Somebody who used to do HVAC work just asked me if I want to buy an old oxy-acetylene rig they have. It's a little Uniweld portable setup with a half dozen burglar bottles. (four of fuel, two of oxygen.) He wants $100 for the whole thing. It is something like this
or this
but old enough that the tote is the ugly 1970s shade of green.
I'm considering buying it because the 1930s fenders I'll eventually fabricate will have more complex curves than any body parts I've made so far. That probably means means lots of hammer, shot bag and english wheel, and I've read - but don't know first hand - that oxy welds are much less brittle under that sort of treatment than MIG welds. (I have a buzzbox, too, but I'm obviously not using that for sheet metal.)
Is that a decent price?
Will something that was used for thin HVAC work be able to deal with thicker fender metal?
Is the maleability of MIG and oxy-fuel REALLY that different?
What would you guys do? (Transmaro, PLEASE be one of the guys to offer an opinion here.)
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