WW2 hobart welder

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Matthew P

Mike,

It's TM 9-834 VEHICULAR GENERAL PURPOSE UNIT EQUIPMENT. Here is a link to one you can find online, no download required. https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA...fs/TM9-834.pdf

The pages you want are Pages 38-49.

So is yours up and running? According to the Hobart Brothers website they made over a 100,000 of these during WW2. Looking around the internet I found one with a serial number about 1500 under mine that was reportedly built July 1945. So I think mine might be right in that end of the war time frame.

Do you have pictures of yours?

Matt

Hi Matt

Many thanks for that link. Would like to see your welder and if it is the same model I have . No, haven't got it running as yet, the large commutator is a little worn/uneven, probably could use it as is but would like to have it machined down .

I did post some pics somewhere , will have a look. The Dodge engine in it is the longer block type from memory .

This example I have is a mobile setup with a Dodge light commercial axle fitted and the lunette towing setup , think this modification was done by the AWC Aliied Works Council, possibly in the Northern Territory

[Matthew P]

Mike,

Here is a real quick one just to get things going. I'll have to make an album once I really start into this thing. I'm trying to determine it's build date and based on some others that were inquired about on the Hobart Welders forum it appears to be late 1945. There was one built in July 1945 that was about 1500 serial numbers lower.

In this case it is sitting on a wood body Ben Hur trailer that somebody had stripped the body off, reinforced with C-channel cross struts and added a plate deck to the trailer. They kept the brakes but moved the parking brake lever to between the drawbars. For tool boxes they used two M-1937 Field Range Spare Parts Kit boxes.

The US Navy and Army Corps of Engineers had a Ben Hur looking trailer that was dedicated for some of these. 2 wheel, open C-channel frame with two large tool boxes that the fenders mounted to. I'm seriously considering fabricating the tool boxes and fitting some Ben Hur fenders to this trailer. It won't be 100% but it would be passable for reenacting events. That is assuming we get it running.

Matt

[Mike K]

OK your trailer looks to be more engineered/sophisticated than the home made looking trailer under my welder. Found this pic somewhere .

[Matthew P]

Mike,

Yes my trailer is rather stout. Whoever built it took a Ben Hur chassis, then added C-channel side to side on the front, back and several places in between. Then added a steel plate deck that must be at least 5mm thick. That will probably come off as the original Corps of Engineers welding trailers were a skeleton frame. And also it'll take a couple hundred Kg off of the trailer

Thanks for that image btw. It's better then the one in the manual and shows the Pierce governor linkage of which I'm missing. Mine has had an electric governor added to it, I've seen a few with that so it seems to be a standard later upgrade. But now I know what I'm looking for to return mine to original (fingers crossed that it runs at all)

Thanks
Matt

[Matthew P]

Mike,

Here's some interior pictures of mine. I'm hoping to narrow down the date better with some information from somebody on the Hobart Welders sponsored Weldtalk forum. But I think it's very late 1945. Then sometime after the electrically controlled governor was installed replacing the purely mechanical one. It's not original to any WW2 ones I've seen but it does show up in later 40's welders. That's the box directly below the engine control panel with the wires coming out of it. You'll note I have the engine speed knob in the center of the engine control panel. But no linkage over to the governor. That is all missing.

Matt

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Matthew P

Mike,

Here's some interior pictures of mine. I'm hoping to narrow down the date better with some information from somebody on the Hobart Welders sponsored Weldtalk forum. But I think it's very late 1945. Then sometime after the electrically controlled governor was installed replacing the purely mechanical one. It's not original to any WW2 ones I've seen but it does show up in later 40's welders. That's the box directly below the engine control panel with the wires coming out of it. You'll note I have the engine speed knob in the center of the engine control panel. But no linkage over to the governor. That is all missing.

Matt

Ok I see the electric governor box , I will have a look at the welder here to see what governor it has fitted

[Matthew P]

Manuals...

Today I learned WHAT manuals I'm looking for finally. So here goes.

WW2: TM 5-5120
Post-War TM 5-5131 (Has the electric governor)
Post-War TM 5-3431-204-20P Repair Parts list for it and another welder 1963

The last manual is the only one I've found online so far. But the first one I located a copy on eBay and bought it. A friend has sent out a Signal Corps catalog for professional scanning before. I'm going to ask him where he had that done/cost and see about doing that for this. Since it seems to be nearly unobtainable and there is at least marginal demand for such a manual.

Matt