Welding Tips and Tricks

Just thought I would drop in and say hello to the group. I saw Jody YouTube and thought it would be an interesting site to check out. I’m a retired Plant electrician and have always wanted to learn to weld but with so many other things in life just never found time to do it. Have now completed a couple of continue Ed. Class's and will be in a technical college this fall for a welding certificate. I enjoy fabricating different things and I picked up on craigslist a 1976 Miller DialArc 250 AC/DC for the grand sum of $175.00 no leads and the fellow had no way to power it up. I repaired the input cord on both ends and repainted the old girl. Replace a broken dial a good cleaning inside and out (funny there number’s under all that dirt) and upgraded the old style pin connecter’s for the new Panel Socket Connector CK35-50mm2 300-400A type that my Miller Dynasty 200dx uses. It welds so smooth at 160 amps running 7024 on a safe build for a friend. See the pictures of some of the work to restore it.

Hi, Gene,

Sweet deal for a DC-capable machine (with a bit of sweat-equity)!

You'll hear that metric connector called a "Dinse", or a European connecter, vs. the larger "Tweco" connector, or the crappy pin connectors that likely came with. I have an OLD Miller crackerbox I built connectors for... using split roll-pins soldered to the leads... How's that for redneck?

Steve S

Being I now reside in the heart of the South I'm all for it. I have a very new and most excellent machine but their no reason to beat it to death on grunt work so to speak. The old girl is in it own running high current rod on heavy metal. There a lot of these machine's around and run circles around a red tombstone welder (my very first brought for $150 sold for $150 to a fellow student.)before I stoned at the welding alter!!!

Welcome to the forum.