Lincoln Arcweld HANDY CORE 100 opinions

[G26HA]

hi , everyone, i am new here and new to welding, and looking for some info. here go's. i pick up a used welder last night and it is the - Arcweld HANDY CORE 100 .and it is i think about 5 years old or so , I was wondering if any of you have any info on this welder. the only number on it that looks like a serial number is 559205 and i have been looking for a manual on it but cant get anything at all on the web. All i got was one from lincoln site and the manual does not show anything good or main specs. I am not much of a welder but i wanted something to start off with so i grabbed this for $100.00 with full face auto darkening helmet / A pack of .35 tips/ and lots of wire. i was also wondering if this would be good for doing my own body work to my truck , ( Sheet metal and stuff ) . That is the main reason i bought it . so if anyone has any info on this welder please let me know . if it is good for a starter or what? Also what size welder would this be so i could Know Like .How many amps and such . Because i see a bunch of different settings and amp /Volts on this thing . Like i said i am really new to welding . Thanks I will snap some pics .









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[Archie]

First of all, welcome.

Second, and I'm sorry to say it, but I'm not sure you've bought a great machine. The data plate says 10% duty cycle at a max. output of 80 amps so at flat out it'll only run for 1 minute in every 10 before it overheats and you need to put the kettle on. It's also a gasless welder which means it uses a wire with a flux core (is this the type you have?) instead of a shielding gas. Although this is fine for many applications, it's less than ideal for use on thin sheet such as bodywork. I'm not sure what the minimum setting is but it only has two so if we assume 'high' is flat out then 'low' is probably around 40 amps which is, again, not ideal for bodywork. Plus as it says it still only has a 15% duty cycle at 65 amps, it probably won't even have a 100% duty cycle at 'low' power. You could probably improve this by adding a fan if it hasn't already got one. It has an integral torch which is no problem if it's in good nick but can make spares more expensive and/or harder to come by if it's not. It may even be a constantly live torch but I wouldn't know for sure.

So. Sorry to be the harbinger of doom but my suggestion would be to keep the mask which, if it's of reasonable quality, would probably cost you a hundred bucks new anyway and sell the welder on. Use the money to buy a new one that is capable of gas shielded welding. The Clarke range is very well repsected on here as a low/med budget MIG suitable for car restoration.

Again, sorry for being quite so depressing. Hope that helps though.

 

[G26HA]

Thanks , for the help. I will have to look into getting a nother one

 

[G26HA]

so what will this welder be good for ?

 

[Archie]

Honest answer? Not much.

EDIT: Probably ought to be a bit specific. That welder is probably suited to welding anything between 1.5-3mm thick but with such a low duty cycle unless you're doing very, very little welding you are going to spend a lot of time waiting for it to cool down.

 

[G26HA]

really? well i guess i will start looking into another LOL. I tried using it last night on some sheet metal and all i got was alot of beed splater . I also used it on some thick metal with the same results ( alot of tiny beed splatter) .

 

[G26HA]

Oh and this doesnt have a fan either , And it is Gasless . the person i bought it off of showed me some work he did with this before he upgraded, he put in rocker panels in his chev truck and even showed me the roll cage he made for his race car along with other stuff . he said he used it mostly for vehicles and he also stated that it will shut down after about 20 min of welding on high . because there was no fan in it. he welded in his garage for years . but i think he should of told me that it will not be good for what i needed it for especially when i told him i wanted to do my body work with it LOL. I can deal with the shutting down thing but everything else i dont think i can deal with . LOL .

 

[TechnicAl]

Is this it ?

http://content.lincolnelectric.com/pdfs/products/literature/e7191.pdf

 

[simon718]

if it was me, i would still have a damn good practise with it on thicker material, may as well build up your skill while waiting to get something more suitable

 

[G26HA]

Is this it ?

http://content.lincolnelectric.com/pdfs/products/literature/e7191.pdf

no thats not it , but close.

 

[G26HA]

Is this it ?

http://content.lincolnelectric.com/pdfs/products/literature/e7191.pdf

this is the welder i have here , and this is all i could find on it , But it doesnt show too much . also i tried today to weld some beeds on some 1/4 inch steel plates and my welds are starting to look better .

http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM705.pdf

 

[TechnicAl]

this is the welder i have here , and this is all i could find on it , But it doesnt show too much . also i tried today to weld some beeds on some 1/4 inch steel plates and my welds are starting to look better .

http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM705.pdf

The handy core must be different in difeerent countries. The machine I know isnt bad for the money. Its European. No good for car bodies but fine for thicker stuff and its fan cooled.

 

[G26HA]

i noticed today that it is starting to work way better on thicker metals , like 1/8 " and so on . would this welder be at least any good at say doing exaust systems and such at least . thanks

 

[G26HA]

this is a full pic i fopund of the identical rig

 

[chevyman_de]

You could use this manual from the "other" machine. Except for the fan they're quite similar. At least it offers some hints for practical use. Adding a fan isn't that difficult either, but it will not make the welder better suited for body work.

 

[srapp]

i have the same welder. it is/was a canadian tire special. I know several other people who have had some sucess with these. I just finished building some barn doors with it and although it isnt high end, with some practice it does weld ok. Ive welded new 1", 1 1/2" square tubes, exhast piping, 4-wheeler racks etc with average back-road sort of results. I dont do body work, but what bigger things ive used this to stick together have stayed together. Ive never tripped the duty cycle. Unless your good you wont be welding very long at a time without stopping, wire brushing and grinding. cheers

 

[duper]

Lincoln Handy Core 100

I have the exact same welder and used it to produce an entire body ( minus hood, fenders , grill and tailgate) out of 16 gauge sheet metal for my 1946 Jeep. I have also used it for all kinds of other jobs around the house over the years and have never had it trip on duty cycle. Although having a little more control over the amperage would be nice along with less splatter , this flux core welder was perfectly capable of body work. Before I purchased the machine I contacted Lincoln and told them exactly what I was going to use it for ( resto job) and due to the fact that there was no distruibutor for gas anywhere near me at the time they fully recommended this welder for the job and it worked perfectly. When welding thicker flat plate ( 1/4" or so)just make sure you have a good bevel and a land of about 1/8. I also recommend switching to NR 211-MP wire which is " all position , multi pass" wire. The wire that originally comes with it is "single pass ,flat " wire. Unfortunately I don't have the manual anywhere to give youthe exact output of this, but from the labels you can assume the upper limit is somewhere between 65 - 80 amps. One bonus with flux core is that it actually has greater penetration than non flux wire. Just remember to weld thin metals in a stitching pattern to minimize
warpage. By playing with the wire feed setting on low you will be able to find a setting that suits the gauge you are using.

 

[Jimbob]

I have a Campbell Hausfeld WF 2000 welder, which is very similar to the Handy core (probably built in the same plant), and I have used it to weld in rocker panels, cab corners, and wheel arches on a Chevy half-ton truck. I am definitely not a welder, but they didn't turn out all that bad.
I've had the welder for about 5 years, and have done a fair amount of welding with it.
The more practice I have, the better I get.
It's been fairly trouble-free except I noticed the roll of wire that come with it didn't work as well as the wire I use now.
I just buy the flux-core wire fron Princess Auto, it seems to work well.
Try downloading the Owner's manual for the WF 2000 as most of the info will probably apply to your welder:
http://www.chpower.com/webapp/wcs/s...51&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&findModel=wf2000

I've heard that the gas mig welders are better for auto body, but I didn't want to pay for gas bottles, plus I don't use it often enough to make it pay.

Hope this helps.