Advice on some basic tools

[Jonathan]

I got an arc welder from Aldi which was very cheap. Think it was £30, maybe £35 and claims to be 160A.
I've only used it to weld my router frame and practice, but it seemed fine to me. The thermal cutout is a bit annoying, but didn't activate too often when welding 3-4mm.
If you're going to use it a lot I wouldn't reccomend it, but for one off jobs it's good considering the price. I reckon if I added a bigger fan it would be fine...

This is it, a lot more money here though:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline...#ht_500wt_1054
There seems to be a lot on eBay...second hand?

I think Chip will be able to give you better advice on welding...

[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?