# Another New Welder



## Charley Davidson (May 3, 2014)

Well new to me, I think it may be from the 50's. I went to an auction today cause the had a plasma cutter I hoped would go for cheap (not a chance) so I bought a set of 50' leads along with a homemade extension cord for $50, leads were nice, I then bought the welder that the leads belonged to for $20. I love it when auctioneers don't know how to set up an auction.

Gotta head back to the shop and see if it works.


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## Charley Davidson (May 3, 2014)

It works on both high and low range one thing I did notice is it did  not come with a fan evidently


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## xalky (May 3, 2014)

Let me get this straight.... You sold some things to make more room in your shop, and then you bought more things to fill up the empty spaces. Oh yeah, sounds about right...You got the disease! 

Welcome. My name is Marcel and I'm a toolaholic. Have a seat.:lmao:

Marcel


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## Charley Davidson (May 3, 2014)

No no no no that's not how it went, I bought some leads that I really really really really needed for my other welder, the welder at the auction kept crying because they were being separated and said look I'm only $20. How could I resist, then I bought a small acetylene tank too that I really needed also. So this was not the sickness believe me


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## AlanR (May 3, 2014)

Charley Davidson said:


> the welder at the auction kept crying because they were being separated and said look I'm only $20. How could I resist...


How are you set up for kittens?


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## Charley Davidson (May 3, 2014)

I'm pretty well set the freezer is full

 Looks like this welder is not as old as I thought it was since Miller has only been making Welders since 1967


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## xalky (May 3, 2014)

Charley Davidson said:


> No no no no that's not how it went, I bought some leads that I really really really really needed for my other welder, the welder at the auction kept crying because they were being separated and said look I'm only $20. How could I resist, then I bought a small acetylene tank too that I really needed also. So this was not the sickness believe me



Denial is the classic symptom of a toolaholic. ... You don't have to recover alone, ...there is help. Save yourself now!

I had a freezer full of kittens too,....I sold them all to the chinese restaurant. They're paying 20cents/pound with the fur still on em, I made $100. :rofl:


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## jpfabricator (May 4, 2014)

So what are you not telling us about?
What else did you get?


Jake Parker


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## Charley Davidson (May 4, 2014)

I swear that was it, I just got enough to clear my head.. I did get a house jack but that doesn't count
 It was only $5 and Im going to use it for an artwork project


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## jpfabricator (May 4, 2014)

Dont beat yourself up. You sliped, we have all done it. What you need to do is recognise when and where you fail. 
My personal weakness is pawn shops. I have several that I owe money to on layaways. 
A month ago I sold an underpowered 110volt mig welder I bought on an impulse. I was going to use the money to pay off two of my many layaways. I kept telling myself this was it, Im not going to fall victim to the "need for more tools".
 I went to the first pawn shop and payed the remaining $25 on my Mititoyo 1" to 4" depth mic. I made a point not to walk past the counter where the manager keeps all the high end machinist tools. I kept focused on the task at hand.
I walked out of there completly broke, with my depth mic, and a new layaway ticket in my pocket.
 I felt it was justafiable it was a set of Mititoyo 0" to 6" outside mics.

Jake Parker


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## Charley Davidson (May 4, 2014)

You should send a friend in with your claim slip & correct change, You are not strong enough to go it alone.:nono:

Now I need to decide which welder I should keep and which I should sell and what might be a reasonable price.  I have some really nice (Female) quick disconnects for the leads on my tig/stick cabinet that I gutted to make a stand for my mig that I could use on the old Lincoln to upgrade it but I've seemed to have lost the male ends. I think I'll at least shorten the leads on the Lincoln back to the original part and scrap the added on portion since they are dry rotted/cracked all over.


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## NITROTRIP (May 4, 2014)

Making a correction on Miller Electric Co. start date. The source is Wikipedia.
Niels Miller made his first stick welder in 1929. 
Miller Electric Mfg Co. was incorporated in 1935.
Your welder looks like it's the Grandad of the Thunderbolt, from the early 60's.
The Thunderbolt from the early 60's, not yours.
Just a guess, your welder is post WW2 to late 50's. I currently have a Miller
A/BP 330 TIG welder that was built in 1961. It is there 3rd generation TIG welder
and was the Bently of there time. I still prefer it to my newer machines. I use 
it weekly and it has been supporting me since 1979. 
If your welder is tight in connections and sound it will still be welding for
another 75yrs. Very awesome find. Make shure the transformer and tap connections
are tight and that welder will show the new aluminum transformer junk what
it is like to use a real welder. It will have a very smooth arc.
To many people look and say what a piece of junk. Any tool that will get the job
done every day for over 100yrs in my eyes is no junk. When new stick welder
aluminum transformers burn out in just a few years of day to day use.

