How to Build a Circle and Straight Guide for a Plasma Cutter

This is a very easy and simple circle guide to make, with no moving parts and you'll get a perfect circle every time. Can also be used for a straight guide as well.
Amazon Affiliate
Cross Slide Vise Drill Press Metal Milling 2 Way X-Y amzn.to/2WrmOgh
Plasma Cutter Torch Circinus Roller Guide Wheel amzn.to/3eCGMdX
Welding Gloves amzn.to/3j7fznb
Lincoln All American Welding Helmet amzn.to/2WmnKCE
Electronic Dial Caliper Fractions/Inch/Metric Calipers amzn.to/2Ov0aiw
Number Stamp Set 0-9 amzn.to/3j7pHMT
Irwin Tools Combination Square, 12" amzn.to/3h7mOtQ
Automatic Center Hole Punch amzn.to/30f4NCT
Drill America 29 Piece Cobalt Drill Bit Set amzn.to/3h4NQ4V
Bench Vise amzn.to/2CEqOTs
Plasma Cutter amzn.to/2OudCmS
Donate to Help Support Channel www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
Facebook / martinbuilt-2351766611...

[@stevemackelprang8472]

I like it! thanks for showing a welcome addition to the shop

[@martinbuilt]

I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful thanks for watching.

[@testosteroneinc.3800]

Thank you for all of your videos!

[@martinbuilt]

Glad you like them!

[@mckrackin5324]

Nice looking tool and I'll probably build one but I've found that a piece of tie wire and a screw works too. Especially when there's a wall that keeps your guide from swinging around. Your tool will make much better circles when there is room though. Thanks for sharing.

[@laurensmith1828]

Great idea!

[@PRR5406]

Wonderful video by a machinist who knows what he's doing. Thanks! This is why I watch TH-cam.

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you. I appreciate that there's always something to learn from TH-cam, that's for sure that's my go-to as well. 👍

[@jamesdepaul3410]

Simple and very effective. Thx

[@averagejoegameplay7435]

That’s beautiful bud!!! Thanks for the video!!

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you. Glad you found it helpful.

[@LZDEN]

great idea Martin,works well...a great tool.

[@martinbuilt]

Glad you like it

[@mikesunderpressure1]

I still watch all your videos just still doing a good job thank you very much

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you Michael, I appreciate that.

[@alientrade]

What a fantastic video. I have designed and fabricated a few tools, so I know how much thought you had to put into this marvelous tool. Most people would not realize just what you had to do to make this,

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you, Barry. I really appreciate that. 😎

[@miguelcorrea3738]

excelente trabajo señor....

[@jimcushman5060]

Nice job! Easy to understand. Can’t wait to make one. Thanks!🇺🇸

[@martinbuilt]

I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful. Thank you for watching.

[@jimwhitaker8751]

GOOD JOB!

[@baconsledge]

Nice job!

[@joopm7718]

I had already thought the same thing, now I have seen the result and know that it works well. greetings from Holland

[@GoatOffroad]

Pretty impressive Martin! ❤️🐞

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you, Bug! 😃

[@kentuckytrapper780]

Excellent job man, keep'um coming

[@martinbuilt]

Thanks, will do!

[@dwighttravis5484]

Great job !!!!!!!!

[@martinbuilt]

thank you, Dwight

[@davestewart9146]

Great video Martin 👍😁

[@martinbuilt]

Thanks 👍

[@raynfallz]

Thanks from the great state of Texas !!

[@martinbuilt]

you are welcome, a friend of mine just moved from Nevada to Pleasanton Texas

[@crisis-cast]

very cool. thank you

[@martinbuilt]

I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for watching

[@fryscountrylifechannel4437]

Brilliant, thanks for sharing

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you, glad you like it

[@peternagy6656]

great video! liked the way you explained the story ;)

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you
I'm glad you found it helpful 👍 😊

[@carswithjonnymartinez8521]

Hey great job 👏! Very helpful

[@martinbuilt]

Glad it was helpful! 😀

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Very Nice circle and Straight Line Guide for a plasma Cuter

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you 😊

[@h82crash]

Nice job. Looks like it works well. 1/8 wall tube.

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you 😊

[@62ejo]

Thxs Martin nice video....

[@martinbuilt]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@tomsawyer247]

Thanks I'm going to make one.

[@martinbuilt]

Great, hope you like it.

[@marioserra4383]

very nice project, thanks for share, best regards from Venezuela

[@martinbuilt]

glad you liked it 😁

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Works well

[@martinbuilt]

Glad you like it.

[@marianpov1973]

Good Stuff! thx for sharing!

[@martinbuilt]

Thanks for watching!

[@karljay7473]

Great project, but I think I like the wheeled guide with a bar one better because you're above the plate and it rolls smoother.

[@sodster68]

Nice tool, thanks for the how-to! :-)

[@martinbuilt]

You're welcome!

[@prodanman]

Very Nice Project

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you

[@johnnycarrasquillo208]

Thank you.... I just built one!

