Twentieth Century Welder Help

[schultzth]

Hi All- First time post, brand new to welding and looking for some help.

I just picked up an old Twentieth Century Heavy Duty Welder and looking for any info that might be out there. I have scoured the web and can't find much of anything besides a couple auction sites that sold one of these.

Looks like its 260 Amp, 230V, AC Only?

Does anyone have a manual or know if these are decent machines? Here are a couple pics.



Any help or info would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

[MinnesotaDave]

In my opinion, not much to know except choose the lowest amp range that has the welding current needed for your rod size and weld happy

With the high output that thing has, it's likely very robust compared to a cheaper smaller machine.

6011, 6013 and 7014 will run very nice on it. Some people like 7018AC rods too. (note, it will say AC on the rod)

6010 is a DC only rod, so don't get those.
7018 without the AC written on them will be hard to run on it, run better on DC.

[tapwelder]

I had a 295 amp welder by them. Nice welder. All the wider info is on the machine. Keep as is, don't clean the faceplate. I cleaned mine and it faded.

I believe there was history info on youtube. Salesman showed farmers how to tap directly into the electrical pole.

[MinnesotaDave]

I had a 295 amp welder by them. Nice welder. All the wider info is on the machine. Keep as is, don't clean the faceplate. I cleaned mine and it faded.

I believe there was history info on youtube. Salesman showed farmers how to tap directly into the electrical pole.

I saw some history on Forney salesmen doing that too - imagine the uproar if I went and tapped into my power pole now days

[CAVEMANN]

The shape of the housing's corners looks like my Mid States 300 Amp.

[schultzth]

Thanks for all the quick replies and info! I will have to look for that youtube video, sounds pretty interesting

I will probably start with some 7014 to learn with, it sounds like its easier than the 6011 to start with.

Thanks again for the help.

[MinnesotaDave]

7014 is a nice smooth running rod. Easy restarts too. I think you'll like it.

On AC, I like to run 1/8" 7014 about 130-140 amps (but they will run on lower amps too).

If you have to use a long arc to keep them lit, the amps are too low. They should run very well even if the edge of the flux is lightly touching the metal or turn up the amps - in my opinion.

General rule of thumb for rod selection. Don't use a rod that is thicker than the metal to be welded.

[rhunt]

Very nice welder. You may find an wiring schematic glued on one of the inside covers. The pins look fairly clean so does not look as if it was heavily used. Lots of output, and I like the crank to get you just the right amount of output. Bob

[Willie B]

I have the 295 amp version, I'd guess it to be a bit more modern than yours. I bought mine new in 1974. Twentieth Century had a salesman who travelled around doing shows. I was the kid in the crowd he coached me through the welds. It was amazing how well it performed that night. I would use low, or mid voltage. 6011 is a great rod for this machine, but does give a lot of spatter. 6013 was a good filler to use. I had little success with 7018AC, but I suspect it may have been improperly stored.

The stick welder I use now is the same age, but DC version. It is beat to Hell, all rusted out, but welds fine.

[tapwelder]

It was probably a Fourney video, as Dave pointed out.

[Willie B]

We didn't have anybody showing you how to steal power, but plenty of old timers felt it was OK if you were stealing from those who could afford it.

The local farm supply went through 4 generations before a financial collapse. The second generation was the one who personally welded many tons of stolen railroad rail for structural function. He made hundreds of I beams by welding rail top to top. It holds up the buildings to this day. His son taught me to cut rail.

As the story goes he was welding one day when the meter reader arrived. No difference was observed when he stopped. The meter reader investigated, to find the welder wired at the weather head, upstream of the meter. I don't know how it was resolved, but I'd bet no penalty was levied. Some people are exempt from laws that govern the middle class. The wealthiest in a very small town would in that day be excused as eccentric.

[Sparkie1957]

I've got a Twentieth Century I bought at a auction because it had a pile of new 1/0 lead with it. I have it on Craigslist for sale. I cleaned it out and welded with it. I was surprised how well it ran 7014 and the continuous adjustment is great compared to tapped machines like the 225 buzz boxes. Twentieth Century changed their name to just Century and some point. They were bought out by Lincoln Electric in later years. Here is mine, and I had no luck finding manuals either



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[MinnesotaDave]

I've got a Twentieth Century I bought at a auction because it had a pile of new 1/0 lead with it. I have it on Craigslist for sale. I cleaned it out and welded with it. I was surprised how well it ran 7014 and the continuous adjustment is great compared to tapped machines like the 225 buzz boxes. Twentieth Century changed their name to just Century and some point. They were bought out by Lincoln Electric in later years. Here is mine, and I had no luck finding manuals either



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Holy crap - 20% duty cycle at 250 amps

That old beastie will weld forever at 125 to 150 amps

[Sparkie1957]

Holy crap - 20% duty cycle at 250 amps

That old beastie will weld forever at 125 to 150 amps

The moveable shunt in them is Mickey Mouse with a cable and pulley system to operate it, but it works. Mine was frozen up put with some penetrating oil I got it going


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[Willie B]

Holy crap - 20% duty cycle at 250 amps

That old beastie will weld forever at 125 to 150 amps

Mine looked a bit different, but was rated as 100% duty cycle. It runs 5/32 6011 all day no problem, and has thawed plenty of frozen underground water lines.

[Willie B]

I found another thread. It had lots of pictures, but they are gone Questions about old Twentieth-Century stick welder -- help, please