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Craigs list finally paid off. I got a 1990 Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150 on Thursday for $200. It was somewhat of an ordeal to check it out since the owner direct wired which ever welder he wanted to use to a sub panel in his shop. Naturally, he was out of town and his wife was handling the sale. I had cut loose another welder and wire this one in to make sure it would actually strike an arc and weld. It worked fine but really looks beat.I started cleaning it today and got most of the dust, dirt, and leaves out. I cleaned the old grease off the shunt and shaft that raises and lowers it. Applied new grease to the shunt and shaft which made it move more easily. I not sure how much resistance there should be when moving it but I figured you shouldn't out of breath after cranking it through its range.I also applied Deox to the major electrical connections. There wasn't any obvious need for it but once you get the case off you might as well do everything that might help. Here are a few pictures.
Reply:Hey Rich, I saw that Thunderbolt on Craigslist along with an old Lincoln. I was going to call about it but ended up at the Dekalb Farmers Market instead. Glad somebody got it. Looks like a great deal.
Reply:Nice find! That easily has another 20 yrs left in it. Good to see them still chugging along.Eric
Reply:I am pretty confident you will like your "new to you purchase" once you get it cleaned up as I can sorta speak from a similar experience.Here is an older Miller Thunderbolt topcrank clone that was sold as a National Farm and Shop brand that I picked up a couple months ago for $100 on Craigslist. If it had the actual Miller name on it it would have been priced much higher like yours or even higher since they usuaully go in the $250 or higher range. I do not think the seller realized he had a Miller, I did and paid his full $100 asking price. I have since re-painted the outer case to make it look even better. So far I really like the welder - so much so that I recently sold my venerable 1970's vintage Lincoln AC-225 buzzbox which was a great welder too in its own right (but AC only). Some things on the Lincoln were made a lttle better like the case and the cooling fan was much better. I do think the lincoln was a little stronger on AC than the Miller is on AC but not much difference. I only have limted storage space so one had to go to conserve space. I decided to keep the Miller clone for the DC capability. I recently even picked up a tig torch and plan to try some old school scratch start tig welding with the Miller Clone, but have not tried the tig yet as I am in the process of emptying my 75% Argon 25%CO2 bottle so I can get it filled with 100% Argon needed for tig. Attached ImagesLast edited by rankrank1; 08-21-2011 at 11:42 AM.
Reply:The clean up continues. I sanded the cover, back, front and bottom to get rid of all the surface rust. Got the back, front and bottom painted and got a primer coat on the cover. I have to go by the LWS tomorrow to pick up a few things and I'm hoping they will have some Miller blue paint.I replaced the missing power plug with one I got at Lowes last night. I did a continuity check on the cables and checked the connections. The plug end of the ground cable was so corroded I had to cut it off and drill out the set screws and the cable itself. The other cable looks better but I may just replace both of them at some point.When the paint job is finished I'll get some more pictures.It looks like the most expensive part of this project is going to be upgrading from a 30 amp circuit I use for welding to a 50 amp. I need about 90 feet of #6 wire which at the local box stores is over $2 per foot.
Reply:hvwI looked at the Lincoln as I figured for the right price I might take both. Wouldn't have bothered loading up the Lincoln if they were giving it away. My wife loves that farmers marketmade a number of trips there.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rich59...It looks like the most expensive part of this project is going to be upgrading from a 30 amp circuit I use for welding to a 50 amp. I need about 90 feet of #6 wire which at the local box stores is over $2 per foot.
Reply:I've been trying to sell my thunderbolt for over a year now and even had it listed as low as $75... Still sitting in the shop.
Reply:Holy smokes VPT. If you lived around Atlanta that welder would be gone for sure.
Reply:If it were $75 Iocally I'd have bagged it for trade bait!
Reply:I am ready to call this project complete. I've painted, added wheels and a temporary cable holder. The cables and plugs were in poor shape with the cable corroded as well as the set screws holding it. Had to cut the cable and drill out the plugs to get the mess out. The set screws had to be drilled out and then tapped to take a slightly larger set screws.I cut out some bad cable and ended up with about 25 feet of good stuff. Kind of short at 12 feet each side. The cable is oversize at half inch diameter, not sure what gauge that would be. I think if you bought a new one it would likely come with #2 or #4. I will be looking for a good deal on cable but I've got enough extension cord to be able to move where I want it.http://weldingweb.com/attachment.php...1&d=1314234325 http://weldinghttp://weldingweb.com/...1&d=1314234325 Attached Images
Reply:Looks great!
Reply:Originally Posted by hvwHoly smokes VPT. If you lived around Atlanta that welder would be gone for sure.
Reply:Beautiful clean up on that Thunderbolt! PapaLincoln Idealarc 250 (circa 1962)Lincoln Weldpak 155 w/Mig KitLincoln Squarewave TIG 175 |
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发表于 2021-9-1 00:10:46