lol i heard that saying for the first time last night my buddy grabbed a drop right as it tipped up , " dont take me long to look at a piece of metal" lmao , i had gloves on when i first initiated arc with it in my hand still burnt myself , wont do that again …
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Thanks ds690!
Inspecting the torch, the tip was worn despite very little use. I guess I’ve just learnt that incorrect set up can quickly destroy a tip. Disappointingly, when I dismantled the tip, the electrode was several turns loose , so the factory did not tighten it. Replacing electrode and nozzle and now it works much better. Thanks for the help!
Is there a difference in quality between consumables from primeweld vs people selling on here?
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Primeweld probably sells good stuff, but I’ve never used it. When I was using the PTM 60 torch, I got my consumables from Everlast or from @mechanic416
I’ve since moved away from that style of torch to the Hypertherm style torch. Primeweld has a machine torch that uses Hypertherm consumables. I’d run the current torch until the electrode inevitably gets stuck in the torch and snaps off when you try to remove it.
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Speaking of the “physics/nature of plasma cutters”, lots of things can happen even when everything is set right. Just to name a few:
- Piercing without lead-ins (which sometimes is required) will wear the consumables more quickly
- Sometimes you will get a defective electrode and/or have some irregularity. Not too common with the OEM consumables but the quality control is suspect with knock-offs. I bought a knock off nozzle for my Hypertherm thinking I would save money. It worked great for about 40 seconds and then it was spent. That pack of 10 nozzles for $20 cost me $20 for one nozzle because I trashed the rest.
- Thicker metal will invariably wear consumables more quickly just because of the increased pierce time and longer sustained cutting.
A good practice is to check the consumables regularly (before cutting each day, after a longer cut and certainly when you notice a change of cut quality).
After cutting a bunch of aluminum, I thought I was done for the day. I had everything put away and it was 2 hours before a party where we were celebrating with a young man who was retiring from the Marines. For the 8 years he had quite an impressive involvement from being on the President’s detail at the White House and operating with Special Forces in Iraq and parts never discussed.
Well anyway, my wife decides “Hey Jim, can’t you make up a plaque for Ryan.” I said “What?! You mean out of metal?!? We have to leave here in 2 hours.” In her sweetest voice ever “Yes. You are so creative and I know he would appreciate it.” Well I can’t disappoint my wife…can I??? Well the answer is: “Frequently she is disappointed” but today is not going to be that day.
Well back to the torch, metal and aluminum. I was have intermittent good cuts and then times when the torch was barely cutting thru the metal. You could hear the difference but I just did not understand what to do. Besides, we are now 30 minutes from leaving for the party. The next day, when I took the torch apart, there were flecks of aluminum that were dancing around between the electrode and the nozzle. Removed them and back to good cuts.
I am sure I could have told that story more quickly…well, it just is not in my nature, I guess. 
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I dont understand how this would make a difference.
I don’t see a difference between lead in and no lead in.
Please explain
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I agree, Knick. I believe. Now, this is just me that the majority of consumable wear is.
- Cut height issues. Example: If you see sparks flying from the top of the plate
Your cut height is wrong. - Using the wrong amp tips. Example: 30 amp tip and, oh, I’m going to crank this up to 45 amps for this cut.
- Moisture.
- Blowback from the wrong Pierce delay.
- Not connecting the work clamp to the dam metal you are cutting.
- Changing the tip and not the electrode also.
And I’m sorry, but this, I got 500 pierces, is plain nuts. If you load up a 100-dollar piece of metal and start cutting it with a tip with 500 pierces, you deserve whatever you get.
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My understanding, which could be wrong, is that cutting without lead-ins cause more blowback on the consumables.
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A pierce is a pierce with or with out lead in. The issue is if the torch height is way to high, the feed rate is to fast, the amps are to low to pierce the metal causing blow back. air pressure is not height enough to power the arc though the metal and or worn consumables. Are the most common problems with consumable wear with a pierce.
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The benefits of lead ins is to not have pierce holes in the finished product and to give the plasma flame time to make the cuts straight.
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This is what I was thinking. To me a lead in is nothing more than the beginning of a straight cut, just not straight.
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I will concede the point.
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Dog biscuit for you. 
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