Lincoln "tombstone" welders run about $230 new for the AC only version.
Since they last forever, a fair used price is on the order of half of
that. Of course, if you find someone who doesn't know the value of the
new ones (estate sale)or someone trying to 'get rid of it' (divorce or
moving to an apartment) you may see much lower prices. I bought a
vintage '60's AIRCO buzz box that is way nicer than the Lincoln for $5
that had been set down hard on the front. Fixed the adjusting handle,
straigten a bit of the frame and it was good to go. Cost about $50 to
get new stinger and ground cable assemblies. The deals are out there,
you may have a LONG look to find something in your $50 range.

Oxy acet rigs are a bit different. You can buy new Victor torches and
gages for $150, knockoffs for $100, and used for $25 to $50. (I got a
banged up set for free, the owner did not want to chance the repair
work, wasn't worth it to him) But the tanks are a different story. Many
gas dealers will not fill tanks that they are unsure of. Too many
stolen, out of certification, bad valves, etc etc. Not to mention
unprofitable. So they will want to sell, lease, rent their own tanks to
you. The 120 cu ft O2 and 135 acet tanks run around $250 to $300 to buy
(with trade in provisions so you don't need to worry about retesting) or
deposit on a long term lease (what I have) Smaller tanks are just too
much of a pain, always running to the store. So an O/A rig will run $400
or so to have a 'legal' setup. I'm seeing a usual price of $250 or so
from private sellers. Buyer beware on the tanks.

The small wire feeds with flux core can be had for $100 and up. Higher
price gets you better quality (fewer trips to the parts counter), better
duty cycle (10% on time gets old fast!), upgrade kit to add gas for
using plain wire (nice), better controls to set the heat, etc. Youpay
your money and get your product. Figure several hundred $$ new or half
that used from someone who is upgrading.

Which one? I have all 3 at home (180 and 225 amp buzz boxes, flux
core/120 volt wire feed, and O/A) and bigger units at school. Use them
all depending on what I'm doing. My personal choice is the buzz box to
start. Widest variety of possible welds for the $$. Hardest to learn
though. O/A for cutting and brazing (brazing for cast iron and repair of
sheet metal guards that have fatigue cracked). 120 wire feed is the
portable unit for off site repair work and the races. New fabrication is
either stick welder for heavy work (hitches and bumpers) or the 240 volt
wire feed for tube frames on race vehicles.

My $.02

Cheers.

Jeff Polaski wrote:

I'm hoping to buy a reasonably priced, used, welding set up.
Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has a working 220V
tombstone-style welder they'd want to sell for $50 or so, or a set of
oxy-acetylene tanks, torches, user-owned bottles, etc... I'm not sure
what a fair price is, but I've been told that I should expect to pay
about $150 for a complete working oxy-acetytelene setup, and $50 for
the arc welder. Is that about right?

I used to do a little welding in shop at high school, but that was a
while ago... I'd like to get back into welding by making some little
motorcycles and sculptures out of junk. Nothing too fancy at first.
The majority of my welding will be fairly light
"home-shop/fixit/sculpture" type stuff. Eventually there is some
automotive welding I'd like to do--I have a '65 Dart* that needs a
little work, so I'd like a medium or full-size set (not one of the
little portable ones w/milk jug-size bottles). Most of the welding
will be pretty light weight, so I could use a smaller torch, but I
think I'd just fit it on to regular size hoses (with an adaptor if
need be). I don't plan on welding or cutting heavy plate steel or
anything.

I don't mind if the equipment is a "older", as long as it's not
ancient. In fact I prefer older tools in general, if there well made
and in good working order.

I've been told (by Gunner) that the flux-core wire welders from Harbor
Freigh are a fairly decent value. Any one have any experience with
these they'd like to share?

I'm looking forward to welding, it's something I've been wanting to do
for a long time... Well, any way, thanks in advance for your input,


Jeff Polaski
jeffpolaski "at" cox "dot" net

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that
they are extreme, but that they are intolerant."
-- Robert F. Kennedy, 1964

"The truth is found when men are free to pursue it."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936




*It's a '65 270 GT convertable that I've was using for a daily driver
until my wife and I had a kid. Now that I pick my son up after work,
she won't let him any where near that car when it's running. Probably
a good thing, too. It's a great car, really fun to drive and all, but
not so good if you get into an accident.