Welding Tips and Tricks

This afternoon I picked up an 1984 Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC welder. It came with 20 foot leads and a very high quality aftermarket (older) ground clamp. It welds fantastic and it is about a 9 out of 10 in overall condition. The labels and original markings are great, original warning cards in good shape, paint is outstanding , just a little dust here and there. I saw it on CL two weeks ago advertised for $160. I texted the fellow and he was out of town, coincidentally coming back when I finished my own week long shift yesterday. I asked him if it works as great as it looks and he said of course, so I offered him $200 to hold it for me. It turns out I was the first inquiry he had and the day after our agreement he got about 10 calls. He has a prototype job shop and got it 6 months ago from the original owner who is a fellow prototype shop owner. They take good care of their stuff !
I'll post some pictures once I clean her up. Aside from vacuuming out the inside of the cabinet, should I simply apply some drops of light machine oil to the obvious moving points and fan bushing? Any other thoughts on these types of PM items ?

Thanks !

Shawn

Well done Shawn
I have a thunderbolt myself - use it all of the time for smaller stick jobs

Mine is from the early 2000s and I'm a big fan of these units

You also got yours for a good price

Post up the snapshots !

Adam



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"Aside from vacuuming out the inside of the cabinet, should I simply apply some drops of light machine oil to the obvious moving points and fan bushing? Any other thoughts on these types of PM items ?"

Congrats on the score, and new machine! I had an AC Tbolt- they're bullet proof. You can quickly download the manual from Miller's website; it includes a PM section. I recall putting grease on the adjusting mechanism, for instance.

Cool that you got the AC DC version - have fun!

Thanks guys.