On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 00:37:31 -0600, Don Foreman
wrote:

Good suggestions, particularly the autodarkening helmet. But I'd
challenge the "start with 1/4" steel" advice. A lot of useful stuff
can be made out of 3/16" and thinner steel.

I've made many rawstock racks, carts for tablesaw and bandsaw, etc
out of 11-gage (1/8") angleiron and square tubing. I stick-welded
them in early days but I've found that the little Linc box works very
well on such jobs. It'll do 1/4" steel with fluxcore wire but it
really works best with 1/8"' thickness and below.

I cant speak from a welders viewpoint as Im only a dauber, but I put
in a new outlet this weekend and mounted my HF cheapy mig below my
workbench, as that lil sucker is absolutely marvelous for quicky
stuff. I think I made at least 10 welds of one kind or other this past
weekend. Great metal hot glue gun G

Gunner