Enjoy your new find, it is a good one.

Take Care,
   Rick


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## Charley Davidson (May 4, 2014)

Thanks for the info Rick, I tried looking up the SN but it's not on the list I have. I may have another old welder coming next week about the same era and size with some long leads, it's a Forney. Which ever one I decide to keep will get a nice refurb to look original.


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## Ulma Doctor (May 7, 2014)

just because something's are old doesn't make them junk
some of the best tool and machine quality came from the old timers.
i have a lot of tooling made from 1870's to todays stuff
i like a lot of the older stuff better when quality meant something.
now we seem to get junk for premium price most times.

excellent find on the welder,
if you weld somewhere around 50-60% of capacity, it would most likely outlive all of us and still want more.


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## Ozwelder (May 19, 2014)

Charley Davidson said:


> then I bought a small acetylene tank too that I really needed also. So this was not the sickness believe me



Ok you are nearly there.Just the Oxygen tank and a set of regulator,s hoses and torch and you are set for the vice repair.
It is all working out very nicely. Nice buy on the welder too. Those liitle home units were *built like a brick dunny.* ( OK! translation for non Australian speakers) -exceedingly well overbuilt for the intended purpose. A nice little rectifier unit added to the AC output side  to produce DC would make it a *little ripper.-*Truly an item a man would be fortunate to own.
Oz


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## Charley Davidson (May 19, 2014)

Ozwelder said:


> Ok you are nearly there.Just the Oxygen tank and a set of regulator,s hoses and torch and you are set for the vice repair.
> It is all working out very nicely. Nice buy on the welder too. Those liitle home units were *built like a brick dunny.* ( OK! translation for non Australian speakers) -exceedingly well overbuilt for the intended purpose. A nice little rectifier unit added to the AC output side  to produce DC would make it a *little ripper.-*Truly an item a man would be fortunate to own.
> Oz



I already had the oxy tank and a double torch (2 gauges on one setup with a rose bud & a cutting torch on a huge cart)

Tell me more about making this welder DC and can I make it a tig welder? And will it be less money than buying a stand alone tig and work as well?


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## Ozwelder (May 19, 2014)

Charley Davidson said:


> I already had the oxy tank and a double torch (2 gauges on one setup with a rose bud & a cutting torch on a huge cart)
> 
> Tell me more about making this welder DC and can I make it a tig welder? And will it be less money than buying a stand alone tig and work as well?



Hi Charlie,
If you can obtain or build the rectifier it is relatively straight foward process.The power source is a step down transformer from 220 volts (thats what I read on the label )

The rectifier  can be a bridge type made up of diodes and is wired to the low voltage - ( output ) side of the transformer.Hi frequency can be an add on with these little welders.There were hi -frequency units made to be added to these welders and turned them into a tig unit- obviously with the addition of of an argon cylinder and regualtor ,hose ,etc. I have never clapped eyes on one ,but have seen enough pics of ones made by the major welder companies,Lincoln. Hobart and Miller come  to mind.

I am pretty sure 2nd hand ones may be still available through the net -ebay and such.I reckon it would be mobs cheaper than a stand alone Tig
Oz


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## Ozwelder (May 19, 2014)

Here s a Miller manual for a similiar sized welder to yours.

http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o316g_mil.pdf

It shows the Diode bridge circuit and layout. There are bits and pieces of how to do this all over the net.
I do recall you may have to attach a reactor to the other side of the diode bridge. I am sure there must be few older guys around that have done this already.

Oz


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## Ozwelder (May 19, 2014)

Heres one on a Lincoln conversion.

http://hildstrom.com/projects/ac-225/

Oz


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## Charley Davidson (May 20, 2014)

Ozwelder said:


> Here s a Miller manual for a similiar sized welder to yours.
> 
> http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o316g_mil.pdf
> 
> ...



This seems to be a bad link, just goes to a blank page



Ozwelder said:


> Heres one on a Lincoln conversion.
> 
> http://hildstrom.com/projects/ac-225/
> 
> Oz



This is awesome, I have a tig welder I gutted a long time ago that still has all the front panel stuff and circuit boards & cable connectors. May come in handy.

Thanks for all the effort in helping


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