Tool gloat, new project

[Cheap Jon]

In 1945 my dad bought the second Lincoln 200 amp welder built after the war ended. It had a 4 cyl. continental engine, crank start. My dad had a small welding shop side line business plus a lot of road jobs. when I got older 8-10 years I would hold stuff to be welded, we always had some sort of a project going on. After 7th grade I helped on job from plumbing to concrete, by graduation I had a good skill set. the welder always ran good, when I bought my 11 acre farm in 1971 I put the welder inside and ran a exhaust pipe out the wall, I ran it for 10 years and sold it for $300 and bought Miller Ac-Dc buzz box. The only thing I remember that was trouble we had to unhook the welder from the truck or the vibration would break the tail light filaments, if the welder sat for a time the commutators would corrode and needed to be cleaned. I saw a add on NY Facebook for that Hobart for $150.

Jon
SW Mi

[nickel-city-fab]

My old S-10 had heavier factory springs, and it still was rated for only 1450 lb, including fuel, oil and people. No clue what the regular type was rated for. Even if you put in the springs, the rear axle bearings will need replacing sooner.

.

Good point, that is very true. The only reason it's still on the truck is, I don't plan on keeping the truck for more than another 12-18 mos. Well, besides the fact that I don't have a cherry picker nor a chainfall... yep, going to have to do something about that. Had a job come up yesterday in Buffalo, our other welder was already in service and the boss asked me if mine was ready. FWIW, one of the cranes had tore off the mounts for a hydraulic cylinder -- and its supposed to rain today.

[The Metal Butcher]

My old S-10 had heavier factory springs, and it still was rated for only 1450 lb, including fuel, oil and people. No clue what the regular type was rated for. Even if you put in the springs, the rear axle bearings will need replacing sooner.

The Ranger is OK for 400 more lb (1860 lb) , and I still don't think it would be OK, given tools, welding rods, etc, etc, plus me and 20 gallons of fuel, especially with the 200 lb more. Put it on a trailer?

.

Nah, send it bud.

[Jerrythepilot]

Congratulations, I wish you a lot of luck with it, they do weld nice!

Jerry

[J Tiers]

It weighs in at 1200 lbs. (545 kg)
It's going to get about 200 lbs heavier after I get done adding the 5kW 115/230 generator head.
Obviously, the truck is a bit too small -- oops wait I didn't post that pic.
It's in the back of an S-10.
I HAVE since added 3,000 lbs of overload springs.
It rides normally now.
.................................

My old S-10 had heavier factory springs, and it still was rated for only 1450 lb, including fuel, oil and people. No clue what the regular type was rated for. Even if you put in the springs, the rear axle bearings will need replacing sooner.

The Ranger is OK for 400 more lb (1860 lb) , and I still don't think it would be OK, given tools, welding rods, etc, etc, plus me and 20 gallons of fuel, especially with the 200 lb more. Put it on a trailer?

.

[nickel-city-fab]

I appreciate old machinery as much as anybody, but..... Does a welder like this make better welds than a modern equivalent that would likely be smaller and lighter?

The welds are about the same. And believe it or not, the newer machines weigh about the same. However, many welders prefer the old DC machines like this (especially pipe welders) because they can be much smoother to weld with and easier to operate. Only the very latest inverters can compare, but they are way way out of my price range by a factor of 10. A modern equivalent machine to this one is made by Lincoln, but you're starting at $20,000 -- and it goes up from there. Some of the bigger Miller machines (perfect for my job) can go as high as $50,000. Nope, not gonna happen.

[nickel-city-fab]

Buffalo winter traction suddenly became a distant problem.

LOL LOL LOL

--Doozer

Yup, no more sandbags! LOL thats what I said

[Doozer]

It weighs in at 1200 lbs. (545 kg)
It's going to get about 200 lbs heavier after I get done adding the 5kW 115/230 generator head.
Obviously, the truck is a bit too small -- oops wait I didn't post that pic.
It's in the back of an S-10.
I HAVE since added 3,000 lbs of overload springs.
It rides normally now.
Boss told me I need a bigger truck now.
I agreed.
The welder is gonna be my "daily driver" both at the day job and side jobs.
It has moss growing on top, literally.
I'm going to leave it that way.
BUT, there's a bunch of brand-new parts arriving in the mail shortly.....

Buffalo winter traction suddenly became a distant problem.

LOL LOL LOL

--Doozer

[vpt]

Isn't that machine, like similar Lincoln(s) and Miller(s) weather resistant? Inside on a cart it"s taking up space, outside on a short, single axle trailer, not so much.

Yes it is. However almost everything fairs better indoors. Vehicles are weather resistant yet lots and lots of people park them in a garage. Lawn mowers, boats, four wheelers, etc are all weather resistant but yet many prefer to have them indoors.

[DR]

I appreciate old machinery as much as anybody, but..... Does a welder like this make better welds than a modern equivalent that would likely be smaller and lighter?

[nickel-city-fab]

It weighs in at 1200 lbs. (545 kg)
It's going to get about 200 lbs heavier after I get done adding the 5kW 115/230 generator head.
Obviously, the truck is a bit too small -- oops wait I didn't post that pic.
It's in the back of an S-10.
I HAVE since added 3,000 lbs of overload springs.
It rides normally now.
Boss told me I need a bigger truck now.
I agreed.
The welder is gonna be my "daily driver" both at the day job and side jobs.
It has moss growing on top, literally.
I'm going to leave it that way.
BUT, there's a bunch of brand-new parts arriving in the mail shortly.....

[Doozer]

This is a dilemma I am dealt with. I have a bobcat welder. If you put it on a trailer where do you put the trailer? The way it is the welder doesn't have that big of a footprint and can sit indoors. Put it on a trailer in all of a sudden there is no room for it inside. At that point do you go with an enclosed trailer? One suggestion was to just put it on a skid so it could be loaded on a trailer or in the back of a pickup when needed.

Nice score on the welder doc! I look forward to more pictures and projects with it. I have found that I have used mine as a generator more than a welder so far.

When we did bridge work,
we had a Miller Bobcat
and built a trailer that was
about 1 foot larger, on each
side of the welder, all the
way around. Made some
pipe carriers to wrap the
leads up on. It had leaf
springs and a Chevy
Citation rear axle, cut down
to fit the width. Added a
tongue and a drop leg and
used that trailer many many
years. No license plate.
Just pull it like a cement
mixer. You could pick up the
tongue and move it around
by yourself on level paved
ground. I would think that
NOT having it on a trailer
would be a pain in the azz,
not the other way around.


-D

[deltap]

Now you need a crane to hang it on to keep the thieves at bay, especially the copper cables.

[reggie_obe]

This is a dilemma I am dealt with. I have a bobcat welder. If you put it on a trailer where do you put the trailer? The way it is the welder doesn't have that big of a footprint and can sit indoors. Put it on a trailer in all of a sudden there is no room for it inside. At that point do you go with an enclosed trailer? One suggestion was to just put it on a skid so it could be loaded on a trailer or in the back of a pickup when needed.

Nice score on the welder doc! I look forward to more pictures and projects with it. I have found that I have used mine as a generator more than a welder so far.

Isn't that machine, like similar Lincoln(s) and Miller(s) weather resistant? Inside on a cart it"s taking up space, outside on a short, single axle trailer, not so much.

[Willy]

Nice score, glad to see that you're going to give the old girl some TLC, she deserves a good home.
I think half of North America is stuck together by those old Hobart and Lincoln SA200 machines.
Nice smooth DC arc, all you'll ever need or want.