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Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder?

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Terry in KY

02-03-2004 06:48:34




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Found a big old Lincoln "tombstone" welder yesterday and was wondering if this was a good deal. Guy estimates it to be 20-25 years old, 240volts input. It's in nice shape, both to look at and seems to work well on all settings.

He wants $175 for it (it's on a dolly of it's own and includes all leads, etc.). Is this at least a pretty fair deal?

Thanks!

Terry




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Tom

02-03-2004 19:24:08




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
Is it AC and DC or just AC. If it is AC/DC and in good shape, then get it. If it is AC only pass it up.



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T_Bone

02-03-2004 16:44:57




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
Hi Terry,

Those are great DC machines with a good stable arc. I don't believe there made any longer and the old ones, 40yrs or so, 60's I think, were CU wound with a true generator orperation and why the excellant arc stability.

If your an experience welder burn a few rods and see that the arc is stable, starts easy and try a few amp settings as the "fireplugs" or "tombstone" as they were called, had 15amp jump adustments just like the AC buzzers did.

They even make a good scratch start Tig machine with using my dropper resistor trick.

If the machine runs well, I'd give $500 without batting a eye as it will out preform most new $2k machines.

T_Bone

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John in MA

02-03-2004 17:22:32




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 Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to T_Bone, 02-03-2004 16:44:57  
T-Bone, a tombstone usually means a basic Lincoln AC225 or a similar AC/DC model. An old AC type's probably nominally worth $100, the DC type maybe twice as much. Very different from the Idealarcs.



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Bus Driver

02-03-2004 17:00:05




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 Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to T_Bone, 02-03-2004 16:44:57  
Some of the post are assuming that the welder is the entry level AC machine- you can carry it with one hand. My Idealarc AC/DC 250 -vintage 1957- weighs at least 400 pounds. That is the one T-Bone describes. Mine even has power factor correction capacitors. I bought it used in the mid 70's from a dealer in Buffalo NY. New ones of this type were at least $600.00 in the 1970's. It had an Interstate high frequency unit bolted on top for TIG use, but no regulator or handpiece. I have no TIG experience. The HF unit is sitting in the shop corner. The welder has needed only fan bearings- I think that indicates lots of use to wear out the fan bearings. It is a superb welder. $175- a screaming bargain for one like mine.

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T_Bone

02-03-2004 19:15:54




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 Re: Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone wel in reply to Bus Driver, 02-03-2004 17:00:05  
Hi John,

Ok I reread the post and that is why I hate generic slang names... to easy to get confused and yes I made a mistake. Thanks for catching it.

As BD said the one I'm discribing has a square base about 24" x 24" with a round center tower about 24" high and 10" diameter with a generator.

The AC buzz boxs do look like a gravestone with the dog ear TOP corners and also comes in AC/DC for about $350 new so $175 for a 25yr old one is expensive even if CU wound like mine.

Sorry about that Terry!

T_Bone

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John in MA

02-04-2004 10:44:49




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone in reply to T_Bone, 02-03-2004 19:15:54  
Those old motor/generator welders have a whole set of slang of their own. I've usually heard horizonal models called torpedos, and vertical ones called coffe grinders or R2-D2.



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Bus Driver

02-04-2004 04:47:48




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone in reply to T_Bone, 02-03-2004 19:15:54  
Mine is a transformer welder. The only motor is the cooling fan. Mine is 300 amps AC, 250 amps DC. 60% duty cycle at full amps, 100% duty cycle at lesser amps. Looks similar to eBay item 2593564911. Mine has continuous amp adjustment with handwheel, no clicks at various settings.



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T_Bone

02-05-2004 03:20:22




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombs in reply to Bus Driver, 02-04-2004 04:47:48  
Hi BD,

Yes those were great machines too and again not what I was thinking of. I did some looking around and couldn't find a picture of what I talking about.

T_Bone



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max

02-03-2004 14:04:29




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
Terry
Might not even work, or not for long. Brother bought one for 75 bucks, never used it, when I finally tried it , it started sparking from the inside, started on fire, then blew up.
Penny wise and pound foolish.
Get a new one.



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TimV

02-03-2004 09:06:16




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
Terry: The going rate for used tombstones (ok--let me rephrase that..... ) used Lincoln AC225's is around $100, and there are thousands of them out there. If this is a larger machine, or if it has AC/DC capability, then the price can be adjusted upward accordingly. They're a good welder, and many farms, shops, homeowners, and even larger establishments have never seen the need to have anything else, but they're hardly scarce or unique enough to justify a premium price.

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James in MO

02-03-2004 08:52:48




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
Wehn you say "tombstone" I am assuming you mean the old AC 225 amp boxes and no that is not a good deal now if we are talking ac 225 and dc150 or better that is a good deal if the leads are in good shape do you know what the ratings are? I paid 450 for my Miller ac 225 dc 150 thunderbolt with a 20% duty cycle and 15 foot of lead on each side.



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John K

02-03-2004 08:40:37




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
If it ia an Ideal arc 250, it is almost indistructable, I paid 800.00 (Canadian or as someone coined the northern paso) in the early 80's.



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Mark

02-03-2004 07:08:25




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 Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Terry in KY, 02-03-2004 06:48:34  
If your talking about a "buzzbox" model, I bought mine for $75.00 with leads and wheels. You can buy it new for around $260.00. Now if its the AC/DC model the price is right. Hope that helps.



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Bob

02-03-2004 08:04:30




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 Re: Re: Good price for a lincoln Tombstone welder? in reply to Mark, 02-03-2004 07:08:25  
I have been useing one of these Lincoln welders for about 40 years. It is built about twice as heavy as the newer ones. Never have had any trouble with it. My father sold them and I got the demonstrator one. (no cost)



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