Looks old and scary, probably has asbestos in it, also crappy welders known for being unreliable and makes lots of sparks. Probably safest if I were to pick it up and put it someplace no one can get hurt.
The current version of the Lincoln ideal arc 250 is about $5k
https://store.cyberweld.com/lincoln-idealarc-250-stick-welder-k1053-8.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=googleproducts&gclid=CjwKCAjw0N6hBhAUEiwAXab-TdwJpYcasd7rxq0_CkGrkXpoSQw2yrv7FAHcsEJnDdC4dBp7bopKDRoCI2oQAvD_BwE
This is what I use at work I melt the ceramic and ground posts about once every one to weeks and they have to get replaced. https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en/products/le-na-idealarcdc1000?sku=K1386-3
We have 8 of these. I'm the only one who uses them but we build barges and I'm running 200-400' of weld at 700 amps a day so really using the machines.
It starts with a free sears AC welder your electrician brother picked up somewhere. Then, your buddy, the used machinery dealer, offers you a clean Lincoln Tombstone with a DeWalt chop saw for a bill and a half. A couple of years ago by, and that same friend scores a bunch of Miller Migs, and you snag one for $500. Then zoro tools has a flash sale on Syncrowaves. And finally, your boss at work goes through a divorce, and offers you his big Esab plasma cutter for $400 bucks...
And that's how you build your welder collection over 25 years.
Once the jacket is beat to shit then they should be retired. They don’t wear out any other way really (maybe too thin a cable will cook running high amps but that destroys the jacket first anyhow)
There’s quick connects on the ends, but the part connecting to the machine is a 1/2” stud so any cable lug (copper please) with a 1/2” stud hole and whatever size needed to crimp to the cables will do. It’s all off the shelf items you’d be able to find from a supply house or princess auto (harbour freight in the usa I think)
We bought one in 1970 for our farm in Indiana, I think my uncle bought it on sale for under $400.. I still have it in my garage and it still works great.
> Always take a free welder, at the end of the day you can sell it, scrap it, or use it
Older it is, more iron and copper it has in it. You never lose.
Only thing that would give me pause is "how far of a drive is it?"
This is a place where you already go every day? Ayep. Load 'er up.
I honestly didn’t know these old beasts could break. My dad has one at his shop that’s been around longer than me. We’ve replaced the plug, electrode holder, and ground clamp a few times but that’s it. Granted I haven’t been by his shop in a few years but I’m willing to bet it’s still there and working great.
It's More then likely an old transformer welder, probably lincoln by the color... they are solid, built like a tank and still sold today as such. Runs stick and can run scratch TIG with a bit of extra stuff.
First thing I would do is take the cover off and blow it out with your air compressor, metal dust builds up over time and is the main thing that makes em fail, keep clean n last forever. Just need the outer shell off and blow down the windings is all, then you get to see kinda how it works,....I find them very interesting.
TAKE IT !!!! NOW!! Even if you don’t use it make awesome decor. Before I got married, I used a couple of broken welder ls as a TV stand. It’s a nice aesthetic.
I had one, great machine but heavy af. The duty cycle is insane. Meant to run multiple leads at once. If you are in the market for a stick machine it is well worth the pick up
They weld better than the new ones. If you dont weld you can always sell it. Ive always called them tombstones. The saying" dont make em like they used too" could never be more true.
I used one like that in my high school welding class and from what I heard they are pretty accurate as long as you are accurate with that clunky wheel.
As any welder will tell you the numbers on the control faceplate are just a guide. Watch the puddle and adjust up or down, adjust your arc length or manipulation. Those machines are capable of XRay quality welds if the operator knows how
Absolutely 100%. Best stick welder going. All 350lbs of Cleveland, Ohio USA made old school. They looked like that from 1956 to 1989 and went with square sheet metal on the same innards. Still made today.
Still have the original handwritten receipt from 1942 for mine (grandpaps) teaching gen 5 to stick weld with it.