[@manjitsinghkahlon2310]

Good work 👍

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you 😊

[@hstein431]

good idea

[@martinbuilt]

I'm glad you liked it 👍 😊

[@aj44ish]

Don’t care about the subject matter. Automatic like!! You’ve helped me on many projects for my 03 4.7 Ram. Alternators, power steering pump and now getting ready to tackle valve cover and oil pan gaskets. Parts are on the bench ready to go. Only saving grace is that the Ram has a lot more room to work under the hood and I won’t have to remove half the stuff you did on your Jeep. Thanks for all the videos. 👍👍

[@bjr2379]

Do you have magnesium valve covers? My 04 WJ does and I replaced the "o-ring" gaskets, but they still leak... I'm thinking I need original Mopar gaskets?

[@aj44ish]

123 XYZ They are and I’m replacing all the o-ring gaskets. 🤞🤞. They are FelPro gaskets. I’ve never ever had a problem with FelPro. The FelPro kit came with all the gaskets including the oil filler neck gasket and the oil pan gasket came with the O -ring gasket for the oil pump pick up tube. I’ll report back after if there are any issues with either of the gasket sets. 👍👍

[@sergiochavez4706]

Thanks

[@martinbuilt]

I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful.

[@adrianaaraujo8634]

NIce job!

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you I'm glad you liked it.

[@stanb5685]

Great idea I have a hyper therm, PowerMax 350 to and I am goin
G to make one this week. Thanks again

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful.

[@danhambrick6331]

Nice job Martin.I really need to get a plasma cutter.....

[@martinbuilt]

it is a must have tool, I've had this one now for over 20 years.

[@terrylarotonda784]

First of all, thank you. Watched your video and it made sense. I’ve seen many circle maker videos, but they just didn’t look all that well. I made one like yours with a modification to the thickness of the bar to meet my torch tip. I got to tell you it worked like a dream. Well It would have worked better if I wasn’t so excited to try it and for got to hook up the ground, oh well. When I did it worked flawlessly. So again thanks for sharing.

[@martinbuilt]

That's awesome glad it worked out for you and thank you 😊

[@merrickorion1954]

You all probably dont care at all but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an instagram account?
I somehow forgot my password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[@ericjesse3753]

@Merrick Orion Instablaster :)

[@merrickorion1954]

@Eric Jesse Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now.
I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@merrickorion1954]

@Eric Jesse it worked and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thanks so much you saved my ass :D

[@TheKajunkat]

If you have to make circles really close in size, you can offset your pivot holes a little to one side or the other. That way you can avoid blowing the holes into each other.

[@finallyitsed2191]

You could always notch the bottom of the bar so your rare earth magnet allows the bar to rest flat and form a great radius point on your workpiece. That's a nifty tool though. I'm making one.

[@zoozolplexOne]

cool !!

[@douglasbattjes3991]

Made a similar one and use a center punch to keep it centered on the pivot. You should put a nicker knob on the one end to rotate it, Great project, very cool.

[@martinbuilt]

Thanks for the info

[@scottwillis5434]

How does the center punch keep it centered, as a retractable tapered pivot?

[@dennisgray7509]

Very nice

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you, Dennis 😊

[@herkleslie4561]

veryyy niiiice

[@martinbuilt]

Thaannk yooou 😎

[@quincybirwood2629]

Hey Martin. You could fab up a speed square type jig that fits in the holes of your bar to make straight lines.

[@martinbuilt]

yeah that would work great

[@bujanah]

nice handy tool 👌..
was wondering when you are gonna do the gas tank lift ...
looking forward for it 🙂🙂

[@martinbuilt]

Working on it, just got the fuel tank reinstalled last night, now I waiting for some parts and pieces to finish it off, then I have to do all the editing. I'm going to try for August 1st, if not then the following Saturday.

[@73superglide62]

Sweet

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you

[@azentioced9]

good

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you

[@craigfiles7067]

If you thread the opposite end to the cutter you screw a sml bolt in it this acts as a handle it makes it easier to turn also if you thread every hole you can grind a point onto the end of a bolt & thread it into which hole you need the point will sit nicely in a hole punch mark this also helps with rotation & you dont need to drill a hole for a self tapper

[@peterthomas5792]

Nice. You could also use a slot (or 2 parallel bars) & slider to get infinite adjustability.

[@martinbuilt]

Yeah, that's a good idea. Thank you.

[@AerialLensVideo]

This is great -- THANKS! What was the project you mentioned needing the special diameter?
I happen to have the Hypertherm Powermax 350 too and it works well. I just wish someone offered a standoff nozzle for a little smoother handheld work, especially on slightly thicker plate where I can't really drag so close, so I just use a regular slip-on deal if it won't be in the way.

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful.. Here is the video that I needed this circle cutter for.
It worked perfectly for this project.
th-cam.com/video/mxHdgZn1zi4/w-d-xo.html

[@joshhunter4665]

How would you do this with a scratch start torch?

[@bjr2379]

Side gig: Martin's Custom Pizza Pans.

