The plasma cutter I swore was a gimmick actually paid for itself in under a month

Ngl, when my buddy Dave told me to ditch the angle grinder for a cheap plasma cutter on Amazon, I laughed at him. I figured there was no way a $300 machine could beat a $50 grinder for cutting out rusted exhaust pipes and brackets. But I gave in after I spent 4 hours fighting with a single rusty frame rail, sparks flying everywhere, and the cut came out wavy. Borrowed his plasma cutter for the next job, a Ford F-150 from 2008 with a rotted crossmember, and it took me maybe 20 minutes total with zero cleanup. Now I use it for everything from cutting off seized bolts to trimming down sheet metal, and I already saved about $400 in labor time on just three jobs. Still skeptical about those electric impact wrenches that claim 1000 ft-lbs though, anyone tried one on a stuck lug nut without air? That's the next thing I might be wrong about.

3 comments

3 Comments

robins831mo ago

The pattern I keep seeing is people sticking with the old way just because it's what they know. Grinders are cheap and familiar, but you pay for it in time and bad cuts. Same thing happens with impact wrenches. I was dead set against battery powered tools until my compressor died mid job. Borrowed a neighbor's Milwaukee high torque and it snapped off a rusted lug nut on a Chevy 2500 like it was nothing. Now I barely touch my air tools. The catch is you gotta buy the good battery stuff, not the bargain bin specials. But once you cross that line, you realize you've been making things harder on yourself for years.

ruby_jones1mo ago

Yeah I get that completely. My brother in law was the exact same way about corded drills, swore up and down they were the only ones with any real torque. Then I let him borrow my brushless Ryobi for a weekend project and he ended up buying his own set that same week. But you know what's funny @robins83, I still have this old air hammer that just refuses to die even though I hardly ever drag the compressor out anymore. It's not that the old tools are bad exactly, it's just that the gap between good battery stuff and the cheap stuff is way bigger than people realize until they try both. I think some folks just get burned on a no name cordless drill from a flea market and swear off the whole idea forever.

karen_sanchez491mo ago

You ever had one of those moments where you're holding a tool and you just gotta admit you were wrong about it for years? My old air hammer is the same way, still sitting in my toolbox even though I can't remember the last time I dragged the compressor out. I feel you on the Ryobi thing too, those brushless ones surprised the hell out of me when I tried one at a buddy's house. It's wild how a good battery tool just works quieter and smoother than you'd expect. But I also get why people get stuck in their ways, especially if they got burned on some cheap knockoff that died after one use.