Hello all,
I'm a complete beginner. I would like to get a welder hopefully for 200-400 bucks, as i'm not planning on doing this as a profession, just as a hobby. What i'm concerned with is what type of welder I should get. I've seen different opinions, but stick looks pretty easy and cheap. The problem is that most cheaper stick welders are AC only. I've heard that AC is hard to work with and sticks badly when trying to run a bead. Is DC really that much easier compared to AC? Also, there aren't a lot of 220 outlets around, so I guess I'll need a 115V welder, but does that limit the output of the welder to the point that I can't really weld ANYTHING? And in regard to welder type, can each welder only weld certain metals, certain thicknesses or metals, etc? Another question I had was about these:
http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/weldingdepot/362x.htmlAre these electrodes for a stick welder, and what amperage is necessary to use them? Can you actually CUT with a stick welder?
But some of the welders I had been looking at were for instance this cheapy:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200310823_200310823Which I imagine is probably a get-what-you-pay-for scenario, and isn't worth it.
Another, more likely candidate is this one:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_384175_384175Although it is right up there at the top end of my budget. The problem is that I'm just learning welding as a hobby, and don't want to get stuck with a dud, or anything that will really discourage too much from learning to weld. I'd really appreciate any insight.