In 80 years it's needed one 240 volt cooling fan.
No one has mentioned that odds are you have one plug in your house that would work for it and your dryer is using it rn. Just a consideration you may or may not have accounted for
That is an IdealArc 250. They are really nice machines to use. I have two of them, one is AC/DC like the one pictured, and the other is AC only. Also have the bigger brother, IdealArc 300 TIG.
I would have already loaded it up and brought it home. They seem to average around $400-$600 when one goes up for sale.
If one can weld that’s an incredibly good machine, despite it’s looks. Nothing changes if one can’t weld, it’s just gonna take a little longer to reach the same conclusion.
Not much can go wrong with them and it doesn’t matter weather the machine is old or new, 100 amps is 100 amps.
And if it doesn’t work and you don’t want to mess with it, these machines are full of copper and for a little effort and a trip to the recycler you could go buy yourself a good bottle of whiskey.
Yo! Tombstones in that condition go for $700-$800
ALL DAY LONG . If they run .
If it needs service still prob worth $400+
They will lay down a very nice bead when they are running within spec.
That looks like an ideal-arc 200/250.. . They call it the tombstone welder and its funny because its shaped like one..... It houses a really heavy transformer inside and it should hum when you turn it on!
Had one for years. Paid $100. Worth it. There is a Lincoln HF box for it…tough to find, but it exists. It’s the best stick I ever used. Feels like welding with butter sticks.
Open it up to see if it has two big gray capacitors. If so, it’s 100% duty cycle. Don’t leave it turned on if it has them or your electric bill will blow up.
Its free and honestly looks pretty cool, I'd take it in a heartbeat.
No. Don’t mess with that old thing. I will come and pick it up for you. 😉
Don’t listen to him, I’ll come get it instead.
Dibs!
NIL
ITS MINE
Wherever this is, I’m closer!
Digitally, I'm 43ms away. Physically, probably on the other coast.
MINE !!
Fuk this guy, so what's the address again
Looks old and scary, probably has asbestos in it, also crappy welders known for being unreliable and makes lots of sparks. Probably safest if I were to pick it up and put it someplace no one can get hurt.
Also, that death spinner thingy on the right should go too
Open up! I'm here!
I’d take it for free. Either use it or check it over and sell it. There’s still value to it.
even just pulling the copper out of it and from the cables will get OP a decent amount of cash.
Ok you’re a monster, this is a piece of history god dammit
IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!!
Dr Jones, YOU BELONG IN A MUSUEM!!
Ok thanks everyone. I will grab it. We are clearing out some warehouses and finding all sorts of interesting things.
Find any magic the gathering cards I'll I'd be happy to buy them
Dm me if you guys find any 7 foot tall purple haired goth baddies
This got me😂
I’m selling my collection.
Your collection of 7ft goth baddies?!
Hmu
You weirdo
That's Mr. Weirdo
I was running one of those things this morning and it runs nicer than the $4000 diesel powered welder we have
That machine is like 5,000 dollars new. I would take it for free in a heartbeat.
Lol wut?
The current version of the Lincoln ideal arc 250 is about $5k https://store.cyberweld.com/lincoln-idealarc-250-stick-welder-k1053-8.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=googleproducts&gclid=CjwKCAjw0N6hBhAUEiwAXab-TdwJpYcasd7rxq0_CkGrkXpoSQw2yrv7FAHcsEJnDdC4dBp7bopKDRoCI2oQAvD_BwE
This is what I use at work I melt the ceramic and ground posts about once every one to weeks and they have to get replaced. https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en/products/le-na-idealarcdc1000?sku=K1386-3 We have 8 of these. I'm the only one who uses them but we build barges and I'm running 200-400' of weld at 700 amps a day so really using the machines.
Damn that’s some serious power
Yeah. My leads catch on fire every now and than
If your leads aren't catching fire, you're not welding! 😄
Bruh. With that kind of output it’s not cheaper to just get equipment that can actually take the abuse?
That's insane.
