old forney

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HelloI am new here ..I have a Forney welder I won at a auction..it red, looks older than the hills and it has a high and low  ground plugs on it...  220What kind of rod should i use for this machine...I  am waiting to borrow a digital cam so I can provide a picture.Chuck in Omaha
Reply:With my old Forney I have good luck running 6013, and 7014 rods with it. I have ran some 7018 with it if  you try any of the 7018 be sure you get 7018 AC rods. The 7018 AC DC rods I never had any luck running with this welder. Best results I have though were with the 6013 & 7014 rods.
Reply:Test! I tried to post a photo of my old Forney welder on here a few minutes ago with no luck. I have gone back and reduced the size some, hopefully it will work this time. Attached Images
Reply:Your welder is just like mine..to me it's difficult to strike an arc and keep a weld going for too long....7018 seems to work ok so far.  Cast rod works ok too.   Are these welders worth anything?
Reply:Sixpack, have you tried any of the 6013 or the 7014 rod with this welder? I have good results with both of them. The 7018 AC is a little more difficult to run in my opinion, but after getting the hang of it should be able to lay down a nice bead with it.  In this area, a welder like those in a garage sale etc. would bring about $75.00 give or take $25.00 one way or another. They are good ole welders. I noticed on mine that they were distributed right here in the town I have pretty much always lived. Basically all I have ever done with my old Forney in the 10 years or so that I have had it was removed part of the cover where I could get inside of the case and blew it out with compressed air, then I cleaned out each of the sockets with a small brush like you can find in the welding supply area of most farm stores. I also emery clothed the male ends of the plugs on the leads and replaced the stinger on mine. The one I have was used for many years in a body shop and served them well. They pretty much quit using it when they purchased a mig welder, and just kept the ole Forney around as a backup for many years. When they purchased a newer mig then the first one they had they kept the ole mig for a backup and I was able to get the Forney from them.  Only complaint I have on it is the 110 receptacle on it, you cannot run much of anything on it as it is not made for anything that draws many amps. The fuse for the 110 receptacle are also hard to find so I hardly ever use mine.I think mine is a 180 amp welder if I remember correctly, I have used it to weld up some pretty thick material with good results. I do not run a lot of rod with it thicker than 1/8" but I don't feel like there would be much problem running thicker rod with it. All an all it is a good ole welderHope you have fun with it,   I have used mine to build several projects.
Reply:Sixpack, If you are interested  you can e-mail the following address and ask for owners manual on the old forney welders or ask for any helpful information they may have that they wouldn't mind sharing with you. I did and they sent me an owners manual, it was not exactly the one for my old welder, but it still was very helpful, it had some trouble shooting information with it and also info for the ones that they made that had battery chargers on them. Here is the following e-mail address:  [email protected]
Reply:Thanks for all of the info gnewby, I will check out that e-mail address
Reply:It was thirty some years ago.  I was full of it.I used to cut out projects and then take them down where my dad was the gate man at a fence company.  He'd weld them up for me after quitting time.That time, I think it was the two spare, two jerry can holder, custom rack for my hot rod CJ5, I guess he'd had one of those days.  I showed up all grins and he just shook his head and said, "boy, I think it's time you learned to weld."The shop welder was an old Forney just like you've got there.  I learned how to stick weld galvanized sixteen gauge hot dipped fence tubing.  We used E6011 3/32 and were rather quick with our weaving without breathing deep each pass.It's a good one.  And if you insist on welding 7018 buy 7018AC.  You've got a buzz box, A/C machine, and 7018 really is partial to DC.It'll kick butt with 6011, romp in the hay with 6013, and show 7014 the kind of time it's mother always warned it about.  But 7018 won't get past first base.As a shorter'n most and dumber than just about anyone once said, "you don't go welding with what you want.  You go welding with what you got."life is good
Reply:I am not sure, but that machine looks an older marquette welder. I don't think Forney builds any of there own machines, torches etc, but private labels much like Craftsman.. I know this in an old post, but thought it was interesting and worth my 2 bits.. There it is..
Reply:Nope they were made by Forney and distributed in Kansas and Fort Collins Colorado. Mine still had the insigna on it saying all that. I contacted Forney and they sent me some literature at one time.
Reply:I think I that is one of the first machines I learned to weld on....Back in 1974 and it was old then....The farmer that owned it kept his 6013 in an oven.  The oven wasn't plugged in, he just kept his rod there. David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I saw this pic as I was looking for info on my Granpas old Forney Model F-75 that I fell heir to...not that I would use it, I did just once to see if it would even strike an arc and keep it burning; it did!...approximately when was it made/used and are collectors more interested in it than I?                                                                                 Thanks, David...Los Alamos, Ca
Reply:Why was it necessary to have a Low and a High ground on those old welders? Were the old Forneys only AC?
Reply:Originally Posted by WertherWhy was it necessary to have a Low and a High ground on those old welders? Were the old Forneys only AC?
Reply:http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/tls/1408910935.htmlone for sale
Reply:Originally Posted by sixpackYour welder is just like mine..to me it's difficult to strike an arc and keep a weld going for too long....7018 seems to work ok so far.  Cast rod works ok too.   Are these welders worth anything?
Reply:DKuzelI have one of the old Forney C5BT welders myself and let me just say that as far as a smooth arc and good feel you can't beat it for the price you probably paid. If you need the receptacles for the front send me a pm and I can try to get you some. There is an auto parts store not far from me that still carries them, and Forney does still make them (I know because I had to replace a couple of mine).
Reply:I just picked up a C-6BT from a craigslist ad. I had one of these old beasts that I bought new in 1963 and used for many years. This one will be a nostalgia trip. If it's as good as the other unit it will be around as long as I am. I would like to restore it to almost like new condition, and am looking for repalcement leads for the arc torch and soldering iron. Any ideas? I haven't contacted Forney yet but will after the holiday. I still have some of the parts from the old machine, since I stripped it after it burned out.