Oldest welder you guys are still using???

[blownnova]

Just curious what kinda older machines some of you guys on here might be still using today? My buddy just sold a millermatic 35(not positive on the model) that he bought 18 years ago at auction for 500 bux he said. It was pretty well used when he bought it then too. He got 500 out of it when he sold it too lol....pretty good investment. I know the millermatic 200's are supposed to be great machines to get used if you can find em.

[gnewby]

I have got an old Forney Stick welder that I still use I think it was made back in the 1960's it still works great.

[stick]

I have an old Forney stick welder too. I imagine it would date back to the 50's or very early 60's. Old enough to still have jacks for carbon arc , brazing and battery charging.

[KEENAVV]

My stick welder is a Hobart T180 I got from my dad. I have tried to get info on it without success.

[gnewby]

My old Forney Welder

[KEENAVV]

can't get pic

[KEENAVV]

last try-- INVALED POST AGAIN

[oldebrush]

I still use a MM35, (with the spot timer and stitch timer controls) and a Miller "Square case" AC/DC Thunderbolt, and a Miller Roughneck 2e AC engine driven portable machine. These are all from the 80's and earlier. Not really sure of their actual ages but I have owned the Thunderbolt and Roughneck for at least 12 years and I got them both used. The MM35 was from military auction so that was really used, but like new. I've had that for about 4 years.

Tony

[customweld]

ive got a miller matic 200 and still weld 045 spray with it. late 60s early 70s.

[motor mount]

My last mig welder was a systematics 150 with spot timer. Not nearly as old as that old buz box.

[weldbyear]

I bought this welder ( Hobart G-213) about 25 years ago, and at that time it was well used. It has proven to be a great investment over the years. So far the only thing I’ve had to do to it mechanically is when I first got it was to change the wires, cap and rotor, since then change the oil and breakdown the carb once after it had sat a while unused. I’ve used in a pinch as a generator for our house power after a couple of severe storms. The only problem I have with it, is the lower end (0-3.5 or so) of the fine adjustment, on all settings will only cause minor sparking but no arc. So it’s a little temperamental it that respect.

[quickgun]

Istill have my Miller Big 20 gas powered welder I bought new in 1977. It has a Continental Red Seal engine. I now have 2 newer diesel powered units, but the old Miller still works ok. No telling how many thousand hours it has between myself and helpers.

[boogerweldz]

I have a century model 1941A Arc welder I dont know how old it is I have been trying to research it but I am pretty sure its alot older than me I will snap some pics tomorrow of it

Greg

[BigEd36]

I have a Lincoln "tombstone" 180 amp unit that I bought in either late '68 or early '69, I bought it before I got drafted in April '69, never got to use it til after I got out in April '71. It's still going strong.

Ed

[Comp Chassis]

I have a Millermatic 200 I bought used in I believe 1988. Serial number says it was built in 1979. It was used sporadically until 1991 when I started a race car fabrication business and it has been used daily since. I run probably 4-5 35 lbs spools of .030 wire through it a year and have burned up 4 guns over the years. Machine is still going strong with the only repairs being a main power switch, an amp selector switch, a contactor and a set of capacitors. If I could find another machine in decent condition for sale I wouldnt hesitate to buy one.

[lotechman]

Weldbyear: I have one of those units:')) I fire it up about once a year. That old wisconsin engine is dead reliable. Most of the labelling is gone on mine and I am sure if it dies I will not find parts for the generator section. I did find a new fuel pump diaphram for it several years ago. It sits under a tarp in my back yard. It deserves better treatment.

[smithboy]

I have a neighbor that has one of those old hobarts also. It runs like a top. He uses it as a generator for his construction business. He said he paid $400 for it a few years back...he said he has probably run 10 times that through it in fuel. I think his is a Wisconsin 2cyl also.

