Chicago Electric gun on a Jobsmart welder?

[Ravenbar]

My first welder was a Jobsmart 125v flux core only welder. It started having issues a couple years back and since I rarely used it, I ran it till the gun fell apart. Last year I bought a Lincoln Pro Mig 140 to replace it. I also recently acquired a Chicago Electric 90 amp welder that'd been through a garbage truck. It's beat up, yet still seems to work but the entire torch cable to badly damaged(case is also pretty banged up).

Has anyone pieced together parts from Chicago Electric and JobSmart welders? This wouldn't be my main welder, just a secondary/ backup. Right now those 2 welders are just taking up space and unusable. The JobSmart's currenty buried in 3 layers deep at floor level behind a mountain of junk, so before I spend a couple hrs getting it out, I figured I'd ask.

 

[arse_sidewards]

The gun and leads on the Jobsmart is just a typical Chinese gun. You can interchange the guns on pretty much all those cheap welders with a little ingenuity and zip ties.

Having also used a Jobsmart 125 as my first welder I say trash both it and the HF and keep your eye out for a cheap 220v mig welder to have as a backup.

 

[Ravenbar]

I've got a 120v Lincoln already that meets my needs and then some.

The problem with going to a 220v machine is that I don't have access to 220v without a whole lot of work. The nearest 220v outlet is 75-200ft away from where I weld. I've been working on getting power run out there beyond extension cords for over a year, but the price of 150ft 4/0 UF wire if too much, and the last 20ft into the garage have to be jack hammered through an old barn foundation. Plan is for a 75A subpanel, 50A to power a 220v stick welder, with the remainder for everything else.

If I need more power, there is a 220v stick welder I can set up, but given the current setup, I've literally got to weld right outside the house, and get shocked as I do so, at the stinger is badly worn and the head of the rivet that hold it together is exposed and live.

 

[SomeGuyFromOlympia]

I've got a 120v Lincoln already that meets my needs and then some.

The problem with going to a 220v machine is that I don't have access to 220v without a whole lot of work. The nearest 220v outlet is 75-200ft away from where I weld. I've been working on getting power run out there beyond extension cords for over a year, but the price of 150ft 4/0 UF wire if too much, and the last 20ft into the garage have to be jack hammered through an old barn foundation. Plan is for a 75A subpanel, 50A to power a 220v stick welder, with the remainder for everything else.

If I need more power, there is a 220v stick welder I can set up, but given the current setup, I've literally got to weld right outside the house, and get shocked as I do so, at the stinger is badly worn and the head of the rivet that hold it together is exposed and live.

If it were in my shop
......I would spend the money and fix the stinger, even with Biden running prices up, what does a rivet cost now days?

 

[Ravenbar]

If it were in my shop
......I would spend the money and fix the stinger, even with Biden running prices up, what does a rivet cost now days?

The rivet's not the problem. the handle is worn to the point the head of the rivet, which is supposed to be covered in plastic is exposed. That rivet is live with welding power, so whoever holding it while in use occasionally gets zapped. The leads on it are also only ~10ft long, so very limited reach. It needs entirely need leads as well as clamp and stinger. I want to get power run out to the garage before I spend too much on that welder.

My current goal with merging the JobSmart and Chicago Electric welders is to get 2 machines that currently are unusable and get at least 1 working with the other getting parted out and scrapped. Mainly to free up some space.

 

[SomeGuyFromOlympia]

The rivet's not the problem. the handle is worn to the point the head of the rivet, which is supposed to be covered in plastic is exposed. That rivet is live with welding power, so whoever holding it while in use occasionally gets zapped. The leads on it are also only ~10ft long, so very limited reach. It needs entirely need leads as well as clamp and stinger. I want to get power run out to the garage before I spend too much on that welder.

My current goal with merging the JobSmart and Chicago Electric welders is to get 2 machines that currently are unusable and get at least 1 working with the other getting parted out and scrapped. Mainly to free up some space.

I'd tape it and roll with it

if grounded properly, you shouldn't have that issue. Check your ground