Vote to buy a new welder (2024 edition)

History

Mailing List Announcement: 11/14/2024
Officially Proposed: 11/14/2024
To be Voted on: 12/10/2024

Background

The welders in Hot Metals have been seeing a lot more use in the past few years and it's showing; as of 11/12/24 the Millermatic 252 is at the repair shop because its feed roller broke, and it is suffering from other issues that need to be addressed due to the amount of use (and abuse) it's received. Our other welder, the Lincoln Electric 3200, is literally falling apart; the gun is held together with zip ties and duct tape. The Lincoln also suffers from the gas inlet assembly on the back coming loose and generally has been used far more than I think Lincoln Electric expected it to be. If the 3200 breaks, then we have no MIG welders for anyone to use.

This also highlights that we have only the one TIG machine, the Miller Dynasty 280DX, that has had its own share of issues through the years, and if that needed to go in for repairs, we'd have no backup (unlike MIG where we've always had two).

Have any particular machine in mind?

Yes, the Miller Multimatic 220.

What Do We Get With This Machine?

This is a multi-process machine, unlike our other welders that are single process (i.e. The Dynasty 280DX is the TIG welder, the others are exclusively MIG welders). This machine can do:

MIG welding (and would replace the Lincoln Electric 3200 as our "smaller" MIG welder)
AC/DC TIG welding (we have had people wait for the 280DX because it was being used, now we would have another TIG welder that can work with aluminum as well as steel)
Stick welding (this has been a request by many people through the years; we had a Lincoln tombstone on loan from a member but he took it back)

The complete package would also include the cart to hold gas cylinders, similar to the Millermatic 252.

How Much?

$5500. That covers the cost of the machine along with taxes and shipping.

Wait, we're trying to raise money to buy the building, and you want to spend money on a new welder?

In a word, yeah. Look, I want PS1 to buy the building, and to have the money to do so, but there has been a noticeable increase in Hot Metals usage and while that's awesome, our equipment been pushed hard and it shows. The Multimatic 220 is meant to replace the 3200 (which would be held in reserve in case we need it) while also increasing our capabilities; this one machine will give us another TIG welder, MIG welder, and for the first time, a stick welder. This will, hopefully, make Hot Metals even more popular, especially with new folks who see what the possibilities are and join to take advantage of it.

References

Language

Authorize the BoD to spend up to $5500 on acquiring the Multimatic 220 welder and associated components.

This authorization shall expire at midnight on December 31, 2024.

Vote Results

For: 101

Against: 4

Abstain: 3

Receipts