[mike the painter]

,
"I got to thinking on that old welder after carbon arc welders came up, and it occurred to me I
know a fellow not too far from me who has 1 looks almost like it, so I drove
over. OlBoy's about a month or 2 older than Georgia clay and has been using
that machine since before I showed up in this part of the country, so I asked
him about it.
Well, I've heard it said and now I believe it, the weld ain't in the machine,
it's in the hands of the man using it. He could dang near make that machine
talk.
You can stick weld with her up to 1/8 rods
You can braze with her
You can cut steel with her by heating the cutline and blowing right behind the
torch with an air gun
And you can even spot pannels in place usin her for a spot welder power sourse.

I kid you not, I saw him do each and every one of them things with my very own
eyes, through a helmet of course. Only thing he ain't figured out is how to
wire weld with the thing. Them lessons is the best 12 pack of beer I ever
bought. "

AND heating up frozen lug nuts. So much knowlage has been lost from new technoligy...Anybody used one?I couldnt do crap with that thing but he was like a surgon...I just might have to go out and get one while he's still around so he can teach me something. imp:

 

[moontanker]

Do it

DB I had one of those in the 70's but never did catch on to using it.Wish I'd a had that guy back then.Was it a Lincoln or Hobart or what.I seem to remember the rods were carbon and had a copper surrounding .But thats been a long time ago.I recall I used it when I ran out of o2 and it was hard to handle.Your right about the guy that welds is the key.Dad could weld with nails or anything.I'd turn up the rpms and the generator would lay it on.What a child hood.

 

[oldred]

,

You can stick weld with her up to 1/8 rods
You can braze with her
You can cut steel with her by heating the cutline and blowing right behind the
torch with an air gun
And you can even spot pannels in place usin her for a spot welder power sourse.



AND heating up frozen lug nuts.

So much knowlage has been lost from new technoligy...

All those things can be done with a torch, and usually are for a good reason. As far as knowledge being lost here some things are best just forgotten and this thing is hardly a forgotten "art", it is just a crude way of doing something that was replaced by better methods. It is cheap to make and is nothing more than an AC welder passing current between two carbon electrodes and if you have an AC welder you should be able to easily build one. It has fallen out of favor for a good reason, there simply is no practical use for the darn things and if there was they would be popular because they are so simple. If there is one thing I found a use for back in the day when I used them was that they were handy for brazing large heavy items but anything else they will do can be done easier and better with other equipment, just because something CAN do something does not mean it SHOULD be used. An example is the statement that "you can stick weld up to 1/8 rods" sure you can, you can just use the two leads (one as a ground and the other as the hot) and arc weld with a regular arc rod but that is better done with a DC machine. You can also use it like a torch, which I think is what you were talking about, and it will weld but it does not have the shielding properties of an Oxy/Acetylene torch flame nor is it as controlable thus it produces an inferior weld. "Heating up frozen nuts" again it certainly will but a torch is much handier and can do it more evenly if you are dealing with a larger fastener. Cutting? Again you CAN cut using the method you describe but this is nothing more than an Airarc torch and a very crude and clumsy one at that, it does not even remotely resemble a torch cut although it could be used to cut material like stainless that can not be cut (easily) with a torch.

Anybody used one?

Unfortunately yes, quite a bit.

 

[oldschoolrods]

I tried air arc before and found it a very efficient way to burn yourself with slag.

 

[timothale]

carbon arc torch

The Forney arc welder we had on the ranch in the 50's came with a carbon torch. I tried to braze the seam in an old chevy hood and ruined it ..Way too much heat and really warped it ...the 2 rods dont burn evenly and the " flame " varries . A welder friend gave me an air arc torch and a lot of carbon rods. they are still in the cardboard box ..I saved them and thought if my cutting torch bottles are empty on a saturday evening I might have to get it out and use it if I can't wait until the supplier is open on monday morning.

 

[oldred]

and thought if my cutting torch bottles are empty on a saturday evening .

I thought tanks ALWAYS run out on Saturday evenings?

 

[timothale]

yea a

yea and holliday weekends when I think I can get some work finished.

 

[mike the painter]

I tried air arc before and found it a very efficient way to burn yourself with slag.

LOL,I was doing the hot slag jig too ,he found it very amusing ...said it's been a long long time since he had a good laugh like that. watching him was like watching an artist effortlessly doing something few can master but that was just one of his welders he acquired over a life time of being a welder.although I'm a certified pipe fitter/welder I really only took the coarse to learn tig from one of the best welders in the area ....I'd never call myself a welder but have a great respect for anyone that can weld all day,every day their whole life...it puts things in perspective for someone like me that cant even gas weld a tailpipe without burning it up. just being able to fire up a mig and stick two pieces dont make you a welder even if youve migged your whole life ...as i have. I'll be looking in on him regularly now just to pick up a few tips and shoot the sheet with the old guy.