evo for that reason, but I have the DeWalt and don't need two of them. I did just order the Evo circular saw for cutting metal. Looking forward to using that!

I did get the Evo myself. Mainly because it has the pin stops for the miters, that's what I really was after. I used it for some miter cuts that were not 90 or 45s, and it was easy enough to set, but it's really a great tool to have for the cost.

av8or1 wrote:

TraditionalToolworks wrote:RE: Primeweld cart
At the rate I'm going you may have yours done before me...

Eh I dunno. I will order today then wait a few days. Then gotta design it and order material, then wait on that, then ... you get the idea. That said, it'll be interesting to see how our respective builds turn out!

You can see my plans, I posted them in a thread in the Projects forum, You might want a cart that you can put the 225 and the CUT60 on together. Mine is intended to be as small as possible, my current shop is only half a 2 car garage, and mostly filled with machines. I'm building a new shop/home which is a long term retirement project, but doing it mostly with cash so it's a long going project. The new shop will go in the basement, and later hope to build a 30x40 detached shop. Initially I'm pretty strapped...don't have a much land as it appears you have, but way more than my 60x100 land in West San Jose. I have 2 acres, but can't have livestock, it's in city limits.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:That's perfect, as they're just straight pieces, you can slam new ones out easy enough.

Sure, that is the idea. Can't imagine designing them as permanent fixtures in the table.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:I've had several projects where I'd like to CNC pieces out but don't have a way to do that. A CNC plasma would be convenient for that, but it's a huge learning curve. The other factor for me is I don't use Windows, I have a long (and rocky) history with Gates and Balmer, so mostly use Linux for everything I do. Most of the Fusion 360 is done on Windows unfortunately.

CNC is cool, no doubt. However the maintenance and upkeep of that type of machine in my shop wouldn't be worth it, given the use case scenarios I have and the frequency with which I would put it to work. It's one of those things that you might say to yourself "...If I just had a CNC plasma I'd use it all of the time" but then you wouldn't. Don't want to go down that road; been there, done that, got the shirt. Yeah I live in a Linux dev world at work but must use Windows to do admin related tasks, so I've learned to live with Windoooooze.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:You can see my plans, I posted them in a thread in the Projects forum, You might want a cart that you can put the 225 and the CUT60 on together. Mine is intended to be as small as possible, my current shop is only half a 2 car garage, and mostly filled with machines. I'm building a new shop/home which is a long term retirement project, but doing it mostly with cash so it's a long going project. The new shop will go in the basement, and later hope to build a 30x40 detached shop. Initially I'm pretty strapped...don't have a much land as it appears you have, but way more than my 60x100 land in West San Jose. I have 2 acres, but can't have livestock, it's in city limits.

Yeah I read your cart build thread and am interested to see how it turns out in the end. I won't make a cart to hold both of them, no, as the CUT60 will live underneath the plasma table on the 1/8" diamond plate. Space is always a premium, certainly. I only have 2 acres myself and my 24' x 50' outbuilding is packed to the rafters with ... stuff. So I understand those issues, yes. In fact, I am not even certain how or where I'll make room for this plasma table but I'll find a way. Then there will be the TIG cart...I need a bigger workshop! Good luck with your workshop plans BTW.

Well Alan,
I took the plunge and ordered the PrimeWeld 225 this afternoon. Estimated to be here early next week. So we'll see. Ordered a stubby gas lens kit and a tig finger/glove bundle from Jody (well Garrett actually, but he was quite helpful as well) today also.

Guess I'll begin working on the design for the TIG cart!

At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Well I'm not going to sit here and be outdone! But first Oscar, I want to see it in your sig.

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Perhaps the ultimate endorsement?

DavidR8 wrote:

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Perhaps the ultimate endorsement?

That would be awesome, but no I don't get endorsement deals like other famous people. I pay for everything I own, sadly. That reminds me, I need to keep bugging my dad to use his Pro Pulse 200 more! I bought him that thing so he doesn't have to use other crap welders, and he still builds things out of wood!

Oscar wrote:

DavidR8 wrote:

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Perhaps the ultimate endorsement?

That would be awesome, but no I don't get endorsement deals like other famous people. I pay for everything I own, sadly. That reminds me, I need to keep bugging my dad to use his Pro Pulse 200 more! I bought him that thing so he doesn't have to use other crap welders, and he still builds things out of wood!

Likewise!
I cannot understand why folks aren’t knocking down my door to give me products to review.
Oh I know. Because I have no social media presence.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LtBadd wrote:

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Well I'm not going to sit here and be outdone! But first Oscar, I want to see it in your sig.

I just might. They said if I buy it and then sell it, the warranty does transfer and follow the new owner.

Oscar wrote:At this rate, with the popularity of the primeweld 225, heck I'm gonna get one too!

Well I had to re-assess the situation a bit. I was considering a few TIG options. I had ruled out the Everlast due to VASawyer's feedback as well as my own experience (plus many other reviews) and was settling in on the HTP 221. However perspective is all-important in making these decisions. And in my case this TIG thing will be nothing more than a hobby in the final analysis. Therefore when viewing the purchase through that lens, I couldn't justify spending the $2500+ for any welder. Instead I needed a budget option. I wasn't seeing much that was satisfactory when I began investigating those boxes. I then found PrimeWeld. As Alan mentioned, I couldn't find much negativity about it; all warranty claims appear to have been settled promptly and they have 7 days-per-week customer support. Reviews were good as well, to include Justin from The Fabricator series. And so I went with it.

I followed a similar thought process regarding the purchase of the CUT60. Same warranty, same customer support, lower price than the Eastwood unit and the CUT60 is dual voltage. Again, the green box was out of the running due to poor reviews and customer support. I just hope my MIG box never needs anything!