[TxRedneck]

Im tryin to get a deal on an older (60's-70's vintage) sa 200 from a guy on here. Im hoping I can come up with the money but Im uncle peg leg for the time being till I get this leg healed up. OUtta work till then too Oh well What ya gonna do Ive used an old hobart. Dont know the age...looked like a lincoln classic though. And I had an older than the hills lincoln ac/dc 225 but sold it to a friend cause I needed money and he needed a welder to suit his retirement hobbies. I used an old forney with the plug in taps. Ive also used old lincoln and miller tig welders that that HF burned out and we used em for stick machines. Massive machines. A friend of mine had pics he circulated of an old machine guess he used to use in a shop.- Its basically the "welder" part of an SA 200 only instead of being powered off an old continental, its powered off an AC motor. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway...old machines could be good. New machiens can be good. Some things are better of the new...sometimes arent. I guess it depends on what your looking for.

[d38710]

In my intro to fabrication class, we have Miller stick units from the late 60's. Our instructor said that they are actually easier to use and more reliable then some of Miller's new models.

[TxRedneck]

Originally Posted by d38710

In my intro to fabrication class, we have Miller stick units from the late 60's. Our instructor said that they are actually easier to use and more reliable then some of Miller's new models.

well cub hes right. atleast imo. the newer ones, many are going to inveter. Inverter has lots of advantages. Weight, overal size. Miller claims the overall cost of repairs is also cheaper, atleast in the longrun. But the transformer and generator type machines were dynamite. They were almost bullet proof. The inner workings atleast. Im sure Mr Lotech can tell some stories, like others of these machines falling, geting dumped hard, stuff falling on them..ect. Yet they still worked just fine. They took dirty dusty bumpy road conditions. The new inverters....computers basicaly, well lets just say the engineers havent yet mastered the concept of making these machines bullet proof...which for many in the field they need to be. Even in the shop though, life is tough on these machines. Ive seen coffee spilt on em. The older ones Ive seem em run wihtout a hikup. The newer ones just died. inverters are awesome when they run. They can be cloned to run like a generator like an sa 200. I betcha my last dollar someone like JKING or another pipeliner would notice the differnce, but for the average welder it wouldnt be big deal. course something like less than half the weight makes a big differnce. also the inverterrs allow the use of AC/DC capabilities. SA200 was pure dc...all the way to its aux output. In its day you had similar machiens with ac output, still do I guess. But these were quite as fine and precise as the all DC machine was. Welp, Ive talked too much. Y'all have a good one

[gimpyrobb]

I have an old K.O.Lee that they stopped making in 1959. I picked it up for 20.00, tested it out, and decided to keep it. I have only replaced the leads on it and it works great. The company sent me an exploded parts view and some advert. pages. It looks like R2D2!

[riley mcmillan]

Originally Posted by blownnova

Just curious what kinda older machines some of you guys on here might be still using today? My buddy just sold a millermatic 35(not positive on the model) that he bought 18 years ago at auction for 500 bux he said. It was pretty well used when he bought it then too. He got 500 out of it when he sold it too lol....pretty good investment. I know the millermatic 200's are supposed to be great machines to get used if you can find em.

I have a miller 330 a b/p set up for tig. Bought it new in 1972. Wonderful machine. The square waves are an improvement because of adjusting for penetration on thicker aluminum instead of having to use helium and dcne.

[B2N3 Welder]

My oldest is a lincoln torpedo welder 1973 model runs awesome i'll have to get some scrap and take pic of what it will do

[Al_V]

I have a 1953 DC-250-AS Lincwelder powered by a hand crank start, air cooled Wisconsin engine. When I bought it, I was told it "welds great, but can't start it, no spark at the magneto." Well, I checked, and it DID have spark, but the fuel line and fuel tank was full of rust. I fixed that and got it running in a couple hours, but no juice. The brushes were not perfect, but not so bad to output nothing. So I opened up the welder side for an exploratory, and found that the range selector switch had grounded out. Most of the old plastic or bakelite was falling apart, so I made new plastic insulators, put it back together, and it now works excellent!

[TxRedneck]

b2n3, youre torpedo is the sa 200 gen powered by an ac elec motor right?