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Copper cutting/melting with Oxy/Acet
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Posted by boaterbill (My Page) on Wed, Aug 31, 05 at 10:57
| I have been trying to cut/melt figures out of 16oz. flashing using my oxy/acet welding torches. I also want to be able to lightly melt the edge of hand cut pieces. I have not had much success at this and have resorted to cutting pieces with aviation snips. I notice small pieces will melt quicker with lots of heat and larger pieces seem to disapate the heat fast. I have seen videos on websites where copper is easily cut with a torch. Can someone share with me the technique for successful oxy/gas cutting, melting and brazing copper. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Copper cutting/melting with Oxy/Acet
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| Copper cannot be cut with an O-A torch since it contains no iron. Iron in steel is oxidized very rapidly because of the reaction with Oxygen when it is heated to melt point, allowing cutting to occur. The method you may have seen was called plasma cutting. Equipment to do this is not cheap. One site I looked at had a setup priced around a thousand bucks. GG |
RE: Copper cutting/melting with Oxy/Acet
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| Harbor Freight carries a less expensive plasma cutting unit. I think it's normally about $800, but sometimes goes on sale for about $600 or less. It's probably not a real powerful unit but for sheet metal it may be fine for your purposes. It's easier than oxy/gas cutting but will still require some practice to get a smooth edge. |
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