Advice - CL Miller Spot Welder

[JHunter]

Guys - I'm on vacation and found this on Craigslist- he's asking $275.00. I'm a tinkerer / car guy, so I can see its usefulness, just looking for yalls opinion on if the price looks good, and anything I should check for. It's a 110v version with 18 inch tongs.
Thoughts?

 

[404]

Is there supposed to be a link to the item?

 

[JHunter]

Oh - here's a link Thanks
http://pensacola.craigslist.org/tls/5016094326.html

 

[2oolhound]

Those are the long set of tongs which is nice to have. My buddy had one like that that had to be stripped down, switch and 110 wiring replaced and cleaned up but got it working again. The high amps are carried to the tongs via braided copper straps, they had to be dismantled and cleaned too. He paid $40 as is for his (dead). A small mig would be handier but they are handy for the right type of work and stainless.

Get a demo first as it may need a tear down to work properly.

 

[JHunter]

Thanks 2ool - I'll ask him to demo. From reading on the web, seems like there's mixed reviews on a 110v unit for sheet metal (automotive). I can easily justify a new tool lol, just don't want to think it'll handle panels if that's at the end of its range.
Thanks again

 

[2oolhound]

Here's a pic of my buddies. You can see the other type of tongs they supply. These tongs have 1/4 copper threaded tips you can replace. The bent ones are custom made. You can see the original Miller straight tips laying on the bench.

 

[dr_clyde]

It's probably worth what's he's asking, but you'll find that it's not as useful as you think it will be.

These things are heavy, awkward, and almost impossible to fit into the nooks and crannies that a car guy typically wants to reach.

That said, they are handy in certain areas and are fast if you have the setup right.

It's missing the spot timer, btw.

 

[JHunter]

Thanks for the assistance and info guys. Just picked it up after talking to the gentleman that owned it - nice old guy in his 90s. His daughter was helping (forcing?) him downsize a bit.
We tested it on some washers and it seemed to work just fine.
Thanks again.

 

[kabinenroller]

The tongs type of spot welder is good for most jobs. I was in need of spot welding in an area where the lo get tongs would not reach. After some research I found a type of welder that had two "Stingers" on heavy cables. This lows the spot weld to be done if you have an application that is unaccesable with a normal welder. I found this one on CL used but in very good condition, it worked excellent!
The amperage is set automatically but the welding time is adjustable up to 10 seconds. There is a trigger on one of the handles.

 

[JHunter]

roller - that's pretty cool, basically a "freehand" spot welder huh? I can see that having even more versatility. Nice!
duck - he (she) had a H frame hydraulic press for $150 that if I wasn't on vacation I would have picked up. http://pensacola.craigslist.org/tls/5010291536.html
Looking at it again, maybe I'll take another look. Thoughts?

 

[JHunter]

Great - thank you duck. I'm a fan of older American machines, but not if they weren't that great when made lol. That's money back in my pocket - rare for this site! Thanks