Advice on some basic tools

[Jonathan]

You can also make your own welder very very cheaply with microwave oven transformers. Remove the 2KV and heater secondary windings, and replace it with the right number of turns of some very thick wire.
I started making one but soon after spotted the one at Aldi.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?aq=0&...sformer+welder

[Rogue]

I started making one but soon after spotted the one at Aldi.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?aq=0&...sformer+welder

Hmm. A voltmeter attached to the workpiece and to the stick will measure (approximately, considering voltage drop etc over the length of the stick) the arc voltage when in use. Could you electronically sense when the arc kicks in and the welding starts, in a way that would allow a computer to effectively control stick distance from the workpiece?