[SML] (not) New welder, somewhat OT

[Dougherty, Jim]

What happens when a relay fails on the work welder, they send the wrong replacement relay, the project still needs to be finished and Craigslist pops up a working 160A MIG for $200?  You run out between the matinee and the evening show and end up with an Airco Dipstick 160 in the bed of your pickup, that's what.  Honestly, I'd have bought it for the name alone though the fashionable orange color is an added bonus (blue and red are soooo clichéd).  However, as it not only works as a MIG (based on using it in the PO's garage, and what I need right now) but was also at one point capable of AC/DC stick and TIG, with a 60% duty cycle, it might prove to be a good shop addition anyway.  The good: it's currently working well and I can get my project finished while I wait for the correct relay.  The price was right, especially considering I could probably get it back by selling the regulator, full roll of wire and scrapping the rest (it's HEAVY). The bad: though it has a nice replacement Tweco gun and the drive motor and roller are new thanks to the PO, parts are hard to come by based on a preliminary scour of Google and eBay.  Thus the question:

Anyone have a good supplier for parts and accessories for old machines like this?  I'm looking to add the stick welding electrode clamp first and maybe set it up for TIG in the future.  The insides will get a good cleaning in the meantime, once it finishes welding up the next set.

- Jim Dougherty
ATD, Middlebury College Theatre Department
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