New to me antique welder

[Eugen]

Look what the cat dragged in, a General Electric Farm and Home Welder from the '40s or'50s. Do I need it? Was it necessary? My throbbing thumb ordered me to get it. plus it was only $50.

[JSinMO]

Wow. An oldie but hopefully a goodie! Does it function, or is this a project?

Im curious to see what your thumb has you bring home next!

Seriously though I hope it’s starting to heal a little and the pain isn’t as bad.

[Timj]

nice excuse fire it up, see how it welds. A little practice will help get your thumb out of your head.

[Harry]

Eugen, very cool. Is it AC or AC DC? Some electrodes run better on AC but most can run on DC, so I keep my stick welder on DC all the time. In the classification code the third number signifies which current to use. A 1 is for DC and a 2 is for AC, but most AC rods run well on DC. It’s probably powered by 240 volt inline correct? This is much better than 120 volt. Good luck with your practice and hope your healing process is quick. Harry

[Eugen]

Ahm, no idea if it works. probably does. Even if it doesn't, there's enough copper in it to justify getting it.

Jeff, thanks for asking, the thumb hurts less than I thought, still bleeding and twisted looking but it is what it is.

These old welders there's little usually that can go wrong with them. Needs some fixing on the cables, when the hand gets better I'll give it some attention. I can't help it, I like these old tools.

@Harry being that old and with farm in its name I'm pretty sure it's AC and 240V.

[Eugen]

Even my wife agrees that $50 is worth the many hours of therapy I'm getting.


Some wire brush action reveals details hidden by a coat of paint previously applied by someone.

I would venture to say that the 180 amps of this little welder are the honest version of 180 amps.

The middle dial is marked with electrode size. Very nice.

How neat is this? A visual depiction of the thickness and electrode to use with it. Unfortunately the electrode size markings are off.

[RoamingGnome]

That's a cool vintage welder - Good job on the wire brushing you left a really nice patina too!

[Timj]

I really like it, I sure hope it works. all these things from the by gone era when companies wanted their products to last and for you to be successful and satisfied with them. Not just that they got your money once and don't care about anything else.

[propane1]

That’s neat Eugen. It sure will help to keep your mind off the thumb pain. My Sears welder has that high/low range setting. I don’t know what it’s for thou. You can set it to 100 amps on either scale.

Noel

[DavidBarkey]

That’s neat Eugen. It sure will help to keep your mind off the thumb pain. My Sears welder has that high/low range setting. I don’t know what it’s for thou. You can set it to 100 amps on either scale.

Noel

High is for standing on a ladder and low is for lying under .