Lets Talk About Welders
 

I have not done any welding in 30 years. I did pick up this old one, so I could get back into to. Thought you welders might like to see an old unit.

It's an old Sears Stick welder I bought from a friend last year. His Dad was a pro welder and he thinks his dad got this unit new from Sears in 1945 + or - .

The copper windings are like new, and big. Says dad took good care of his tools. Works, now if I could only remember what the hell I am doing......:rolleyes:

https://i171.photobucket.com/albums/...optools023.jpg

https://i171.photobucket.com/albums/...optools020.jpg

Whatcha' gonna' weld JR?

The old Sears are good, mainly cuz they had the heavy copper windings in their trasformer that you looked at. Miller and Lincoln are good too, though too pricey for my use which is not often.

I've got a Century buzz box (arc welder like yours) and small wire welder. They're decent quality, don't break the bank, and have lasted me for >15 years. BUt, to make the price lower they use aluminum wire windings which cuts down their duty cycle, and mine is A/C only. A combo DC welder would have sure helped sometimes.

Between the two of them I weld from touchy thin guage car bodies up to 1/2" steel I-beams.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97...ry_ArcWire.jpg

(I'll covert this image to url tags after a while)

Hi Rex

At the time I bought it, was going to weld a plate under the motorhome, that broke loose. It's on the back side of the propane tank, a shield for the tank??? Have yet to get it done. :) Had all new wire leads and input power cable (240v) installed......But I should have went a tad longer.:-fire I will try when the wx get better. I'll have stretch everything out side to get under the motor home..And do a few hours of practice, it's been a lot years for me & welding.

This unit is AC only and yes it's heavy copper windings in the trasformer. The big ones are bigger than my thumb, bright copper, looks good on the inside. Duty cycle should be real good, I would think.

What I think is cool about it, is it's age. I'll be 56 this month, it's about 62 and works better than me. :-X14

The Old ones are the Best ones 8D ....As big as your thumb really? That sounds like 2/0 or 4/0 copper :shock: That'd be most excellent!

If ya' don't remember to, be sure to use fresh or baked rods, I've wasted more time than care to remember trying to get a good bead with old rods.

You're gonna' have a ball, not a fireball. I know, "older 'n wiser", but remember there might be gas in the lines too.

I've got more durn steel plate here than is being put to use... 1/4" and 1/2" x 7" wide medium steel, if you could use a piece and want to pay postage :)

And old excessed aluminum highway signs for bigger pieces...they are the strongest, stiffest 1/8" aluminum i've seen, xclnt quality. Could bolt in...

We used a couple old road signs to build a Steering Helm in one of my skiffs. That is some tough stuff.

What would you guys recommend for someone who has never welded but wants to learn? Is there like beginner models or something?

A small Wire welder (MiG) like mine for an excellent general-purpose machine to weld from light gauge up to 3/16" mild steel (most of the steel you'll use). Adjustable up to ~125 Amps.

It works fine without the argon or less-expensive CO2 gas, it's just that the bead isn't quite as "clean", and gasless is usually how i use it.

It'll take different wire reels for either steel, stainless, or tricky aluminum. It's clean without a lot of spatter, i sometimes weld in cutoffs and shower shoes. And helmet/goggles o'course.

This one can run off a 15A house wall socket.

Here's a sample, you can prolly find a better price looking around:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...24&R=200127024

There are welders' video tutorials, books, or better yet a local tech school that sometimes high-schools offer too.

Y'all Welders jump on in with suggestions too :)

Do ya think its something I can teach myself well or do I need an experienced welder to help? I was thinking about small jobs around the property, nothing big like buildings.

EDIT= Ok, I read to fast. Maybe a video would work best for me.
I can't go back to a tech school. I have school I already go to in Comp. Science and that would drive me crazy going to do both of those things.

For Video or CD try Wall Mountain Company, Inc.

http://www.weldingvideos.com/

I bought all of there CD's, they a good...:-X22

Ok, I will try those. My wife just brought up "flashdance" where the girl was a welder. LOL. Women...

I wouldn't skimp too much on a welder, since you really get what you pay for on the new stuff.
Maybe an older Hobart Handler 135 (I think that's the 110v model), or something similar. I have an old Snap-On YA217 mig machine, and it's great. I picked it up for $100 about five years ago, rigged together a spool holder, and been using it since.
For stick and tig, I have a Miller Dynasty 200 DX. Awesome rig, AC/DC, stick, pulsed stick for thin stuff, tig, standard and reverse polarity, all electronic. I got it for a bit less than the list price cause it was used, but they are pricey rigs. The nice thing is it runs on anything I can plug it into from 110v single phase to 575v three phase. Automatically re-links the power supply to get what it needs.

I was able to find a nice little wire feed that runs off of 110 will take argon or use the gasless wire (that's what is in it now) for $150 at an auction. Have seen similar welders that sell for $300+. Now I just have to find the time to use it. I also have a really old stick welder out back that was given to me. I don't know if it works cause it doesn't have all the leads. I'm thinking when I get some more room in my shop I'll bring it in an see if I can find some stuff to get it set up.:)

Well, Im getting one when the next check gets here. I dont know what I'm doing but I'll practice. I have the basic idea, and yes I know to wear protective eye gear.

A Miller Dynasty 200 DX?? I don't know what the DX part means, but do know you can buy a good used truck for what those beauties cost. And carry it around in hand too, dynamite comes in small packages.

They have two different levels of the Dynasty 200, the DX is the one with full waveform controls and a knob for amp adjustment.
I just wish I could run a wire feeder off it, that would be a potent combo.