Haha...my wife is okay with it since it keeps me out of trouble! I sold off almost all of the vises and anvils and used that money to pay for machinery. I'm down to 7 anvils, two post vises and less than ten vises...one on each bench and a couple that are fairly rare/significant.
Today, after months of searching and sleeping badly on the lumps in my cash-stuffed mattress, I pulled the good trigger on a Miller Dynasty 280 DX TIG machine to replace my venerable yet basic late '70s Miller Dialarc HF.
All settled after selling my old machine, I should be into the new machine maybe $3-4k, which isn't bad for a $10k setup. Pulsed TIG and AC balance here I come!
I pained over what to update my welder with. I wanted AC wave tools bad. I looked at every make and model I could find from USA and Europe and kept pining for the big blue. I talked to my dad about it, and he told me all about how he and Paul Miller (Miller's founder) became really good friends, what kind of guy he was, and how he ran the business. The welders just run for life. It reminded me of how good my experience has been with the four Millers I've owned over the last 25 years, and that I'd better buy once, cry once. I didn't have to cry this time!
It's in the hands of UPS, but something like this:
Had a torsion bar lift in our house in California. Loved not having the traditional ceiling mounted opener taking up valuable head space. Also added long radius track sections to get the door up closer to the ceiling. Gained about 6" of head space when the door was open (Don't remember the actual amount but door handle just cleared the ceiling). Cheap modification. Just add the long radius track pieces and raise the horizontal track up to match.
I'm really excited! I already have a CK 25 and a consumables stash that I'm transferring from my Dialarc. I'm looking forward to all the features, but I'm also excited about the space savings... Replacing my transformer tig and industrial Stak Pak plasma with inverter machines frees up several square feet of floor space!
Is it that simple? I was reluctant to raise the tracks thinking I had to change and move the spring... if it is just getting the larger radius track... I will do that as well!!
I'm really excited! I already have a CK 25 and a consumables stash that I'm transferring from my Dialarc. I'm looking forward to all the features, but I'm also excited about the space savings... Replacing my transformer tig and industrial Stak Pak plasma with inverter machines frees up several square feet of floor space!
The current lineup. Should be able to make enough room for that plasma table with those nifty shrunk-down new machines!
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