[@Patiboke]

8:52 Interesting how you see the cable rise because of heatwarping.

[@nblad1563]

thanks for vid just wondering should the tip of the plasma torch be even coming through the bar or protruding a little or should it be recesed a little

[@martinbuilt]

I had it flush to the bar at the bottom of the bar.

[@Herdedsheep]

Brilliant idea
What's that scribe pen called that you used to mark the sheet metal

[@scottjefferson6984]

He has links for all the tools up at the top of the comments section.

[@willy4571]

nice but to save a little time mark all #1's first then all 2's and so on.

[@GuyMassicotte]

Did the same thing but with a cheap metal ruler ;)

[@kurtvance1320]

Did you allow for the thickness of the plasma cut when making this bar? I was just curious. It's a good idea.

[@martinbuilt]

yes I did, after the cut the circle measures exactly 8, 9 or 10" what ever you set it up for. Thank you for watching.

[@kurtvance1320]

@@martinbuilt Ok cool I figured that you did but I didn't hear you mention it in the video. I probably just missed it.
Thanks Kurt

[@9ersfan396]

Hey Martin I have a 04 wj with the 4.0 liter. My low washer fluid light keeps beeping could it be a sensor?

[@martinbuilt]

yes the sensor, also check the connection or a wiring issue.

[@andrewwastien]

how can I cut smaller circles with a plasma cutter?
there is a piece of steel chromium that i want to cut and by drilling it dulls the bits and the problem is that I'm gonna have to cut those holes every time that part requires to be replaced on the machine about every 2 to 3 weeks

[@eCitizen1]

This is a good method as long as you don't mind a hole in the middle of your circle. ":) Of course, we usually do need a hole in the middle! Maybe a rotating table would be good with a stationary plasma cutter?

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you. i'm glad you liked it and found it helpful. There are other circle cutters that use a magnet for the center, which prevents the hole in the middle.

[@eCitizen1]

@@martinbuilt yes clever solution. I'm going to make a motor driven variable speed spinning table for welding, which could also work with my plasma cutter for cutting circles.

[@brucehildreth8155]

Just built one with magnetic base. No drilling holes in finished product.

[@hichamlynx4545]

👍⭐👍

[@musketbal]

What is the 31 5/8" hole next to the31" hole used for?

[@martinbuilt]

That was for the gas tank tuck that I did on my 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee th-cam.com/video/mxHdgZn1zi4/w-d-xo.html

[@tonyb2086]

Martin is going to make the spare tire hole in the back of his Grand go bye, bye!

[@martinbuilt]

could be!

[@mikesunderpressure1]

I'm looking to buy a plasma cutter about $500 I have to spend what do you recommend

[@martinbuilt]

I would recommend the LOTOS LT5000D 50A Air Inverter Plasma Cutter Dual Voltage 110/220VAC 1/2" amzn.to/2M7F38n
or the
YESWELDER CUT-55DS, 55 Amp High Frequency Non-Touch Pilot Arc Digital Plasma Cutter, DC Inverter 110/230V Dual Voltage amzn.to/3sh39gz

[@mikesunderpressure1]

Thank you very much Martin

[@martinbuilt]

@@mikesunderpressure1 you are very welcome

[@SheikYerbuty]

It might behave you to put a little handle on the end of that

[@martinbuilt]

Yeah that would help thank you for watching.

[@alessandromorenobardelli7401]

You are a great. your car is truly beautiful. I'd like to buy one like yours. You sell it to me. Can you find me another car? I'd like to buy it. Hello from Italy

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you, Alessandro, I appreciate that!

[@DumbCarGuy]

You could have just bought a thick 48" sheetrock square and then drilled it out. Your way is nice too.

[@guttasnipe4702]

One and a quarter inch Tooooobing

[@philleeson7835]

Great tool.but the video is to long with to much talking.
Anybody watching this vid will have an engineering understsnding,so will know what your doing.
A better presentation would be just the making of the tool shown in a fast manner.

[@rogertaylor8615]

I think he explained it for some of us that wanted details

[@killroy2993]

Martin built.. keep in mind. Most guys watching this will understand what your doing. Overexploitation isn't needed. It becomes implied task.
Good video otherwise

[@groundup7839]

dude, a lot of what you are saying is true, but one of the very first episodes, you say THE LORD’s HOzlY name in vain…
yes, we sin, i probably sin everyday, but there are two powerful points i want you to get,
1. when you, in particular, take THE LORD’s HOLY name in vain, it is different than when an average person that is not being seen by 100’s of thousands people say it, says it
2. of ALL the sins we commit, or omit, taking THE HOLY LORD’s PERFECT HOLY NAME in vain, should never enter our minds, much less leave our mouth, ESPECIALLY in a massively public forum like an actor in a popular show
…all this is being said in love, liked you in Smallville, love you in THE LORD

[@hipairbrush1053]

Great idea!

[@martinbuilt]

Thank you!

[@JoseFernandez-zt5xs]

Thanks

[@martinbuilt]

No problem 😉