I don't know if this was a good deal or not. Welder content.

I got word that a thrift store had a "big" welding machine. The person that told me about it knows nothing about welding, but I thought I should take a look at it. I have been wanting a tig machine and something to weld aluminum.

This is what they had.

It's a Cobramatic 260 with a Prince XL push pull gun, setup for aluminum. There isn't a lot of information to be found about the Cobra.

Any of you gents know what one of these are worth? It looks like a industrial or production setup.

I paid $300.

I may well be building an aluminum car trailer.

Weird looking rig to my eyes, but a bit of searching tells me that the gun alone is worth more than you paid for the whole thing.

http://www.mkproducts.com/Prod_CobraSys_pxl.htm

Still trying to figure out the TIG bit when it is called a MIG.

I have been looking for a TIG machine. This isn't one.

I bought this one strictly because it will MIG aluminum without me having to buy a spool gun for my Hobart.

Is it single phase or 3 phase? If it came from a production shop its likely 3 phase and not usable unless you have 3 phase power. You can read the nameplate and it should say 1PH or 3PH or something, or it will be rated 220/60Hz/1PH (single phase) or 208-230/460/60hz/3PH (3 phase)

If you see it rated to 460VAC its likely 3 phase.

I have the Lincoln spool gun for my Lincoln 185c MIG, it works well for some stuff.

Single phase, 208/230/416/460, 50/60 htz.

Toyman01 said: I don't know if this was a good deal or not.

It's not easy finding a commercial grade 115V MIG for $300, let alone a industrial grade 230V-460V/1PH MIG with push-pull gun. Clickbait? Humblebrag?...A bit of both?

As to what it's worth, ebay shows somebody selling one for $2500 'buy-it-now' pricing, albeit with tank. A quick Google search shows a couple other references to Cobramig 260's for sale in the last few years asking $1800 and $2000. So presuming it actually works and has at least most of the pieces, yes Mr. smartypants, I would seem you got a deal so good I doubt even Trump would try to claim he could get a better deal.

Driven5 wrote:

Toyman01 said: I don't know if this was a good deal or not.

It's not easy finding a commercial grade 115V MIG for $300, let alone a industrial grade 230V-460V/1PH MIG with push-pull gun. Clickbait? Humblebrag?...Both? As to what it's worth, ebay shows somebody selling one for $2500 'buy-it-now' pricing, albeit with tank. A quick Google search shows a couple other references to Cobramig 260's for sale in the last few years asking $1800 and $2000. So presuming it actually works and has at least most of the pieces, yes Mr. smartypants, I would seem you got a deal so good I doubt even Trump would try to claim he could get a better deal.

That does read as a little clickbaity doesn't it. Sorry.

I saw those on Ebay, but I can't find anyone on the web that actually sells the damn things. So, who is to say if it was well bought or not. It's either industrial or so crappy that no one sells them anymore.

I was hoping one of you guys has actually heard of the company before.

We had Cobramatics briefly after I first started at my old CAD/CNC gig. Boss was the tightest of tight asses on anything that didn't stroke his ego, or boost his image in his mind. As such he was always at industry auctions and consignment shops bringing home junk to try and make money with. Would spend more fixing the wore out stuff he brought home in parts and time than having just bought something new to begin with, but I digress. Not that Cobramatics are junk, just that he bought 4 or 5 used machines brought them into the shop with no warning to the weldors or foreman and basically said, "here build me stuff with these."

They lasted about a month before the unrest in the shop caused him to send them back, they weren't necisarilly bad welders, but the push-pull guns are exceptionally cumbersome, huge, and hard to get into even remotely tight places. Add to that, that our foreman bled Miller blue, and had a chip on his shoulder. The Cobramatics were all sold off/traded back to wherever they came from, and we had a contract with Airgas and a shop of 252s shortly after.

Toyman01 wrote: That does read as a little clickbaity doesn't it. Sorry.

Don't be. My sass is borne purely out of envy.