On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 22:44:40 -0400, Skip Albright <salbrigh@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
>
> I find my self needing to cut up cars, maybe one a month.
>
> Sawzall and circular saw with metal cutting blades work, but are expensive
> to use, and ugly , noisy work.
>
> whats the next step up?
>
> cutting torch? what specs do I want?
> can I use the same torch for general work?
You can use a torch for anything. It's a poor choice for most
personal hygiene tasks, though. The nifty thing about torches is that
they're expandable. Even a fairly modest torch is capable of cutting
really thick stuff if you put the right tip on it and attach it to a
big acetylene tank. Conversely, put a small enough tip on it, and use
some skill, and you can cut 20 ga or thinner sheet, neatly.
As for as specs, what you want are the largest tanks you can afford
and can deal with -- they last longer, and cost less to use. (I've
got 80 cubic feet tanks. They're about 3' tall. They cost about 2/3
what it costs to fill a 220ish Cu ft (the biggest standard size.)
cylinder.) You also want a longer hose than what most kits come with.
Most kits come with 20 or 25 feet, which sounds like a lot, until you
have to walk around a car. (If you have the need for occasional
portability, you can later on get a set of small tanks, and use the
same torch, hoses and regulators on them.)
As for what torch, buy one of the big brands (Smith, Victor, Harris
calorific, a couple others) and you'll have equipment you can use the
rest of your life. (And someone will use longer.) The three brands
I've mentioned will have tips, service parts, and accessories
available at any decent welding store in the US. I've ended up with
Harris stuff because a) it's what the good local welding shop pushes
and b) I've a friend with the same stuff. (For whom, see reason a,
I'm sure.) Those seemed good enough reasons at the time, given there
weren't huge differences in price, capability, or availability of
expansion equipment. The cheap imported crap sold by Harbor freight
and the like is just that. Cheap crap. It'll work out of the box,
probably. It won't be working in three years if you use it.
The typical torch kit consists of a pair of regulators, flash
arrestors, hose, a torch body, a cutting adaptor, a couple of tips
for both the torch and the cutting adaptor, a spark lighter, and a
pair of googles. That, and some tanks, (and gloves and some other
safety kit) are really all you need to cut up cars into smaller
pieces. I presume you don't really need precision (as sawz alls
aren't very precise!). If that's the case, you'll want a bigger
selection of cutting tips, as while you can cut with a tip that's too
big, you can't cut neatly.
--
David Scheidt
dmscheidt@gmail.com
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