Just curious if any of you folks have much experience with these things? I
got to play with a Hobart (?) once in a shop class when the teacher brought
his in for a demonstration, and have seen the big ones in action over at a
Freightliner factory (just like buttah...). I always thought it would be cool
to have one around, but they were kinda pricey (to me, anyway).
When I was looking, it seemed that Thermadyne was a fairly prevalent brand,
and sold under a number of brands, such as Drag-gun, etc. I just saw an ad
last night, which featured the Firepower, by Thermadyne, brand (I thought
Victor made "Firepower" brand welding gear...). It's a pretty small unit;
110V, 20A, with built compressor (12A output, 30% duty cycle). Supposedly,
it's capable of 1/8" cuts. The thickest I've ever had to deal with was 1/4";
maybe a double-pass cut would be okay? Anyway, this one was $600, which is
about $300 less than anything similar I had seen. Have prices dropped that
much recently, or is this a good deal? Maybe I should hold out for something
beefier?
Your commehts appreciated!
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