Lincoln Power MIG 256 for under $1,000???

Richard · Aug 19, 2020

Here's a an honest question.....

If you take outdoor professional "concert" speakers, they can play VERY loud....but, they can also play as quiet as a whisper..... A small pair of PC speakers can play just as quiet, but not as loud.

So, would the Miller be able to weld something small & delicate or is it a sledghammer?

One thing I'd want to avoid is getting something today that's just right.....and it be too small for future items (like bucket on backhoe for example which nears 1/2" thick)

I wonder if a lot of people get something that suffices for 80% of their needs...and want larger machine for the last 20%.... so my question is would a larger machine do the smaller delicate 80% since we know it will (should) do the heavy 20%

crazyal · Aug 19, 2020

I have an older PM 255c that has served me well for decades. What I can tell you is that they are big heavy machines. Being transformer (vs inverter) based you'll have a lot of weight. You're not going to pick it up and place it on a shelf by yourself. If you are looking for a welder to learn on or just to have around the house it'll probably be more than you'll want unless you have plenty of room to store it. I don't think there's much to go wrong with it as they are built pretty robust. I could see the wire feed drive being worn but that's not going to break the bank.

My guess is they removed the standard 250L gun and ground and replaced it with something that better fit what they wanted. The stock one is like 15' long so means the welder needs to be close to the work. Because of this you would never be able to make a 40' long run without stopping and repositioning the welder. Most likely they were using a push pull (or maybe a spool) gun. A push pull gun isn't cheap so they might have removed them for future use or just for transporting them. Most likely the original gun/ grounds are sitting in a back corner of that other shop collecting dust on a pallet. It's very possible the push pull guns are on another pallet and might some day make it to this shop.

Most companies when closing a plant just hire an auctioneer to come in and sell of everything. The people who worked there who know where most everything is and what it is are probably long gone. In this case there's people loading stuff on a truck not really caring exactly what they are loading. I've been around a couple plant closings and it's a very weird atmosphere. Kind of like a funeral.

Richard · Aug 19, 2020

Here's the company. You can see some of the steel creations they make/work on

Jobsite Steel Manufacturing | Experienced Provider of Light Gauge Steel

Industrial Toys · Aug 19, 2020

My Lincoln 256 would definitely be better suited for light stuff, if you ask me. Most of the time, I have it maxed out, or darn close, and it's not like I am working on heavy equipment buckets.

jthibodeau89 · Aug 25, 2020

I went and picked up a couple of these welders. Jobsite makes cfs strucures and used these welders to assemble columns, door frames, etc. Most of the materials are 14ga to 10ga galvanized steel. They fired up the 2 machines i was interested in and we test ran them. They welded just fine. Adjustments were smooth. As Richard stated they closed a plant and shipped everything to the Lenior City site. They had a couple CFS rolling machines for sale there as well. I'm pleased with my purchase and have the missing ancillary parts already on the way. I do similar work with CFS Studs and Tracks, so i think mine will serve me well.