Welding/Fab shop Maintenance Guy

[Mr.Thomas]

Hello Everyone!

I'm a maintenance tech with 30-35 years of experience in various industries. I started out in the US Navy learning digital/analog electronics back in the 1980s. Along the way I picked up pneumatic, hydraulics and a host of other skills that the maintenance guys need to have to keep up up with all the things people break on the job.
Currently I work in a welding/fabrication shop where I fix everything from the shop mig welders and field used, engine drive welders to everything else in the shop. We have 20 Lincoln Ranger 305g welders, 7 older Miller Bobcat 250s and one aged Miller Trailblazer in addition to the 12 in-shop welding stations with Lincoln and Miller wire feed mig welders. On top of those, I also keep the 3 plasma cutting machines, 9 bridge cranes, 1 shot blaster and all the other various iron worker machines up and running so we can get structural steel pieces made for building construction jobs all over the place.

My welding experience is mostly self taught practice and by watching and learning from experienced welders along the way. Mig and Stick are my main areas and I can also do some TIG on stainless and aluminum. (I still don't think my TIG skill is that great but as I was told once: "That's a gorilla weld! It's ugly, but it's strong!" But for the most part, I am only doing small welding and fab jobs for repair of things and it's not so often that I need to weld something.

I came to these forums looking for more insight on the inner workings primarily for our Lincoln and Miller engine drive welders so I can diagnose and repair them faster and cheaper than sending them out to a repair shop. The manuals don't actually give you a whole lot of information when it comes to the "guts" of the machines and usually refer you to seek out a certified repair shop instead. I have done complete engine swaps on both Miller Bobcat and Lincoln Ranger machines (all of ours use the same Kohler 23hp engine so that makes that part a little easier.). Following a troubleshooting guide that doesn't just jump to "contact a certified repair shop" is not a problem for me.

[wb4rt]

Welcome to the forum.

You will end up answering a lot of questions we have here!

[Mr.Thomas]

Thanks!
I don't mind answering any questions that I can. From rebuilding broken hand tools to CNC machine repairs, it's been my job to try and save the boss some money and keep the workers working and the machines running.

[CAVEMANN]

Welcome!