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Hot Rolled
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Location
Hawkinsville, Texas
I answered an add on CL, Houston, Tx and came across a couple of nice old tools. I can't justify buying them but I thought I'd post a couple of pics in case you are looking for something like this. Take a look.

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I couldn't read the tag because I'm getting old & can't see any more, but I'm guessing you'll know what kind of welder this is if you're interested.

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One more

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The other thing is a 2hp 230 volt DC grinder.

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The belt is missing but the motor shaft has a pully that drives another with a waterpump and the water drains back down to be recirculated. Nice tool. I don't want anything from this so I will post the seller's name & number. He is in Pasadena, Tx just on the east side of Houston where the air is fragrent (oil refinery all over the place). He also has a LeBlond lathe (junk) and a Van Norman mill and a lot of tooling & measuring instraments. His name is Dale his number is 281-487-4258. Here's the CL link. http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/1555039167.html
Les
 
Not Sure

Was he running the grinder off the welder???

I couldn't see clearly in the poor light but the wiring from the grinder terminated at a metal box and then to the building power. I guess the box was a transformer/converter? It didn't seem to connect in any way to the welder.
Les
 
Not Sure

What size was the van Norman?

vraptor,
I don't know anything about the VanNorman. I didn't know where to look for the spec tag either. Give the seller a call and you can probably walk him through how to get the specs on the machine. I will say I guess it weighs 5-6 thousand pounds. He will most likely almost give it away because it's old & big and in his way.
Les
 
Yes it is

Looks like an old Lincoln welder. Used one 40 years ago with bad contactors. Had to use a piece of 2x4 to hold them in.

Walter A.

It is a Lincoln. I've never seen one like this before, but I've lived a sheltered life too. I'd buy it but I'm already welding machine poor.
Les
 
Those Lincoln's are nick-named "bullet welders" for obvious reasons.

They're quite highly regarded, and will apparently produce a HUGE number of amps at 100% duty cycle. I've never run one, but they are said to be terribly loud.
 
The one I remember from over 30 years ago was loud. I also seem to recall that while having lots of available amps, and very stable in the entire available range, it was not good at low amps

I remember the experienced guys adding more lead and coiling it on the floor to drop the amps. There were 4 or 5 of these machines in the shop and all had bad contactors. The tops were removed so you could drop a piece of 2x4 in to hold the contactor closed once the start button was released.

Walter A.
 
They're loud allright ........ the first time I bought ear defenders - around 71 72,......... and I've never forgotten the stability of their arc,........... for pocket money I'd put one in the corner of the shop.

If you couldn't lay a half reasonable bead with a Lincoln Bullet then welding wasn't for you.
 
Yep! Lincoln bullet welder .... 3 phase AC motor driving a DC generator. I suspect they were developed in the '40s as these machines were very popular in the '50s - 60's. I seem to recall reading once that they were developed to be used with the new low hydrogen rod technology on the Liberty ships in WWII ... but don't quote me on that.

I worked at a sheet metal shop over the summers during college ('68-72) and they had a bunch of these machines as their main production welders. I had never seen one before ... let alone use one. I had only used the old buzz box Dad had on the farm, but I had gotten quite good using it. But Holy Cow!! Using the bullet welder was like welding with honey!!! Absolutely wonderful. I guess they were kind of loud, but not a problem as best as I can remember. One thing that I do remember well was how they sounded when you first started the machine in the morning .... they had the COOLEST spin-up sound!!

Not sure why they are no longer common. Probably they were relatively high maintenance (brushes, bearings, cooling fan, etc.) ... perhaps they would now be considered too noisy, and perhaps their great arc can now be duplicated with new high technology transformer-type machines.

If I had a shop with 3-phase service I would seriously consider getting one because they had superb arc characteristics (OK, maybe for nostalgia also!!) Also, bear in mind I'm a hobby welder now and don't do it for a living. I'll bet one could be had for cheap. I also bet you would need a BIG rotary phase converter if you don't have real 3-phase!
 
Ken,
Could you please elaborate on your statement above.I have an old Hobart 300 AMP driven by 20 HP electric motor and I'm curious about your statement.I also have another old Hobart 600 AMP driven by a Chrysler Ind. 30 straight six engine.Although the latter isn't running yet,it will.A curious thing about the latter is it's size.Same length as my short wheelbase Chevy truck.It's monsterous big.As far as running the above grinder off the welder above.I doubt it.Most of these old welders have a small DC circuit for DC hand tools and nothing more.I'm told by an old(Much older than myself)electrician that they are capable of much greater DC output but would have to have that part of the generator rewired.Don't know myself as I'm very happy with the old 300 AMP as it is.
 
Lincoln Welder

Those Lincoln's are nick-named "bullet welders" for obvious reasons.

They're quite highly regarded, and will apparently produce a HUGE number of amps at 100% duty cycle. I've never run one, but they are said to be terribly loud.

Hi all: We called them "torpedo" welders.. You can burn electrodes all day and night even big ones such as "jet" without a problem..
Usually the coarse adjustment is infinetly variable unlike the steps of other machines..
You can also use a gouge on these machines without a problem.. A gouge will suck the life out of a transformer machine due to the surging of current demand.
About the only thing that will destroy one of these armature machines is if you let the brushes get too short.. That is with any machine with an armature.. If you let the brushes go past half length, you are begging to have the commutator burned beyond repair..
The major drawback of these old machines is that they use gobs of energy..
You cannot find a smoother arc than with a straight DC machine.. Mike
 
Question

I didn't look closely at how the electrical connections were done, but from the previous replies this welder takes 3ph power? Is there a transformer to convert to DC or does the machine convert it internally?
Les
 
I didn't look closely at how the electrical connections were done, but from the previous replies this welder takes 3ph power? Is there a transformer to convert to DC or does the machine convert it internally?
Les

See above to what John in OH wrote...

Yep! Lincoln bullet welder .... 3 phase AC motor driving a DC generator.

Walter A.
 
The Van Norman mill looks like it will clean up nicely. The table does not have any scratches, gouges or cutter marks that I could see. There is just a layer of grime and light surface rust over all the surfaces. A little time spent cleaning and I think this would make a nice machine for someone.

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The Leblond is a different story.. It is really rough. It has a homemade riser kit.. I didnt measure the amount it was lifted, but it looked to be about 6" or so. The ways are in bad shape and have been cut away in two places to provide clearance for something to swing at one time. It does power up and run through all the gears though. There are 3 chucks also, which are probably worth more than the rest of the machine. The one on the floor behind the lathe is approx. 22" diameter (eyeball)

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The seller told me that he really just wants these gone.. $300 will probably take both machines. I bought the big pedestal grinder and a tool box loaded with measuring tools and other odds/ends and I told him I would try to help get these machines sold.

-Edit.. forgot to add there is a steady rest for the Leblond in the cabinet/workbench opposite of the lathe if someone does end up buying this.

Andrew
 
Jager,

Do you know what swing (original swing) the LeBlond has? Did you happen to notice what type of spindle mount ... ie., threaded or other style? If it is a 17" swing and someone buys it for parts, I might be interested in an item or two.
 
Hi John,

I didnt measure it, and didnt see any markings, but it looks to be about 12 - 14" original swing. I do not know what type of spindle mount it has, sorry.

Andrew
 








 
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