Eastwood Versa Cut 60 HF Arc Gap Adjustment

[Blueacre]

I have had an Eastwood Versa-cut 60 plasma cutter for several years and was told that machines with the HF pilot arc will need point gap cleaning and gap adjustment at some point. There is no reference to point gap adjustment or cleaning in my operators manual. I contacted Eastwood and they sent me a copy of the service manual for this machine but there is nothing about gap adjustment in it either.

If anyone has info on servicing the HF points and the specs for the gap size for the Versa-cut 60 plasma cutter please let me know.

[acourtjester]

May I suggest looking at older Tig welding machines as they also have an air gap adjustment for their arc start for welding.
as seen here
https://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/ ... =5&t=12853
video on a welder

[adbuch]

Yes - my Miller Syncrowave 300 (purchased new about 38 years ago by me) does indeed have points to gap or clean. My manual tells how to do it. I have never had the need to make the adjustment, and the welder still operates perfectly. I upgraded to the Dynasty 350 about 5 years ago, but still use the Syrchrowave occasionally and it still works great.
David

[Blueacre]

Thanks for the replies, the contacts on welder in the video provided look pretty much identical to the ones on my plasma. The video shows cleaning them but as far as setting the gap says to refer to the manufacturer's specifications which I havent been able to find for my plasma. Seems to be working OK for now so I will measure the gap and if I have a problem in future see if the gap has increased. If it has reset it to what it is now.

[adbuch]

Thanks for the replies, the contacts on welder in the video provided look pretty much identical to the ones on my plasma. The video shows cleaning them but as far as setting the gap says to refer to the manufacturer's specifications which I havent been able to find for my plasma. Seems to be working OK for now so I will measure the gap and if I have a problem in future see if the gap has increased. If it has reset it to what it is now.

That sounds like a good plan. I hope it works out fine for you.
David

[olddude]

I have had an Eastwood Versa-cut 60 plasma cutter for several years and was told that machines with the HF pilot arc will need point gap cleaning and gap adjustment at some point. There is no reference to point gap adjustment or cleaning in my operators manual. I contacted Eastwood and they sent me a copy of the service manual for this machine but there is nothing about gap adjustment in it either.

If anyone has info on servicing the HF points and the specs for the gap size for the Versa-cut 60 plasma cutter please let me know.

You mean you actually got one of those machines and it lasted 5 years? I've had two of them, the first one lasted almost 2 years and that's only because I left it in the box for 14 months while I finished my shop. I had to make some brackets and cut couple pieces of 1/2" plate so I figured it would be a good time to try it out. I took it out of the box and set it up and I had a small piece of 3/4" flat bar already on my work table so I went over to see what it would do. Man.....that thing sliced through that 3/4" like it was butter so I cut my brackets and put it away. A month or two later I needed to cut a couple more pieces for a boiler I was building and got the thing out to make the cuts. After about 3 cuts that were about a foot long each the arc stopped. I got out the directions and in there it said to shut the machine and let it cool off and reset itself. After about 20 minutes I cut the machine back on and went to finish what I needed to cut and after about 5" of straight line cutting there was a pop from the machine and again the arc stopped. This time that little amber light that is on the front of the machine was lit and I never could get it to fire the torch again. I called Eastwood and they told me there was no repair that could be done and for me to send it back to them. The shipping was almost $60 and after a little over a month they sent me a new one. I took it to the shop and sit it on the shelf until I got the chance to try it out. I was in the finishing stages of finishing my shop and getting everything all set up and it was time to go to work in my metal fab and powder coat shop. The day came when I needed to cut some plate and I went for my Versa-cut 60 with high hopes this one would last awhile. I had about 10 brackets laid out on a piece of 1/4" plate and it went great for the first 6 then there was a wiz bang pop from the machine and again the arc stopped and that little light was glowing too. I called Eastwood and told them what had happened and the guy said there is no repair that can be done and to send it back. Then I started to tell him about this was the second time this had happened and he commenced to in a round about way that I didn't know what I was doing and I had to have done something wrong. He was about to give me a return ticket when he stopped short and said, wait this machine in now out of warranty and I needed to send $395.00 along with the machine to cover repair cost. I paid a little over $500 for the thing when I first bought it and couldn't see throwing that much more money into this prize so I told him to forget it.
I'm glad to hear somebody has had good luck with those machines because from what I heard most people didn't. I'll have to say though when it was cutting it did a great job......as good as any plasma cutter I ever used but just not for long. From what I heard from a whole lot of people there is no fixing or servicing to those machines you just use them until they quit and go out and buy another one.

[ftf automotive]

If you take the case cover off, then locate the two small, adjustable contacts (they look like old school points in a distributor) that are located near the front of the versa 60. If you are facing the front of the machine, they are on the bottom right side. Two silver 5.5 mm bolts hold them in place. Set them at .012 and try to arc the machine carefully with a single trigger pull while watching the points. If they arc, stop grab a scrap piece, ground it, and attempt cut. Rinse and repeat until the machine likes where you have set the gap. Mine liked .012. Any thing larger and the gap was too great and it would not consistently arc. Please note that this arc will absolutely burn up the contacts if you are not ready to cut when igniting them. So if you are pulsing, or not continually using, the contacts burn just a tiny bit each time.

[adbuch]

If you take the case cover off, then locate the two small, adjustable contacts (they look like old school points in a distributor) that are located near the front of the versa 60. If you are facing the front of the machine, they are on the bottom right side. Two silver 5.5 mm bolts hold them in place. Set them at .012 and try to arc the machine carefully with a single trigger pull while watching the points. If they arc, stop grab a scrap piece, ground it, and attempt cut. Rinse and repeat until the machine likes where you have set the gap. Mine liked .012. Any thing larger and the gap was too great and it would not consistently arc. Please note that this arc will absolutely burn up the contacts if you are not ready to cut when igniting them. So if you are pulsing, or not continually using, the contacts burn just a tiny bit each time.

Thanks for passing along that advise! This may be useful for owners of similar cutters.
David