A guy who retired from where I work wants to give me a fifty year old arc welder. I want to learn to weld, but can I use it when I work on my cars? He's giving it to me, but I don't want to get something I'm not going to have any use for.

------------------
Whade' "The Duck Formerly Known As Wade" Duck
'87 GT Auto
'88 Ferrario
'84 Indy (8/26/06)

Relax! You've managed to suck all of the fun out of the room.

arc is more useful for heavy equipment, good for thick metals like frames, or tractors, etc. a much more useful welder is wire feed, this is good for alot more automotive stuff than arc. if your going to be building anything with thicker metals, than it is useful, otherwise for a general hobbyist, i cant see very many uses for it.

------------------
1986 Silver 5 speed Fiero 3.4 DOHC
Bored .30, Fully balanced and blueprinted
13.93@101mph as it is on the street.
... ... !
350ci 400hp/tq SBC, 4 bolt main
Spec Stage 3, Nitrous Oxide, many extras.
87 GT 5-speed Getrag, power everything.

Free is free. Just make sure it isn't 3 phase (unless you have access to 3 phase), most residential is not, and it would cost a wad to get the service...Paul

A fifty year old arc welder is probably just AC and I bet it is going to be a jumpy as a hobo in a train yard.
Probably not what you want to learn on as far as arc welding is concerned. A nice ac/dc arc is great even for small work if you are skilled.
Free is free but useless for your application is just wasted space,time and effort. Definitely in my opinion not a good welder to learn on.

[This message has been edited by pokeyfiero (edited 02-05-2007).]

eBay it! With what you get from the arc, put that toward a wire feed.

Ooo, didn't think about that.

------------------
Whade' "The Duck Formerly Known As Wade" Duck
'87 GT Auto
'88 Ferrario
'84 Indy (8/26/06)

Relax! You've managed to suck all of the fun out of the room.

quote Originally posted by pokeyfiero: A fifty year old arc welder is probably just AC and I bet it is going to be a jumpy as a hobo in a train yard. Probably not what you want to learn on as far as arc welding is concerned.

On the contrare if you learn to use an arc welder the rest are a piece of cake.

Need to know more about it. There are old generators that will put out a nice smooth dc current, you just need to purchase a nice Tig setup for it and you could weld anything. Need to fix a fender? Butt joint and a coat hanger
You could weld about 60% of the Fiero frame with it using a nice 3/32 6010/7018 rod.

I would keep it, just for the ability of being able to weld the thicker metals. If you want a mig that has the capability of welding the metals that has you will be paying thousands.

Things you could find a use for it, would be: Mount fabrication, comes to mind. You should be able to weld up any heavy duty mount that your little hear desires with that.

If you want to build like a car trailer, that will do the trick. Again a 1000 dollar mig is what you need otherwise.

Trust me if you have it you'll find uses for it.

I don't know about the US, but arc welding and brazing are illegal in the UK. The heat effect of arc welding breaks down the steel you are welding, significantly weakening it. Arc also causes far more heat distortion than mig or tig.If you mig weld a line of weld on a sheet of new, clean steel, and then arc a weld alongside, you will see the discoloration caused in arc welding is much wider. These views are passed on to you from the gentleman who taught me to weld years ago. I believe it to be true, but others might disagree
Nick

quote Originally posted by Butter: On the contrare if you learn to use an arc welder the rest are a piece of cake.

I thought about that as I typed it but still. No reason to learn on a pos. There are nice little ac dc units for 250 bucks that will purr like bacon.
On dc with some small 6011 rod you can weld upside down under a car. Not as good as mig but cheaper and you actually learn to weld instead being a hot glue gun operater.

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: I don't know about the US, but arc welding and brazing are illegal in the UK. The heat effect of arc welding breaks down the steel you are welding, significantly weakening it. Arc also causes far more heat distortion than mig or tig.If you mig weld a line of weld on a sheet of new, clean steel, and then arc a weld alongside, you will see the discoloration caused in arc welding is much wider. These views are passed on to you from the gentleman who taught me to weld years ago. I believe it to be true, but others might disagree Nick

Really, now I learned something new today so I can go to bed.

No seriously Nick how do they weld ships?

That’s all we use here in the states for ship building unless you are inside.

quote Originally posted by fieroluv: I would keep it, just for the ability of being able to weld the thicker metals. If you want a mig that has the capability of welding the metals that has you will be paying thousands. Things you could find a use for it, would be: Mount fabrication, comes to mind. You should be able to weld up any heavy duty mount that your little hear desires with that. If you want to build like a car trailer, that will do the trick. Again a 1000 dollar mig is what you need otherwise. Trust me if you have it you'll find uses for it.

Completely agree, I hate using my mig outside, means setting it up for flux core wire, unless there is no real wind. Plus flux core wire is like twice as expensive.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Need to know more about it. There are old generators that will put out a nice smooth dc current, you just need to purchase a nice Tig setup for it and you could weld anything. Need to fix a fender? Butt joint and a coat hanger You could weld about 60% of the Fiero frame with it using a nice 3/32 6010/7018 rod.

Another completely agree, with a little bit of practice you can get real good on the thin stuff with an arc welder.

quote Originally posted by Butter: On the contrare if you learn to use an arc welder the rest are a piece of cake.

So very true.

quote Originally posted by Paul Prince: Free is free. Just make sure it isn't 3 phase (unless you have access to 3 phase), most residential is not, and it would cost a wad to get the service...Paul

So true, but not.

3 phase can be made, not cheap but still you don’t have to have 3 phase service to use a 3 phase machine. You just need to build a converter, I don’t know exactly how it’s done but I do know it involves motors.

------------------
Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 02-05-2007).]

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: 3 phase can be made, not cheap but still you don’t have to have 3 phase service to use a 3 phase machine. You just need to build a converter, I don’t know exactly how it’s done but I do know it involves motors.

http://www.rotaryphaseconverters.com/

This site should help you. Registration is free.

http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/forum_show.pl

Arn

I got my Dad's small Lincoln AC, 30-40 years old, managed to make a heavy duty extension cord and plug it into the dryer outlet, can weld thinner material, around 1/8", sometimes less, by cutting the amps and using a small dia rod. Don't use it often but no substitutes around when there is a use for it, beats 60 bucks an hour at a shop.

------------------
The Fiero, a testiment to unique AMERICAN Engineering

[This message has been edited by Bruno Mid Engine (edited 02-06-2007).]