Shop / Tools Eastwood Versa Cut Plasma Cutter

[Greg]

Many years ago I picked up a plasma cutter that was being advertised on Pirate 4x4, several members had bought them and seemed happy. It was a Chinese inverter p-cutter and I want to say it was $450. Fast forward several years and when I'd try to use it, the damn thing would shock me thru the torch! Needless to say, I let it sit. I finally pulled it out to use, possibly repair and now it won't even power up.

I've been needing another p-cutter for a few projects and had a pretty long conversation with @Hickey about the available options, prices, etc. A p-cutter isn't something I'm going to use all that often and I have a hard time dropping $1000+ on something that's probably overkill for my needs.

I ended up getting a Eastwood Versa Cut 40 at $550, with both 110/220 volt options. They say it's rated to cut up to 3/8" and I figured that was more than enough for my needs! They also offer a larger Versa Cut 60 that's rated to cut up to 7/8, for $700! The Eastwood machines are also made in China, but they have really good reviews and have been around for years.

Tonight I needed to cut some 1/2" plate steel and thought this would be a great test... when it's rated for less. I fired up the air compressor, plugged in the 220V plug and went to town cutting the 1/2" without any trouble! I'm happy, I think this is going to be a handy machine to have around!

 

[Herzog]

Are we the same person? I have probably the same chinese inverter plasma cutter that I bought because of a thread on Pirate too. It's actually the second one as the first one nearly blew up but they replaced it no-cost (over a decade ago?). IIRC, it was a vendor out of Arizona that was importing them and selling them.

I'm also looking at picking up something new as the last few times I used it I have not been happy with it and the plasma cutting tech seems to have gotten pretty good. I also want something I can eventually setup on a small plasma table when needed.

 

[Greg]

Are we the same person? I have probably the same chinese inverter plasma cutter that I bought because of a thread on Pirate too. It's actually the second one as the first one nearly blew up but they replaced it no-cost (over a decade ago?). IIRC, it was a vendor out of Arizona that was importing them and selling them.

I'm also looking at picking up something new as the last few times I used it I have not been happy with it and the plasma cutting tech seems to have gotten pretty good. I also want something I can eventually setup on a small plasma table when needed.

Yep, same guy I bought mine from! I can't remember the name of the company, if I cared I'd go look at my old, broken p-cutter. I have seen a very similar model on Amazon, I think they were called a Cut 40? I actually reached out to him several years ago about it shocking me, hoping he'd just warranty the unit.... but no, he wanted me to ship it to him. It didn't seem worth the cost at the time.

This Eastwood unit feels like it's much higher quality than that POS, it's a night & day difference. I also want a plasma table, it would be a great tool to have!

 

[I Lean]

You are talking about the Parker plaz cutter, right? I got one too, around the same time.

It was replaced with my current Hypertherm. (which is when I realized how much better a good machine is!)

 

[Greg]

You are talking about the Parker plaz cutter, right? I got one too, around the same time.

It was replaced with my current Hypertherm. (which is when I realized how much better a good machine is!)

Yes, the Parker! What a pile of s**t!

Products

 

[Gravy]

I have an Everlast I got off Pirate as a tester for half off. Called a CUT50 Looked a bit like that parker unit. Not that great as it didn't have pilot Arc and went through consumables too quickly for my taste. It was stolen before it broke. LoL

I can't say I've had good luck with Eastwood weld products -I had their Tig and it was underwhelming and parts were VERY VERY difficult to get hold of.

I hope their plasma cutter is better. Tech has come a long way in the last few years.
That cut quality on 1/2 is impressive. I've mostly been using a torch lately lol

 

[jeeper]

I’ve got one of those eBay cut 40 machines that I paid a couple hundred for. I have used it to cut 1/2 stuff as well.. but on 110v.
Needless to say, it blows the breaker every 10 seconds or so.. but I just have a kid ready to flip it back on 🤣🤦🏼‍♂️
Someday I’ll actually make it 220.
I haven’t had any issues with mine. One of the air hoses is cracked and leaks a little prior to going in the regulator, but with the little use it sees, I haven’t taken the time to fix it.

 

[Gravy]

Torch and lead both had to be replaced. It leaked shielding gas constantly- pretty sure the hoses were made of the cheapest rubber in creation. Airgas replaced a solenoid for me at great expense since Eastwood refused to work on it.
Rheostat started acting up too. It would jump 5-10 amps inconsistently as the knob was turned.
The torch quit about 2 weeks after I sold it and I felt so bad- I bought the guy a brand new one from Harbor freight and gave it to him for free for him to adapt over.

Eastwood makes some really cool manual tools and would have no issue using and buying lots of them. Maybe I got a lemon 🤷

 

[Gravy]

@jeeper

 

[Gravy]

Has nothing to do with you. I knew what I was getting into and it was a good starter machine. I knew who owned that machine before you and built that stand LoL.

Sorry for the hijack @Greg
I'm excited to see how yours works. I assume it has pilot Arc?

 

[crosbike]

I hope that it lasts longer than my versa cut 60 lasted me. Mine wouldn't cut worth a crap out of the box, so i requested a refund and got that minus my $50+ shipping cost and had to argue via email for a few weeks before i got that refunded as well.
I went and got a hypertherm 45xp and love it. Plasma cutters are a great tool and i hope i just had a lemon as well.

 

[Greg]

I hope that it lasts longer than my versa cut 60 lasted me. Mine wouldn't cut worth a crap out of the box, so i requested a refund and got that minus my $50+ shipping cost and had to argue via email for a few weeks before i got that refunded as well.
I went and got a hypertherm 45xp and love it. Plasma cutters are a great tool and i hope i just had a lemon as well.

That sucks to hear, sounds like you got a bad machine right out of the box. With mine cutting 1/2" with no issue, I'm hoping I'm good to go.

I usually buy based on reviews and this one has 4.5 stars from 171 people at this point. If it's a POS, I'll be sure to mention it here.

 

[crosbike]

Ya i don't know what the deal was. I was super disappointed and pissed i had to argue to get the shipping refunded for an out of the box failure. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and some of their stuff looks cool but i cant bring myself to buy any of it.

 

[Greg]

Out with the old! 😬🙄