My Millermatic 251 just arrived... Passport?

[Paul Seaman]

Thanks for the offer, this may come to pass but not for awhile, new job and all that goes with it.

Peace,

[neophyte]

unixadm,
Will get back to you guys with more info after my passport "honeymoon" phase.
As a side note: Show price for the passport was $1255.87.
Mike
MACH4

p.s pjseaman,another tool to play with if you make it this way!

Glad to hear you made the PASSPORT plunge! You sure got a grand deal on it. Beat the price I got on mine by $64.13. I don't think you are going to regret your purchase for a minute. For portability you just can't beat it. It has worked out here in the shop as well ... it's no MM210 or Red 255, but then it was never intended to be.

I plan on filling a couple of 12oz C02 tanks this afternoon.... will post back on how it goes.
Jesse

[MACH4]

unixadm,
Just wanted to let you guys know that I will have my passport on Fri.[15th]
Went to the Farm Progress show in Decatur and my local dealer had the Miller demo trailer there and played with the Passport for at least 30min.I find it hard to believe this little machine can lay down the beads it did. Ran beads at 115 and 230 and saw no noticable differences.They had the machine running C25[ I run straight Co2 in my home shop] so I'll most likely have to tweak my settings somewhat. Will get back to you guys with more info after my passport "honeymoon" phase.
As a side note: Show price for the passport was $1255.87.
Mike
MACH4

p.s pjseaman,another tool to play with if you make it this way!

[Sundown]

If you do decide to sell the STH give me a shout. I'm sure you would really like the D200DX ..... I'm just sure of it!! .... besides... I could really use the STH

Jesse

I am sure I would like the D200DX w/C3 cooler also, problem is I keep spending my seed money on other stuff. Last months went for a Protools offset tube notcher, and it looks like this months is going for a Sharpie tungsten sharpener for my 65th B'day in a week or so. IF I do decide to sell the STH, I will post here and on the Hobart board to give everyone a chance at it before putting it on ebay. Right now that dosen't look likely, what looks more possible is that I will get me a Christmas present of a new TA185 Besides it looks like part of the money I would need for a D200DX is going to buy some land on the Chama river, at least I hope so.

[neophyte]

Just for info the more I use this STH the more I really like it, There was a time that I thought that when I needed to do some thin aluminum I would sell it and get a D200DX, but I'm liking it so much that I am sure when the time comes I will get a TA 185TSW to have along side of the STH. As for the Passport, it certinly has some great features, and the guys who have reported on it really like it. I tested it twice and felt that I could take it or leave it, unlike the MM210 which I couldn't live without.

If you do decide to sell the STH give me a shout. I'm sure you would really like the D200DX ..... I'm just sure of it!! .... besides... I could really use the STH

Jesse

[neophyte]

There really isn't anything to terrific out there.

That is what I was afraid of but maybe I am being too picky. I will probably just run back to wallyworld in the morning and pick up the scale there.

Got my fill station today, (BTW-not as nice as yours) but the plastic knob on the tank fill adapter was busted in shipping. So far the guy I bought it from on Ebay would rather I sent him the whole thing back instead of just sending me a new knob/screw assembly (about a .60 cent item at Reid Supply Company). I might just stick a 1/4"x20 in it and call it good.

Thank you,
Jesse

[Sundown]

Oh, I know! At less than 50 pounds each, I could take a Dynasty 200DX and a Passport. The wife would have to take all the clothes and my suits, though; plus our 100# of other tools. BUT, since our international work is almost exclusively electrical, I think I'll settle for the Maxstar 150 STH for the airplane rides... :-)

But our next assignment won't be for a least 6 months, so the Passport will get the most use in the meantime, definitely.

Just for info the more I use this STH the more I really like it, There was a time that I thought that when I needed to do some thin aluminum I would sell it and get a D200DX, but I'm liking it so much that I am sure when the time comes I will get a TA 185TSW to have along side of the STH. As for the Passport, it certinly has some great features, and the guys who have reported on it really like it. I tested it twice and felt that I could take it or leave it, unlike the MM210 which I couldn't live without.

[Bob Sigmon]

There really isn't anything to terrific out there.

This is the scale that I got from anythingxtreme.com.

It is made by/for Pure Energy, that also manufactures the 12oz bottles.

