A buddy of mine gave me this welder today...I love the design to it...I need to know what should I do to get it going....it needs some wiring as you can see in the back view photo...It's a HEAVY unit weighs 240 lbs..has big copper wiring inside. Has cast iron wheel underneath...Also not to sure how to hook up the leads...Love those ald Craftsman welders...oh my friend told me that Lincoln made these old units..Any info would be great...year..color of the unit when new...safety issues I should do to get it going..
Wow, 295 amps! Industrial strength version of my old craftsman......those are great old welders. Your wiring don't look that bad, pull all that tape off and see what you got. probably needs a new cord....simple 220-240 wiring. Do you have the leads? Let us know how it works....
Any electrical supply house can order you new lead cable from Omni Cable, Priority Cable, or Wire Xpress. I work as a commercial electrical wholesaler and have ordered it for myself and many local farmers. Looks like a rad old welder for sure, I think it'd be interesting to build a period car with period specific tools!
If you take the housing off there maybe a wiring diagram inside..I don't know if it could do multi-voltage [220/440] but if you look for a Craftsman Tool Group I'm sure someone would pop up that could tell you everything..http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vintage_Craftsman_Tools/
Well can't get this to come on...wondering if I wired it right...?? I took the top off and saw it had a 2 wire switch...no ground wire...?? I took the old cord out wired a new one on...with the ground not hooked up...red and black wires are connected to the switch...the middle white wire the gound is not..(their is no place to hook it up)....plugged it in...nothing...the new outlet plug does have a ground..should I ground the machine somehow. Wondering if these old welders had one??...I did test the outlet...it's good..I'm using a new 50 amp breaker also..
I'm no electrician, but I believe the middle wire is a common, not a ground. I has to be hooked up to complete the circuit. Sparkies, correct me if I'm wrong.
NO on the middle wire. The red to one side black to other side of switch. The center wire [green]? will bolt to the metal framework. Next check if 220 is coming out of the other side of the switch. Ron The electrian
And it does say 74 amp on the plate. 50 breaker is ok if you don't get into the heavy amp welding. You're gonna find an open somewhere, I'd think the unit itself is good, just a simple problem to find and fix. Ya need an ohmeter.
I have a picture of the hook up on this welder...you can see the new gray cord which has the middle wire not connected..this is the ground wire...I also found a tag that was tied to the old outlet box that was attached to the back of the welder...it stated the following info...IF THE METHOD IS USED TO CONNECTING THIS WELDER TO THE LINE IS SUCH THAT THE METAL CABINET IS NOT AUTOMACTICALLY GROUNDED CONNECT THIS TERMINAL TO A WATER PIPE OR OTHER GROUND....I'm pointing my finger to the terminal in the photo...SO..should I connect the ground wire on the plug to the metal cabinet..or attach a wire from the metal case to a water pipe..???
That is what the tag stated...so I will take that middle wire and ground it to the metal housing...right???....see my above posting also
The 2 sides of the switch should be HOT(2 modern black coded wires, if its 220volt or a black and a red) and the other side should be neutral(A modern white code wire) this is probably connected into a internal box by a wirenut or a terminal strip.. If you use a ground wire....connect that ground to the welders chassis....nothing else. The fan should come on then the power is applied. If your unsure of anything, have one of your friends come over thats familiar with wiring and codes to look and doublecheck before you throw the juice to it and possibly fry something. This welder is a nice old one....you just move your electode cables plug to whatever range you need to weld in....and the ground or 'work' stays clamped to your work piece. Nice super old heavy duty. Any you can matchup any of the old parts with newer stuff....just go to a Industrial electrical supplier....
For a 220 single phase....you have (2)- hot 120 volt taps(One is black, the other is usually red, but sometimes black as well), a neutral wire(which is white), a ground(which is a single bare copper one or a green wire with insulation on it). If its a 220....its gotta have 2 hot wires to the switch, and the white usually bypasses the switch and hooks to the neutral side inside a small box.
just looked at the two wires....on the back by the fan.....both of those are your 220, each wire is your 110 taps, the wire thats hanging free is your neutral. It won't come on until that is hooked up.....
Yep, thats the truth right there!!! It's hard to kill these old AC welders, I still have and use an old Miller of about the same vintage.
I just found some of the old photos I had of the machine before I took it apart...looks like the wire which is hanging is the ground wire that is suppose to be connected to the outlet connector...so that will be ground to the metal cabinet..??
Well it's been 5 months since I touched that old Craftsman..today I got it running...using 1/8" 7018 rods...dam what a pain fine tuning this machine...it either sticks or melts through the metal...I'm trying to weld up some areas on my rearend...my small MIG it's strong enough...looks like I have to practice some...any info I should be concerned about..???...would like to hear from you...it's a AC machine..so the placement of the ground and stick doesn't matter...I spent all my extra cash on car parts...should of invested in a larger MIG...maybe this summer??
My rule of thumb when usig my old Lincoln arc welder is same amps as diameter of rod 1/8 in 125 etc thats a starting point if it sticks go up a notch experiment a little you'll get it!
I've never had much luck running 7018 on AC. I know it is listed as an AC/DC rod, but I find I have to crank the amps up too high to get it to run. The last 3 or 4 inches always overheats and burns the flux off
I'm a big fan of the golden road, brownville Jct. and Schlitz. Can't wait to invade up there this Spring! Are you using AC-7018? Sounds like you're having heat setting problems. 7018 Is a bear if you're not use to it. Maybe you should stick to the 6011? Keep stickin', anyone can use a 220 MIG.(but fewer can afford a good one) As they say up there: Restore Boston!
Ah Hah...7018 is the problem...bought some 6011 and some 6013...things are good now..I'm welding like a champ...TORR..If you go to the Pelletier's Logger's Restaurant I'll show you around..asked for Sindo..I'll show you my project in the garage and drink some Schlitz with you!!
6011 is easy to weld with but the 7018 will lay better and be stronger. try a 3/32 7018 and practice on some scrap the same thickness as your project piece. i run 6011 as a root pass and cover it with 7018 if you get used to it you will have clean strong bead...
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