“Poor Man’s” Plasma Cutting Table
The cost of an expensive plasma table prompted Michael Merrigan of Hampton, Nova Scotia, to build his own out of a bathtub and some old bandsaw blades. The bathtub is screwed onto a 4-legged wooden stand with wheels at one end so he can easily move it around.
“I built it for almost nothing. Commercial plasma tables sell for $500 or more,” says Merrigan. “Those tables come with a slotted angle iron frame and have expandable 1/8-in. by 1-in. flat bar pieces spaced 2 in. apart that serve as the work surface. I added the tub, an idea that’s used on CNC plasma tables, as a spark catcher.”
He started with a 5-ft. long, 32-in. wide tub. He cut up a 1-in. angle iron bed frame and welded it together at the corners to make a frame, which friction fits to the top of the bathtub. He used a 14-in. abrasive chopsaw to cut a series of 3/16-in. wide, 1/2-in. deep slots into the frame, spacing them 2 in. apart. Then he cut up an old bandsaw blade into 18-in. lengths and inserted them - cutting edges down, into the slots to form the table’s working surface.
“It works as good as I hoped it would,” says Merrigan. “The stand sets on 4 by 4 wood legs and places the bathtub at a comfortable 32-in. working height. Water in the tub catches the sparks from my cutting torch so I don’t have to worry about anything catching on fire.
“I already had all the materials, so my only cost was a couple hours of my time. The blades came off my bandsaw mill.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michael Merrigan, 8140 Shore Rd. West, Hampton, Nova Scotia Canada B0S 1L0 (ph 902 665-2098; raspberry@eastlink.ca).
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“Poor Man’s” Plasma Cutting Table FARM SHOP Welders/Torches 64 The cost of an expensive plasma table prompted Michael Merrigan of Hampton Nova Scotia to build his own out of a bathtub and some old bandsaw blades The bathtub is screwed onto a 4-legged wooden stand with wheels at one end so he can easily move it around “I built it for almost nothing Commercial plasma tables sell for $500 or more ” says Merrigan “Those tables come with a slotted angle iron frame and have expandable 1/8-in by 1-in flat bar pieces spaced 2 in apart that serve as the work surface I added the tub an idea that’s used on CNC plasma tables as a spark catcher ” He started with a 5-ft long 32-in wide tub He cut up a 1-in angle iron bed frame and welded it together at the corners to make a frame which friction fits to the top of the bathtub He used a 14-in abrasive chopsaw to cut a series of 3/16-in wide 1/2-in deep slots into the frame spacing them 2 in apart Then he cut up an old bandsaw blade into 18-in lengths and inserted them - cutting edges down into the slots to form the table’s working surface “It works as good as I hoped it would ” says Merrigan “The stand sets on 4 by 4 wood legs and places the bathtub at a comfortable 32-in working height Water in the tub catches the sparks from my cutting torch so I don’t have to worry about anything catching on fire “I already had all the materials so my only cost was a couple hours of my time The blades came off my bandsaw mill ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael Merrigan 8140 Shore Rd West Hampton Nova Scotia Canada B0S 1L0 ph 902 665-2098; raspberry@eastlink ca
