Engraver scribe questions

[gamble]

Now that I have broken free from torchmate i can get other accessories without the crazy high prices. I stopped looking into them after torchmate told me theirs was $2500+. But now I have options.
Does everyone use a air scribe?
What kind does everyone recommend? And since I have never used one I guess my basic question is about getting it to zero. Does the scribe have to hang lower than the torch and lower the z until it touches? Or do some have a sensing feature like the plasma height control?

Pics of what you guys have done with it would help too. And how loud is it really? Louder than an air compressor or annoying loud where you need ear muffs on top of ear plugs ?

[motoguy]

Interested as well.

[tnbndr]

There's a forum dedicated to scribes!
http://plasmaspider.com/viewforum.php?f=100

[_Ogre]

And how loud is it really?

LOUD LIKE A JACKHAMMER ON SHEET METAL

look at some of the scribe builds in the scriber forum they all use an air slide to move the scribe down to the metal
all the scribe posts use the air slide up/down for every line segment
i'd like to see a post that lowers the air slide one time and uses z-axis up/down .25'' for each line segment

i originally set up an air scribe and now use an $17 electric scribe
the scribe has limited use as the marks are very light

[Brand X]

It's all about setup, and how you design your scribe.. It works as well as you design it.. Using stroke control of some sort keeps the air slide moments to the min.. Having to rely on down-force to get any kind of depth to your cutting line, it pretty much useless, and a pita..(IMO) You Need to have options on cutters, and bits. Floating head solves about all the problems I see with most setups. I can use a $15.00 HF die grinder, along with a good quality air marker to get about any type of line needed. Does not have to be noisy or tricky to get what you want in accuracy/quality..

Having a 2X2 table will pretty much make having the slide, and torch take up a lot of your room..

PS,
I found zero need to have my air scribe tied to my Z axis up and down movement. I can run my plate marker/vinyl cutter off of the same holder..Think simple, and ease of setup..