Christian Pipe Smokers

I picked up a decades old Lincoln 225s for $50 yesterday to replace my decades old Lincoln 225 that I lost when my friend passed away.

I am currently in Los Alamos, NM.

Jocose wrote: ↑24 Nov 2022, 09:30 I picked up a decades old Lincoln 225s for $50 yesterday to replace my decades old Lincoln 225 that I lost when my friend passed away.

$50 is an amazing deal. I was talking with my FIL about them earlier today. There is very little to break on the inside. It's mostly a big coil of wire. It will probably last another lifetime.

Do you have a 240V plug in your shop?

coco wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 18:27

Jocose wrote: ↑24 Nov 2022, 09:30 I picked up a decades old Lincoln 225s for $50 yesterday to replace my decades old Lincoln 225 that I lost when my friend passed away.

$50 is an amazing deal. I was talking with my FIL about them earlier today. There is very little to break on the inside. It's mostly a big coil of wire. It will probably last another lifetime.

Do you have a 240V plug in your shop?

My dad had one in our garage when I and my two brothers were growing up, or at least attempting to. Or maybe it was an older model, I can't recall, and my younger brother called dubs on it when it was time, and he still has it.

coco wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 18:27

Jocose wrote: ↑24 Nov 2022, 09:30 I picked up a decades old Lincoln 225s for $50 yesterday to replace my decades old Lincoln 225 that I lost when my friend passed away.

$50 is an amazing deal. I was talking with my FIL about them earlier today. There is very little to break on the inside. It's mostly a big coil of wire. It will probably last another lifetime.

Do you have a 240V plug in your shop?

$50 is a fair deal for these machines and yer right, not much can go bad on these. My last one had some corrosion on the switch and wouldn't create an arc on testing so I offered him $40 and he took it, it cleaned up and worked just fine.

I do have 240 in the Garage but the Lincoln 225 require a 50 amp breaker and I think mine might be a 30 amp, haven't checked yet, they will run on a 30 amp just fine but I'd rather make sure its correct.

Also you can do a DC modification on these, I may try to find a rectifier and do one just for giggles, we'll see..

I ran to Home Depot and bought a 50 amp breaker for $16 and came home and removed the breaker box cover and then I flipped each breaker off one at a time then I turned the main off and then took out the dedicated 30 amp breaker for the 240 outlet in the garage.

Next I put the 50 amp breaker in its place and then turned the main back on and then flipped each breaker back on one at a time and listened to all of the appliances beep and chirp as power was restored.

Then I put the breaker cover back on and turned off the new 50 amp and then I plugged in my new to me Lincoln 225s AC stick welder.

Then I moved my gas forge down to the floor and then I moved my table that the gas forge sits on closer to the welder as the leads are not long enough to reach the forging table.

Then I grabbed a piece of scrap 3/8 plate steel and put it on the table and then I attached the ground clamp to it.

Then I looked around for some rod. I found some 3/32" 6013 rod and another rod that didn't have a marking on it, it was probably 1/8" 7024 as I remember using that in the past.

Then I grabbed my hood and cleaned off all of the dust on the lens and put it on my head then I grabbed my gloves and then I grabbed a RR spike that I had hot cut in half for a botched forging project a while back (I cracked the opening on that project by not having it heated correctly when drifting an opening into it)

Then I plugged the welder in and turned the new 50 amp breaker on and then I flipped the switch on the new to me but old buzz box and it came to life with a pop and the fan running, sweet!

I put the switch to 105 amps and then I put the unmarked rod in the stinger and struck an arc and viola! It works

I then put the cut RR spike on the plate steel and then I turned the machine off and then moved it to 60 amps for the 6013 rod and then I turned it back on and this time the somewhat loud pop wasn't there (not sure why it popped like that on first start up, probably been sitting a long time)

I flipped the hood down over my ugly mug and I lit her up again and welded the spike back together. It got smokey so I opened the garage door.

I then remembered my dear friend who I lost a while back (I lost a lot of my stuff, my old lincoln 225 welder included that was stored in his shop when he passed away) and then I put everything away.

Happy to have a welder back and for only $66 (including new breaker) and a little of my time.

Only if I could have my buddy back tho.

Jocose wrote: ↑26 Nov 2022, 02:16

coco wrote: ↑25 Nov 2022, 18:27

Jocose wrote: ↑24 Nov 2022, 09:30 I picked up a decades old Lincoln 225s for $50 yesterday to replace my decades old Lincoln 225 that I lost when my friend passed away.

$50 is an amazing deal. I was talking with my FIL about them earlier today. There is very little to break on the inside. It's mostly a big coil of wire. It will probably last another lifetime.

Do you have a 240V plug in your shop?

$50 is a fair deal for these machines and yer right, not much can go bad on these. My last one had some corrosion on the switch and wouldn't create an arc on testing so I offered him $40 and he took it, it cleaned up and worked just fine.

I do have 240 in the Garage but the Lincoln 225 require a 50 amp breaker and I think mine might be a 30 amp, haven't checked yet, they will run on a 30 amp just fine but I'd rather make sure its correct.

Also you can do a DC modification on these, I may try to find a rectifier and do one just for giggles, we'll see..

A little jelly over here. I've never had a shop that had the power required to run one of those big buzz boxes. Everybody gets caught up in TIG & MIG because it's sexy and they think it's easier to pick up, but old school stick and gas welding was good enough for our mothers so it's good enough for me.

(I do have a TIG welder I've never used and a couple flux core boxes.)

I fixed up an antique post vise that had a broken foot.


Quick file


Quick Fill


Bzzzzzzttt


Hand file


Put in vise


Fill and file


Viola! time to hit it with a file and call it good.

EDIT: added missing image

Nice save...you guys with skills make the rest of us look bad

Bloodhound wrote: ↑28 Nov 2022, 12:34 Nice save...you guys with skills make the rest of us look bad

Just a different set of skills man.

One time, when I commented on the fly tier demos at the Denver fly show, and how easy they made it look, Durango said "Yeah, but I bet they stink at engineering."

FTR - One of his skills is building people up with just a few simple words.