Just simple brackets, but it gets me pretty excited!

[sincityairfx]

Need a bracket? Cut a bracket!

Just love finally having a plasma table in the shop, and I am starting to get faster at it.

This would have taken me much longer and looked homemade doing it the old way. So pumped!

[TJS]

Yes. You will find a lot of projects you do weather it be a paying customer or for yourself, you incorporate CNC plasma cutting into it. I just made some patch panels for my rotting above ground pool and also cut out a skimmer plate out of stainless as the bottom row of screws in the wall were rotted.
It is so far holding water.

[sincityairfx]

Yes. You will find a lot of projects you do weather it be a paying customer or for yourself, you incorporate CNC plasma cutting into it. I just made some patch panels for my rotting above ground pool and also cut out a skimmer plate out of stainless as the bottom row of screws in the wall were rotted.
It is so far holding water.

It's true, you really have no idea all the cool things you can use it for until you have one!!

[adbuch]

Need a bracket? Cut a bracket!

Just love finally having a plasma table in the shop, and I am starting to get faster at it.

This would have taken me much longer and looked homemade doing it the old way. So pumped!

Nice video demo showing a great looking finished bracket. I will often use a da sander with #80 to give a nice finish to bare metal parts.
David

[Dirtmotor]

I agree ! Having a table In the shop opens a whole new dimension of posibilities .

[adbuch]

That's exactly the reason I originally bought my cnc plasma table was to cut brackets. Very handy, and much quicker than my old way using a band saw, drills, grinders, etc. And lots of fun as well!!

David

[djreiswig]

Yes. You will find a lot of projects you do weather it be a paying customer or for yourself, you incorporate CNC plasma cutting into it. I just made some patch panels for my rotting above ground pool and also cut out a skimmer plate out of stainless as the bottom row of screws in the wall were rotted.
It is so far holding water.

It's true, you really have no idea all the cool things you can use it for until you have one!!

And things don't have to be square or have 90 degree angles. It's easier to cut things with curves and fillet corners with a table than by hand. Slotted holes are lots easier and look better than when I did them by hand.

[acourtjester]

I have said this before, allow your mind to wonder weather it for your business or building a new tool for the shop or a monogram for a friend. Answer is draw it up and load the metal on the table and go for it. As a hobbyist on steroids I cannot tell you how many projects my table has helped to complete. Belt grinders. CNC table parts, wall hanger, plaques, for money and pleasure. Plasma cutting, wood routing, metal scribing, it you have one use it.

[Mtw fdu]

Ditto!!! to all the above.

Work smarter...not harder

Mtw fdu.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

The ability to make a curved slot like in a alternator bracket is amazing!

[adbuch]

The ability to make a curved slot like in a alternator bracket is amazing!

In the old days, I'd use my old Burke Millrite with a rotary and mill a curved slot. Not any more.
David

[SegoMan DeSigns]

The ability to make a curved slot like in a alternator bracket is amazing!

In the old days, I'd use my old Burke Millrite with a rotary and mill a curved slot. Not any more.
David

20240720_053622_resized.jpg

The ol' synchronized hand movement on the milling table trick / been there done that myself.

From the plaz table to the press brake in less than 20ft will only be outdone by adding a powder coating set up to the equation.

[adbuch]

The ability to make a curved slot like in a alternator bracket is amazing!

In the old days, I'd use my old Burke Millrite with a rotary and mill a curved slot. Not any more.
David

20240720_053622_resized.jpg

The ol' synchronized hand movement on the milling table trick / been there done that myself.

From the plaz table to the press brake in less than 20ft will only be outdone by adding a powder coating set up to the equation.

Steve - I thought you had a powder coating setup.

David

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Steve - I thought you had a powder coating setup.

David

David,

Not at this point, I have a solar powered paint curing box out back, It faces south and is painted black. I get 160* out of it on a 90* day which helps paint dry faster. I bought an aluminum 2'x'2'x5' smoker at auction I will convert it into a small oven then I want to do an oven big enough to handle 6x12 projects from the table.

