Need new plasma cutter....Eastwood??Hypertherm??

I am going to but a plasma cutter for my home shop. Auto type work only. Eastwood has their own brand for sale with free shipping, $640.00. A friend has a hypertherm that I have used. Equivelent stats but the hypertherm is more expensive. Does anyone have experience with the eastwood? Any comments good or bad would be appreciated. Gary

 

Miller??

 

have a thermal dynamics and miller at work, love miller, but in this case the thermal dynamics kicks the millers ass.......not sure why, very similar rated machines, but the thermal will peirce almost an inch, the miller, not even close......sorry, no info on the eastwood......but myself i would never buy a machine that doesn`t have a big name on it.........does china make it for them to have a price like that?

 

I think the Eastwood just came out COO is China, but most of Eastwood's stuff is prety good. I'd hold off for reviews from the pioneers on this one. Thermo Dynamics is a great machine, but for a hobbyist, a tough sell

 

east wood in my eyes is the new harbor frieght id stay away

 

i have a hypertherm powermax 1000, the big advantage is being able to walk into almost any welding supply and buy parts, also it never let me down and i use it alot, i have a hand torch and a machine torch, this setup might be over kill for some.

 

I bought a Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 38, made by the Hypertherm , from the Air Gas Company where get my welding supplies and welding gas from. They have an inventory on hand of all the supplies needed to keep the cutter up and running. If it breaks, so far so good, they'll come to my shop, pick it up ,service it and bring it back to my shop.....no hassles, just pay the bill at the end of the month........

 

i'd go one of the bigger names, so you can get consumables are your local welding supply store. I have a older Hypertherm and it's been good for me.

 

Ran a Miller for years and it finally had something go wrong with a board that was obsolete so it couldnt be repaired. Bought a new Hypertherm and it cut for about 2 feet before it quit. The dealer tried to talk us through it but I knew it had a serious problem. Something failed internally that was luckily replaced under warranty. Once we got through that it has worked great but we havent used it a lot by any means. Once you own one they are hard to live without!!!!

 

I have a Thermal Dynamics and would not trade it for any other. I can tell you the biggest POS was an ESAB. The key to a good plasma besides cutting is the life of the consumables. Some eat them like popcorn. I cant remember the last time I changed a tip or shield on the T.D. I run an extra water seperator because you cant have the air dry enuff.

 

have an ESLOB welder at work......not sure about there plasmas, but this welder has its days, more than not......and you can`t weld overhead with it.......no clue why, but won`t do it...........so.....wouldn`t buy anything from them again....

 

If I had the money and was looking for a plasma cutter , I would go with a good Miller hands down !
The ones at Eastwood are made in china along with their welders . They are suppose to be really good for the money but only for a home shop . If you are going to use one a lot , spend the $$$$$ and get a good Miller . If you need a new toy to play with now and then , the Eastwood will work fine or even a good used one off C/L . I see them all the time on there !
I would think how much I am going to really NEED one before I look at buying one . Yes they are really nice to have when cutting thick metal ! But unless you are going to use one a lot or if you have your own business building cars and such I wouldn't even consider buying one . Use your money for a tool you need and will use allot !
Just my opinion .

Retro Jim

 

I sure like my little Hypertherm. Buy good, buy once.

 

Exactly!!!-------Had mine for 10 yrs. & works lke new!!!

 

I beat the crap out of my hypertherm. i have went through 2 in 15 years. I blow through a miller welder every year. What can I say. I am hard on tools.

 

hypertherm get the big one you will never look back oohh and jim that stuff happens when you build an entire car in a weekend you da man!

 

I have a little Hypertherm and I love it. It will cut 3/8" no problem and 1/2" if you're patient, but I really never cut anything thicker than 3/8", so it's no concern to me. I use it almost daily. Consumables are found at any local welding shop. It's been a great little machine. I had an old Thermal Dynamics some years back, and it was way overkill for what I needed, but a good machine.

As with any expensive tool or product, spend a little more now, and save yourself from the troubles later.

 

I agree on the Hypertherm. Good product and consumables are available at my local welding outfit.

 

what size hypertherm are you using, i have a guy with a 380 that is willing to sell it pretty cheap, and from what i hear they will do pretty much anything i will run into working on my truck

 

^^^x2, half what Eastwood sells these days are the exact same tool sold by HF, shrinker-streckers are identical!.
I have a 20amp Solar plasma that I have had for 20 yrs and still kicking. It is made by Hypertherm, as is the one's sold by Snap-on, Mac and countless others. Look up replacement parts for one and look at all the machines the parts will fit. I just rebuilt the tip and cup on mind for 22 bucks and got spare parts to boot. Good machines....

 

I picked up a Thermal Dynamics 42 series back in dec, its a great little machine that'll blow through 1/4" like it was nothing. Its a really nice small package, very light and portable, can be used on 120v or 240 (rocks on 240, a little light on 120 but fine for sheet metal) and runs just fine off of a fairly small compressor at 90psi (same settings as most of my hand tools).

http://www.thermadyne.com/thermaldynamics/product-spotlight

 

Buy from someone you are going to get support from down the road.

 

i looked at the east wood catalog last night it does look good that and the tig welder

 

Thermal dynamics was the originator of the plasma cutter,

 

We bought this junk ass 3-in-1 China machine that was a plasma cutter & TIG & ARC welder for like $450 + free shipping off ebay. I figured, "Well, let's see how long this bad boy's gonna last..." Since buying it, we've cut up 2 enormous steel tanks at work. Like 10,000lb tanks. I guess I can't call it junk anymore...

Its a 50 amp unit and cuts good. The MAIN issue is that tips have to be ordered from the manufacturer since they aren't available locally.

 

I have had the opportunity to spend time inside Hypertherm up in New Hampshire. Happy employee owned company that is a team all pulling in the same direction. Nice to see an operation that doesn't treat their employees like animals these days!

-90% Jimmy

 

I had the same question and looked at every make, I did keep my mind open. After talking to everyone I knew and searching every metalworking site and getting to try out several brands, I finally pulled the trigger(pun) on a Miller 375. My buddy brought his hypertherm over and we ran them (dragrace, pun. HAHA ) anyway, the Miller ran great and cut clean and true. The Hypertherm cut fine also but it seemed to have a slight bit of jaggedness on the edges. Could be that the Miller was new and the Hypertherm was a couple years old. All I can say is that I am happy with mine.

 

I have the thermal dynamics 38, have had it since 04 and have had no problems. Cuts 1/4 easily, 3/8 with two passes.

 

I have a hypertherm, and I love it. No problems and works really well. I got the larger 45

 

Hypertherm....
Most other companies make other things, but Hypertherm only makes plasmas...and there customer service is second to none.
A freind has a sign shop...they use plasma cutters all day long and used to have Thermal Dynamics...they'd last @ year before a board inside would burn up and was cheaper to buy another unit.
They've since switched to Hypertherm after a couple of years of this....

But for a home hobbiest, any of the big names, ESAB, Miller, etc....will do ya right. Check your local welding shop to see what consumables they stock and what kinda deal they'll give ya. A good shop will bend over backwards to help ya.