drag cutting

I've got a PP50 on the way and have a question. Does drag cutting on thinner (<3/16") material shorten the life of consumables considerably?

thanks,
Ian

Yes, anything you do will shorten the life, the PP50 comes with a wire stand off to maintain a 1/8th clearance while cutting, so things like: did you fire up the pilot arc and then press it to the metal or did you press it to the metal and then press the trigger. There is a certain amount of splash back while cutting, if it goes up into the tip it can ruin a tip very fast, that's why a small amount of angle on a pierce is desirable to deflect the splashback away from tthe tip. A drag with a slight tilt forward or backward can get you by on thin materials <1/8 but a stand off is best and those little wire standoff's aren't cheap.

Thanks geezer, i just rcvd my pp50 last night, going to ck it out tomorrow, been welding hobby wise for a long time, but the plasma is new for me.
Any other suggestions are appreciated, never too old to learn.

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Originally Posted by bobkat

Thanks geezer, i just rcvd my pp50 last night, going to ck it out tomorrow, been welding hobby wise for a long time, but the plasma is new for me.
Any other suggestions are appreciated, never too old to learn.

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No problem, I would suggest you buy a large pack of tips rather than the small pack, no point in reordering or driving to get some when you need them, Tips can last a long time or a short time depends on who does the cutting,. If you want to cut arc's or circles you may want to drill a 13/32 hole in a piece of 1/2 inch plywood and stick the tip in, it will maintain the stand off dist and let you swing around once the plywood is secured at the radius point. works for me on my PP50.
a cheap way of making a circle cutter on the go.

For those that have a different torch than the S45 , you can cut a v notch in a piece of wood to act as a guide on you rcutter, I use that technique on my PP80 for circles and arc's, one thing keep it pressed in the V notch if it comes out so does the cut.

Nice tip. Thanks.

Ian

I would suggest getting a roller guide for it, especially when you get to the thicker stuff. I tried the wire standoff and it didn't work worth a hoot for me, of course most of what I was trying to cut was rather rough and rusty. I've pretty much settled into dragging on sheet metal and using the roller on anything thicker, seems to be working for me so far.

The V in the plywood is a great idea geezer, I've made more than a couple of uglies when the torch slipped.

I was told that the tips and electrodes at HF fit the PP50's torch, but they don't list the rings or cups. Do these need replacing less often than the other?

Ian