My advice would be to spend more time with your Harbor Freight welder.
I have not used one, but other people here have said they are
surprisingly good. Get a book or two or find someone that can tell you
what you are doing wrong. When I first learned to weld, I spent the
first month ( about 80 hours ) with a oxy/acet torch. And I was not
very good at the end of the month. During this time I had probably
less than an hour of instruction, which was about the right amount.
Learning to weld takes a lot of practise.


Dan