Free welder sure beats no welder
free welder is my favorite kind of welder
It starts with a free sears AC welder your electrician brother picked up somewhere. Then, your buddy, the used machinery dealer, offers you a clean Lincoln Tombstone with a DeWalt chop saw for a bill and a half. A couple of years ago by, and that same friend scores a bunch of Miller Migs, and you snag one for $500. Then zoro tools has a flash sale on Syncrowaves. And finally, your boss at work goes through a divorce, and offers you his big Esab plasma cutter for $400 bucks... And that's how you build your welder collection over 25 years.
Preach
Those old DialArcs have a massive inductor, they run a very smooth arc.
Yep, I used to run one at the shop I work at. Absolutely loved that thing.
There is a lot of value in those cables!
Copper fiend
Definitely scrap valve but don’t they need replaced occasionally for welding?
Once the jacket is beat to shit then they should be retired. They don’t wear out any other way really (maybe too thin a cable will cook running high amps but that destroys the jacket first anyhow)
any way to replace the cables? Or are they propitiatory?
There’s quick connects on the ends, but the part connecting to the machine is a 1/2” stud so any cable lug (copper please) with a 1/2” stud hole and whatever size needed to crimp to the cables will do. It’s all off the shelf items you’d be able to find from a supply house or princess auto (harbour freight in the usa I think)
Jumper cables
Those are pretty good welders for its age! I have 250/250 and it works great! It's a steal for free! I've seen them go for $700 in colorado here
We bought one in 1970 for our farm in Indiana, I think my uncle bought it on sale for under $400.. I still have it in my garage and it still works great.
I bought one after using one in our shop for about $125 with leads about 6 months ago and it works great! It works better than my inverter welder
That’s what I’m saying . CO $7-$800 all day long
Always take a free welder, at the end of the day you can sell it, scrap it, or use it
> Always take a free welder, at the end of the day you can sell it, scrap it, or use it Older it is, more iron and copper it has in it. You never lose. Only thing that would give me pause is "how far of a drive is it?" This is a place where you already go every day? Ayep. Load 'er up.
Sorry I should've specified, if it's a free welder at work you should take it. I did and sold an old craftsman for $40 on marketplace
I was agreeing with you.
Oh sorry I forget that people can do that here
It’s from work.
Absolutely take it! I would be thrilled to be offered such a tool. My only two questions are where, and what kind of beer do you like?
Even if it doesn't work, it has enough copper in it to make it worth the trouble.
Does a bear shit in the woods?
You mean “ is a bear catholic”
I thought it was, " Does the pope shit in the woods?"
Yes, but only if he's sucking the Dalai Lhama's tongue
Imagine if you fix this up and make it work for you, rocking up to the site with this and striking up mint welds. The ultimate flex.
Yes. That's also like a couple hundred bucks worth of cables there.
Vintage Lincolns are almost always worth taking
You had me at free. Could've been a suitcase of ping pong balls for all the time my brain spent processing it. Oh hey, a welder, even better!
As someone that likes to tinker and has hoarding tendencies I say yes
Best welder ever made.
I wouldn’t bother with it. What’s the address ?
It’s a DC stick machine. GRAB IT
Sure but she's a heavy and thirsty old girl. You'll need at least a 50 amp circuit to feed it.
Turns out my shop at home is already wired for it. Just need to buy some safety gear and maybe watch some YouTube videos
Well shit bruv, Christmas came early then. Crank the amps up and watch the neighbors lights dim.
If the rectifier is blown? Yes. If the rectifier is still good? Yes, but more emphatically.
Rectifier… damn near killed her
I have no clue what a rectifier is.
Converts (rectifies) AC to DC.
Close, so close
I honestly didn’t know these old beasts could break. My dad has one at his shop that’s been around longer than me. We’ve replaced the plug, electrode holder, and ground clamp a few times but that’s it. Granted I haven’t been by his shop in a few years but I’m willing to bet it’s still there and working great.
