Plasma cutter from LIDL

[cropwell]

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/diy/parkside-plasma-cutter/p29579

30A - £80. This is half the price of equivalent other makes. Any comments ?

[Clive S]

Rob
It depends a bit (or a lot) on what you want to use it for. Are you just wanting this to hand cut or to put it on a cnc. There are different types of the arc starting like scratch start, pilot arc and blow back types.

Here is a bit of reading http://linuxcnc.org/docs/devel/html/plasma/plasma-cnc-primer.html I know this is linuxcnc stuff but it can be done just with a PP.

I built one at the end of last year. https://photos.app.goo.gl/J8c1sCMjmuRzkhoJ7

[Lee Roberts]

I've got the stick welder they do from time to time under the Parkside brand, when I looked it it up they are made by a company and then re branded/sold off under a few different names...

The welder is rubbish, it was my first go at stick but I've done lots of Mig on cars back in my younger days, I've watched many videos so had a good idea and could get a bead down but I could only get through a 2mm stick before it would duty cycle out on me, I gave up using it after 4-5 sticks and haven't touched it since.

Dunno what the Plasma would be like :indecisiveness:

[cropwell]

Actually, I don't want one. I was just bringing attention to it, in case it was any good. For £80 it ought to be some use for thin sheet. I have got nibblers and metal cutting saws for what little I do. A big spark generator would be a fire hazard in my untidy workshop.

I have a number of Parkside battery hand tools and they seem fair value for money, but I wouldn't want to rely on them for making a living.