Using a plasma cutter on a '67 Westfalia.

[Wild Brambles]

I've just been watching a few videos about plasma cutters. They are pretty cheap now, and I wondered if I might use one as an alternative to an angle grinder and a Dremel. One of the videos was by a guy who is restoring a '67 Westfalia, and the rust problem seems to be horrendous. Id it really worth all the work to restore it?

 

[mitzimad]

People dont restore old vehicles for profit unless they do it as a business for most the hobby is part of the fun

 

[Spriddler]

Quite so mitzimad
I've restored for fun many MGB cars, a couple of VW campers and several classic motorbikes but I already had the equipment and skills.
Cutting out the rotten sections is the easy bit .....once you've removed the adjacent pipes, carpet, cabinets and internal trims etc.
I've given up restoring cars as grovelling about on my knees and under vehicles getting rust in my eyes has lost its appeal.
If you don't have the kit or the skills to do a proper job and have to sub out the work to a specialist it's rarely an economic option.

 

[tonyidle]

I've just been watching a few videos about plasma cutters. They are pretty cheap now, and I wondered if I might use one as an alternative to an angle grinder and a Dremel. One of the videos was by a guy who is restoring a '67 Westfalia, and the rust problem seems to be horrendous. Id it really worth all the work to restore it?

It appears to be less than ideal for corroded / painted metal. The latest 1mm cutting discs cut like a knife with little heat produced and as a result last well. I think they'd be a better option.

 

[Wild Brambles]

It appears to be less than ideal for corroded / painted metal. The latest 1mm cutting discs cut like a knife with little heat produced and as a result last well. I think they'd be a better option.

I bought a Bosch dremel ( Bosch own dremel now), and that is great. It is battery powered as well,so that is even better for a power challenged off gridder like me.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tonyidle]

I bought a Bosch dremel ( Bosch own dremel now), and that is great. It is battery powered as well,so that is even better for a power challenged off gridder like me.

If the Dremel discs are the size I use you'll get through a few (hundred!). You can of course buy battery-powered angle grinders.

 

[rosalan]

A Bosch metal disc in a 4" angle grinder is what Ed China and other body workers seem to favour. They have plenty of alternatives available, so that is what I would choose.

 

[Jaws]

Plasma cutters are quite handy for SOME jobs, but nibblers and disks are just as good, easier to use, and about 1/10th the price !

 

[monzer]

Plasma cutters are quite handy for SOME jobs, but nibblers and disks are just as good, easier to use, and about 1/10th the price !

I love a nibbler.

 

[pappajohn]

I bought a Bosch dremel ( Bosch own dremel now), and that is great. It is battery powered as well,so that is even better for a power challenged off gridder like me.

Nah!..... There's no power in a Dremel, even a mains powered one.
They will cut steel but at the same speed as continental drift and the cutting discs may as well be made of glass.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jaws]

I love a nibbler.

I lent both of mine to someone doing a beetle..
Two weeks later the beetle was sold, and the bugger had shot off to Oz to live !
Never bothered to replace them as I rarely do tinwork nowadays, and I have a 'man round the corner' who can do it for me

 

[monzer]

I lent both of mine to someone doing a beetle..
Two weeks later the beetle was sold, and the bugger had shot off to Oz to live !
Never bothered to replace them as I rarely do tinwork nowadays, and I have a 'man round the corner' who can do it for me

We used a dewalt gun shaped one for straight cuts and makita traditional shaped one for cutting more fiddly shapes. The straight line one was a handy bit of kit it would make short work of trimming a 6m length of profiled sheeting. Real quiet to. Someone nabbed that also.

 

[Jaws]

We used a dewalt gun shaped one for straight cuts and makita traditional shaped one for cutting more fiddly shapes. The straight line one was a handy bit of kit it would make short work of trimming a 6m length of profiled sheeting. Real quiet to. Someone nabbed that also.

Gawd knows what mine were.. Had them since the late 70's..
One of em was a straight line one, with a little fin at the back to keep it straight.. The other was quite small and could do fairly intricate patterns if you were that was inclined

 

[GWAYGWAY]

My plasma cutter is OK but there again it does cut 3/4 inch steel for me, bodywork is a bit under the capacity also the inside of the vehicle would be showered with the sprayed cuttings, they will rust like hell if just left there. A proper cutoff wheel meant for bodywork is best runs off the shop air compressor.

 

[Gromett]

I used a cut off wheel and a oscillating multi tool. The former for big chunks and the latter was amazing for small or detailed work in hard to get places.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}