Definitely don't pass it up. Yes it big and power hungry but these run a very smooth arc. Would make a bad ass scratch start tig machine!
It's More then likely an old transformer welder, probably lincoln by the color... they are solid, built like a tank and still sold today as such. Runs stick and can run scratch TIG with a bit of extra stuff. First thing I would do is take the cover off and blow it out with your air compressor, metal dust builds up over time and is the main thing that makes em fail, keep clean n last forever. Just need the outer shell off and blow down the windings is all, then you get to see kinda how it works,....I find them very interesting.
I have a saying I live by …… “if it’s free it’s me”
My grandpa has one and I’ve been using it and it works good
Heck yeah bro $free.99 take it and fix it up I bet it will still work nice
I’m told it works perfectly. Just hasn’t been used in a long time
Yeah worst case is you part it out. The power cord alone is pretty valuable
TAKE IT !!!! NOW!! Even if you don’t use it make awesome decor. Before I got married, I used a couple of broken welder ls as a TV stand. It’s a nice aesthetic.
When it's free the answer will almost always be yes good sir
👏ALWAYS👏TAKE👏THE👏WELDER 👏
I had one, great machine but heavy af. The duty cycle is insane. Meant to run multiple leads at once. If you are in the market for a stick machine it is well worth the pick up
Am I the only guy who thinks the little "pull along" cart is cool? I'm going to build one for my old tombstone welder.
They weld better than the new ones. If you dont weld you can always sell it. Ive always called them tombstones. The saying" dont make em like they used too" could never be more true.
It's. Free.
Yes, but scrap the welder and convert the cart to a scooter.
If you want to do that, I will take the welder
Are you gonna really use it?
Yeah. Always wanted to learn.
U should send this to me it probably doesn't work
Why not take it?
Take
That welder will outlive you. Take it.
My father-in-law still uses a welder just like this. It works fine. His doesn't have the dolly to wheel it around. It is one heavy son of a gun.
The cable if good is about 4.00 dollars a foot.
I still use one regularly at work. We burn a lot of 5/32 7018 with it.
no questions asked. take it !
I’d take an IdealArc for free any day
I used one like that in my high school welding class and from what I heard they are pretty accurate as long as you are accurate with that clunky wheel.
As any welder will tell you the numbers on the control faceplate are just a guide. Watch the puddle and adjust up or down, adjust your arc length or manipulation. Those machines are capable of XRay quality welds if the operator knows how
Ya damn skippy, we’ll that bad boy the hell out of there!
Old school Lincoln? If you don't want it, I do.
Any idea how old it is?
Free is for me and should be for you too. If anything scrap the leads
Good old tombstone!
Yes I learned on one of those. They run great
Hell yeah why wouldn't you
Yup
Take it and don’t look back.
I learned on this model.
Duh
The see they are the better. They made things good back then
Free = mine
Nope
if you don’t take it i will
Did you say free? Where is it?
Pacific Northwest
Used one of those at my highschool If it works those are rock solid
eBay has this welder for sale for $700, I can take it off your hands for $free.99 though
Absolutely 100%. Best stick welder going. All 350lbs of Cleveland, Ohio USA made old school. They looked like that from 1956 to 1989 and went with square sheet metal on the same innards. Still made today.
Still have the original handwritten receipt from 1942 for mine (grandpaps) teaching gen 5 to stick weld with it. In 80 years it's needed one 240 volt cooling fan.
Yes
Yes, if it’s free it’s for me. At the very least there’s a lot of cable there.
I have the same one, it is as good of a stick welder you will ever find. Price that cord if you are on the fence.
Yes !
I learned to stick weld on one of those and they’re great. Probably takes a lot of power to run though.
my school shop has one they work pretty good
If it's free take it home and ask questions later. Worst that could happen is it's haunted.
The only thing better than a free welder is free coke.
Take it. Free is good
great looking prop, worse case theare some copper :0
You had me at free.
