This looks to be a Lincoln DC 180 AS model welder. I say looks to be because as far as finding any exact information about it, I’ve had little luck so far. On the Lincoln website, I couldn’t find an exact operators manual for a welder with a Wisconsin TF engine. The operators manual that I did find (HERE) was for the Lincwelder DC-180-AS model with a Wisconsin THD model engine. Both listings with a wisconsin TF engine on their site point to that operators manual, so I’m going to assume that it’s the only one they have for any engine driven DC-180 welder.



So with that said, don’t count on that owners manual being 100% correct for your particular welder if you’ve got one with a Wisconsin TF engine. They look quite similar, except for differences in the faceplate, power outlet arrangements, and lead connections, but their may be some subtle differences. Another noticeable difference is the mounts on the generator end. The welder in the manual has a single mounting point versus the two mounts found on the one in the pictures.



Luckily, there’s a good tag on the Wisconsin TF engine that helps to pinpoint the manufacturing date. From the serial number on the engine, it appears that the date of manufacture was in march of 1955. These engines were made from 1946-1957, at which point they were phased out and replaced by the Wisconsin THD model. If you’re looking for a chart to find the date of manufacture of your Wisconsin engine based on the serial number, here’s a great site with tons of information on Wisconsin engines – Un-Official Wisconsin Engine Collector Site. You can also find a parts manual for the Wisconsin TE and TF engines here



As you can also see from the tag on the engine, the TF engine had a 3 1/4″ bore and 3 1/4″ stroke. It produced a whopping 14.6 horsepower @ 2600 r.p.m. – plenty of power for a 180 amp rated welder. This was a pretty popular engine in it’s day, and was used in a variety of applications. It was also used by some other welding manufacturers. Hobart apparently used this engine to power one of their welders. In fact, there’s a member of our forums called metalworker that’s done a beautiful job of restoring one of these TF powered Hobart welders. You can see a video of his welder in operation here. They were a nice, strong sounding engine!



Like the Hobart in the video, the one in the pictures above is also a hand crank start engine, you can see the crank mounted on the side. The newer THD powered models came with electric start, and had the ugly, requisite battery box mounted on the side. All in all, a great antique welder that was powered by an equally great engine. Sadly, there don’t seem to be too many of them around anymore.



Thanks to whoever sent me those pictures, unfortunately i’ve lost your email. If you’d like me to attribute this to you, shoot me an email. And as always, if you’ve ever used one of these welders and would like to add something about it, or know of any glaring errors i’ve made, please let me know by submitting a comment!

Tags: antique welder, DC 180 AS welder, Hobart, Lincoln, lincoln welder, lincwelder, operators manual, wisconsin engine, wisconsin tf engine, wisconsin thd