[adbuch]

Steve - I thought you had a powder coating setup.

David

David,

Not at this point, I have a solar powered paint curing box out back, It faces south and is painted black. I get 160* out of it on a 90* day which helps paint dry faster. I bought an aluminum 2'x'2'x5' smoker at auction I will convert it into a small oven then I want to do an oven big enough to handle 6x12 projects from the table.

Steve - I guess I had always assumed that your colorful table and equipment with all the different colors was powder coated. I personally don't own a powder coat oven, and absolutely nothing wrong with conventional painting. In any case, all of your stuff looks great to me.

David

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Steve - I thought you had a powder coating setup.

David

David,

Not at this point, I have a solar powered paint curing box out back, It faces south and is painted black. I get 160* out of it on a 90* day which helps paint dry faster. I bought an aluminum 2'x'2'x5' smoker at auction I will convert it into a small oven then I want to do an oven big enough to handle 6x12 projects from the table.

Steve - I guess I had always assumed that your colorful table and equipment with all the different colors was powder coated. I personally don't own a powder coat oven, and absolutely nothing wrong with conventional painting. In any case, all of your stuff looks great to me.

David

David,

Thanks for the compliment!

Like everything else conventional painting supplies have gone through the roof, a gall of Rusto paint is $65 - $70 / gal. Thinner $20 / gal. To that you have to prime allow dry time / sand / paint / allow to dry before putting part into service . On a must have job I will put the Mr heater in front of the painting box and force cure the parts at 300* for an hr, this rapidly accelerates it but is time consummating and the parts still stick together after assembly.

Powder-coating is a quicker longer lasting solution (probably cheaper when you figure in all of the variables). I have a smaller blast cabinet and a 100 lb pot sand blast pot, I just need to get the ovens built. The never ending to do list.

Steve

[Dirtmotor]

I jumped in to powder coating a year or two ago and like the plasma table it has opened up a ton of new posibilities .
I did the rattle can thing for a long time and do not miss it at all , I still use my stretched and opened up double oven ,its small footprint works in my shop . I dont want to give up the space for a big oven .

[adbuch]

Most of the parts I have painted previously are with spray gun using catalyzed acrylic enamel or urethanes. Many small parts using detail gun. I come from a classic automotive restoration background (and some hot rods). I have used commercial powder coaters in the past for some of the larger parts. I did experiment with a HF powder coat gun about 20 years ago (still have the gun) and was using an oven designed for curing epoxy, so it was really slow to heat up. It did give a nice finish on the 2 alternator brackets I experimented with. Most of my other "metal art" stuff has been spray can. I was thinking about buying or building a power coat oven a few years ago- mainly to do some Norton motorcycle frame - but never followed thru and the shop is also pretty full at this point. But I can see how it is a nice fast solution for getting parts out the door in short order.

Robert has mentioned some home built ovens that he uses in his business for commercial use. For the kind of work he does - it makes sense. I am more of a "hobby guy" when it comes to cnc plasma cut parts. Tom has shown some very nice parts he has made and coated with his diy oven - the results always look great. So lots of different ways to go here.

David

[acourtjester]

With Powder coating the same thing comes into play, shop space. Constructing an oven is not that complicated or expensive. I used 50 Gal drums for the inside shape and size covered with normal fiberglass insulation. The heating elements are from a stove and the electronics are from eBay. Plugged into a 220 Volt outlet in the shop where I plug in my welders. Mine is on wheels for storage but a larger one will require floor space, this is the problem for many. Also is the area for the application of the powder on the parts there can be overspray to deal with. I have used catalyzed acrylic enamel on the tables I build and that is a good alternative to powder coating.

[kicktillmonday]

Great little video. No doubt my table is the most useful piece of equipment that's ever been in my shop. Cool looking setup by the way