So in regard to the PrimeWeld stuff we'll see how it turns out. I'm looking forward to using both boxes in future projects!

av8or1 wrote:Yeah I live in a Linux dev world at work but must use Windows to do admin related tasks, so I've learned to live with Windoooooze.

I'm often forced to use Windows, but on my current job I'm able to do just about everything on Linux and what I can't can be done on the web. I literally kick and scream if I'm asked to use Windows.

av8or1 wrote:Yeah I read your cart build thread and am interested to see how it turns out in the end.

Got my flange nuts in today. Not sure if I can get to it before the weekend, we'll see.

av8or1 wrote:I only have 2 acres myself and my 24' x 50' outbuilding is packed to the rafters with ... stuff. So I understand those issues, yes.

You land looks bigger. a lot of mine is down a bluff to the lake, my propery is like a giant pie shape with 210' at the street and 90' at the waterfront. Plenty of wildlife, just that no livestock allowed. I can subdivide my property, but it would be hard to get the neighbors to agree, IMO, most are jealous as you need 2 acres to subdivide to 1 acre parcels, and mine is just over. I wouldn't want someone right next to my house though, just not worth it. I do have Riparian water rights to the lake water and plan to use it for my domestic water. I digress...but I did get a 320 amp drop from the Power Company and looking forward to having more amps for my welders.

av8or1 wrote:Well Alan,
I took the plunge and ordered the PrimeWeld 225 this afternoon. Estimated to be here early next week. So we'll see. Ordered a stubby gas lens kit and a tig finger/glove bundle from Jody (well Garrett actually, but he was quite helpful as well) today also.

I'm pretty sure you won't be sorry, and you already know something about the company as you have the CUT60.

av8or1 wrote:Guess I'll begin working on the design for the TIG cart!

There 'ya go!

TraditionalToolworks wrote:Got my flange nuts in today. Not sure if I can get to it before the weekend, we'll see.

I'll look for the thread update. I should have a post regarding an update of the build of the plasma table tonight. I decided that I didn't want to wait on the plasma to arrive and so I began cutting the 16ga sheet with my electric shears last night. Hopefully I'll finish the cutting tonight and weld those panels into position. Depends on when I stop working for the day and what is taking place with the family dontchaknow. Might need to help with homework. Life stuff. I digress. TBD.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:I can subdivide my property, but it would be hard to get the neighbors to agree, IMO, most are jealous as you need 2 acres to subdivide to 1 acre parcels, and mine is just over. I wouldn't want someone right next to my house though, just not worth it.

Oh hell no and then some. And then some 'NO' cream and cherries on top. Then more 'NO' cream. Just NO. I feel crowded living on 2 acres. Can't imagine living on less. 'Spose I could if I must, but would rather not. Hell I am actively searching for a larger property. I would prefer 10+ acres where I cannot see any neighbor's anything. Difficult to find that, and so I am still searching some 2 years hence. It'll turn up, just gotta be patient. I digress. Again. But living behind a fence and a gate has its advantages. No neighbors knocking on the door asking "what are y'all doing?" and no delivery folk ringing the doorbell then running off. I built a large, brick-covered "mail center" to deal with those folk. That was my first "real" welding project since high school, IIRC. More digression.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:I'm pretty sure you won't be sorry, and you already know something about the company as you have the CUT60.

Well not yet I don't. It'll be here Friday as of the last check I made. That said, the general notion that I suspect you were referring to is indeed present, and that is that they seem to resolve customer issues and are available 7 days a week to handle that stuff. Customer service after the sale is ever-important, to me at least, and for that reason alone I began seriously considering PrimeWeld. Decided to forego the plans I had for a complete green box configuration for the inverse reason WRT customer support.

I should have plasma table related information to post tonight. Thanks!

av8or1 wrote:I would prefer 10+ acres where I cannot see any neighbor's anything.

You and me both. I will always want more land and less neighbors, just leave me alone and let me build $#!T.

av8or1 wrote:Well not yet I don't. It'll be here Friday as of the last check I made. That said, the general notion that I suspect you were referring to is indeed present, and that is that they seem to resolve customer issues and are available 7 days a week to handle that stuff. Customer service after the sale is ever-important, to me at least, and for that reason alone I began seriously considering PrimeWeld. Decided to forego the plans I had for a complete green box configuration for the inverse reason WRT customer support.

I have a green weenie I bought first. Wasn't bad for me, actually worked out pretty good, but I don't like the people or the company. I won't go into that, but I dealt with them in person, not over the web.

av8or1 wrote:I should have plasma table related information to post tonight. Thanks!

Keep us updated, I'm watching closely...the CUT60 is a potential purchase for me also. There's another guy, v5cvbb, on this forum. He bought a CUT60 recently also, and he has a Primeweld 225 as well.

Curious about your mail drop and how you designed it. I've pondered about that and what I would do after I build a gate. I don't want no stinkin' delivery trucks up my driveway.

av8or1 wrote:Decided to forego the plans I had for a complete green box configuration for the inverse reason WRT customer support.

I just got this reply to a comment I made on Alex Jordan's channel (AM Custom Fab).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpuXj1V ... m-comments

"TraditionalToolworks I still own an Everlast 250EX tig and a plasma 50.....and both do not work. I will get them fixed....but the 250 EX has been in twice already in 6 years. The Everlast welders are ok....but recent technology updates makes other machines not only cheaper but also more reliable. I am with you....no more Everlasts machines for me. I will use the ones I have till they no longer can repair them....but I will be getting a Primeweld 225X."

I don't know the guy, and certainly not making it up...he replied today to a comment I made 1 month ago.