The unit measures in oz/kg and is accurate enough. I can take the bottle right up to 12oz and filling is easy.

This is the fill station that I use.

I hope this helps,

[neophyte]

You can fill your own internal bottles if you get a CO2 tank with a dip tube and a fill unit and scale from a paintball supply company. I got mine at anythingxtreme.com

Bob,
What make and model scale are you using to fill your Co2 tanks with. I looked at a couple digital fish scales today locally but am not real impressed. Was hoping to find one with a some degree of accuracy. (Not tenth of a pound accuracy like I came across.)
Jesse

[Bob Sigmon]

90,

It's a totally different saw. Has no out of the box problems. Cuts well at any angle. Blade stays on the wheels (they have a shoulder on the back side of the wheel and the blade can't fall off) The stand is very solid and no rebuild is necessary. Good motor with a realistic hp rating (no problems with mine so far)

[90blackcrx]

Mac,

You will love the Passport! You'll really like the portability, you could take it with you!

unixadm,

Here a picture of the table. Like i said small but effective.

Did not read the whole thread, but that saw looks like the one I have, bought at harbor freight. And it comes with a bigger table for verticle use.

Here is the review I wrote on it

I have heard so many horror stories about this saw, but after I talked to a guy that used it to completely build his car, which can be found here
http://www.kimini.com/ well I had second thoughts on it

So after hearing his review I decided to give it a try

Assembly
First things first, it takes about an 1 hour to set up, a little longer if your messing around with a buddy.

I was also surprised by the size, on the website it seems so big. But when I saw it in the store it surprised me on how little it is.

There are also a few presets that you need to set, I can see a lot of people skipping these little steps and having so many problems with it

Cutting Review
Well after putting it together I was ready to cut with it, I just cut a piece of 2.25 piping I had laying around, the first try did not go so well. The blade basically stopped and got thrown off track. After a few minor adjustments were made ( still needs to be set a little better ) I was able to make a complete cut. And let me tell you, it produces nice clean and accurate cuts. I messed around with some round bar and it cut right threw it like butter. It also have an automatic shut off switch which is really nice

Things to look out for
I'm assuming the blade they supply you with is crap, it got about 4 cuts done and already needs to be replaced. ( I can only assume because I have not tried another blade and I never ever used a band saw in my life )

Also the instructions they supply you are not really that great.

Also around here, it was marked at 189.00 but it was coming up on the computer at 159.00, before the guy could call the manager, the lady rang me up and I got 30 dollars off. Plus I have a $10 coupon which I will supply below.

I guess my final word of advice is, if your like me and you don't have thousands to spend on a band saw, and you have patients ( not the type of person who will slam the band saw down and apply mads amount of force on it ) then this band saw is for you. The price is really nice, I know a lot of people will disagree with almost everything I say, but these are probably the same people who have the option to use 1,000 dollar machines every day. This is a nice tool for a home garage, if you have a big business, I'm sure you would not buy this. But if your working in your garage from time to time, this is a nice piece.

I give it
:thumbup: :thumbup:

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask here



Coupon



Check these links out also

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm

[MAC702]

Mac,

You will love the Passport! You'll really like the portability, you could take it with you!

Oh, I know! At less than 50 pounds each, I could take a Dynasty 200DX and a Passport. The wife would have to take all the clothes and my suits, though; plus our 100# of other tools. BUT, since our international work is almost exclusively electrical, I think I'll settle for the Maxstar 150 STH for the airplane rides... :-)

But our next assignment won't be for a least 6 months, so the Passport will get the most use in the meantime, definitely.

[Bob Sigmon]

Mac,

You will love the Passport! You'll really like the portability, you could take it with you!

unixadm,

Here a picture of the table. Like i said small but effective.

[unixadm]

I saw that refurb one up on Ebay - but to me it's not worth it. If it were like $1050 that would be more like it. It's been listed at least 2 times and has not sold yet.

Bob - do you have a picture of the little 2x2 table for your bandsaw?

Thanks!

[MAC702]

I've decided I'm getting the Passport before I get the Maxstar 150 STH, buying in about 60 days.

If anyone needs one right away, there's currently a factory-reconditioned (already) unit on eBay for $150 less than the price of a new one; two-year warranty.