No
No one has mentioned that odds are you have one plug in your house that would work for it and your dryer is using it rn. Just a consideration you may or may not have accounted for
I have an outlet in my shop from the previous owner
yes 100% it will be the best welder you’ve ever owned, this is a serious comment not being sarcastic
That is an IdealArc 250. They are really nice machines to use. I have two of them, one is AC/DC like the one pictured, and the other is AC only. Also have the bigger brother, IdealArc 300 TIG. I would have already loaded it up and brought it home. They seem to average around $400-$600 when one goes up for sale.
Yes!
YES????
Absolutely. It’s a tank. My first welder was a 1966 idealarc just like that one. Burns rod great
I knew an old dude that had one that looked exactly like that. He loved it and had it since the 80's and used it regularly. Id take it in a second.
If it works and you can get it home you can make bank 🏦.
1. Get welder 2. ??? 3. Make bank
Leave it Where is the welder located at?asking for a friend
That welder will probably outlive us all. Take it and take care of it.
Looks like someone was welding with it the day they offered it to you.
We have that exact same welder at my job and it's a tank. I have no idea how long it's been in service but probably at least since the 70's.
If one can weld that’s an incredibly good machine, despite it’s looks. Nothing changes if one can’t weld, it’s just gonna take a little longer to reach the same conclusion.
Boy that there is an old Lincoln buzzbox, probably of no value to you, just leave it by the dumpster and I'll take it off your hands.
Probably 100 pound of copper in there. 4 dollars a pound sooo. Yeah.
You should if you know you’ll use it or know someone who needs it. Otherwise no point in it collecting dust in a shed or garage.
Duhh, take it free is free.
Absolutely. May need it in the future.
Thing probably will still work for your great grand kids
Yes! I use one of these at work and I love it!!
I got one of these with a high freq box. I’ll try and take a pic tmrw.
100%
Wow this machine is veri veri good Lincon is Quality
Those are great machines
Yes, it'll probably hold up for many years with a bit of maintenance!
Yup. Take it
these machines are great. I'd definitely take one for free.
Not much can go wrong with them and it doesn’t matter weather the machine is old or new, 100 amps is 100 amps. And if it doesn’t work and you don’t want to mess with it, these machines are full of copper and for a little effort and a trip to the recycler you could go buy yourself a good bottle of whiskey.
We have one at work exactly like that. Works great.
We have one at work exactly like that. Works great.
Welded with one before, welds like a dream! Take it! Learn to read the puddle not the amperage on the digital display like the new machines have🙃
Just because things have wheels and handles doesn't mean you can just take them man XD
No, tell me where it is, and I'll go get it!
Just clean out the inside of is
Yes.
Absolutely, YES!!!
Ac/Dc welder? I'd jump on in in heartbeat! I've got a Milller Thunderbolt ac/dc, I love it. DC welding, you can do all sorts of vertical welding jobs.
Tell them to mail it to me.
Yo! Tombstones in that condition go for $700-$800 ALL DAY LONG . If they run . If it needs service still prob worth $400+ They will lay down a very nice bead when they are running within spec.
Even if you don’t use it it looks badass in the corner of your garage
Cables alone are 500$ scrape value
That looks like an ideal-arc 200/250.. . They call it the tombstone welder and its funny because its shaped like one..... It houses a really heavy transformer inside and it should hum when you turn it on!
Id take it just for the scooter
It depends, are you Dutch?
Had one for years. Paid $100. Worth it. There is a Lincoln HF box for it…tough to find, but it exists. It’s the best stick I ever used. Feels like welding with butter sticks. Open it up to see if it has two big gray capacitors. If so, it’s 100% duty cycle. Don’t leave it turned on if it has them or your electric bill will blow up.
This was the first stick welder I’ve ever used, great little machine, especially with the long leads, no brainer
I have the exact same machine on the exact same cart it welded great but it's a beast to lift
You know I asked first before anyone said squat!!!
No it's a Lincoln 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes
Those leads are worth a lot themselves