New guy...probably more questions than answers in Shawnee KS

[Tinny Worx]

Hello everyone,
2020 has been a rough year for all, and my wife and I have decided to try and expand our income with getting into plasma cutting. I do fear that my job while available now, probably doesn't have years ahead as this company continually seems to like to shut down sites in the US.

I'd really like to be able to sell some blacksmithing items, car stuff, and other little stuff but I guess I will see what the market bears in my area. In the end it will be about going where the money is located, but feeling good about it all right now.

I ordered a Langmuir Pro table and am now saving up for other pieces of it all to make it a complete working assembly. I plan to go with the Hypertherm xp45 and get a computer that can create dxf's, looking at a refurbished Dell from a local store. (Typing right now on an old mini laptop that I hope can run Crossfire and use this next to the table.)

Be fun to meet everyone and hopefully someday I can return some knowledge to the group.
Tim

[acourtjester]

Welcome aboard, good for you to be looking toward the future. There is money to be had doing as you seem to be looking at.
Finding what works where you are seems to be the biggest challenge. Once you get setup and start cutting things you will have things to show which can get your foot in the door. there are many places to buy a refurb PC, there are many to come back off lease from offices as they upgrade. I have found them on Overstocked.com, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com and others. Just be sure it has an operating system on it (most will have Win 10) most will come with wired mouse and keyboards. You can also get good prices on monitors at these locations. You don't need super fast or a very large HD, try to get one with SSD as they boot faster. You can use the search function in the upper right to look for DXF and SVG files, and many here to answer questions.
Great choice on the 45XP you may want to look at a dual torch setup so you have a hand torch for cutting sheets to make them easier to handle.

[adbuch]

Welcome aboard, good for you to be looking toward the future. There is money to be had doing as you seem to be looking at.
Finding what works where you are seems to be the biggest challenge. Once you get setup and start cutting things you will have things to show which can get your foot in the door. there are many places to buy a refurb PC, there are many to come back off lease from offices as they upgrade. I have found them on Overstocked.com, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com and others. Just be sure it has an operating system on it (most will have Win 10) most will come with wired mouse and keyboards. You can also get good prices on monitors at these locations. You don't need super fast or a very large HD, try to get one with SSD as they boot faster. You can use the search function in the upper right to look for DXF and SVG files, and many here to answer questions.
Great choice on the 45XP you may want to look at a dual torch setup so you have a hand torch for cutting sheets to make them easier to handle.

[TXTig]

Welcome to the forum. Probably the hardest part for me was finding out what people would buy at a price where you are not working for pennies. I tried some of the arts and craft stuff (maybe my designs sucked??) with little progress. I really wasn’t interested in drawing that stuff. Last year I made aircraft cutouts and offered them at local airports with some success. This year I’ve been making custom aircraft weathervanes that seem to be selling well although IMO the only way I’m going to make any $$$ with them is via an assembly line - like process as they need machined, welded, blasted and powder coated. In a way it seems to take all the fun out of in and makes it like work.