$73 Chinese handheld welders

[Wind Shear]

No argument -- if you're building super heavy you'll need a big welder.

But my point is most garages don' t see big stuff like that. An 800 lb transformer bracket is typically 12 gauge channel, and for a big block engine cradle 1/8" wall 1.5" sq tube with 3/16" plates would be a heavy-duty build.

Both of those would be a cakewalk for a 120V Mig.

It’s been over 25 years since I welded anything.
Teenage me replaced all the rotted unibody framerails on a vintage ford. Probably 1500 plug welds on 12 & 14 ga. steel. The car sat right, aligned and tracked straight and put up with all the abuse of a stupid teenager with a 1960’s v8 4-speed.
I did it all with a clapped out Canox 115v mig on argon co2 mix.

 

[nobbie48]

Keep in mind not all fluxcore wire is the same. I could not get the PA brand to work worth a chit. Switched the spool back to Lincoln stuff and I was golden.

And not all the metal you weld is the same either. Watch the Indian metal fabrication business videos and see them make motorcycle sprockets out of mild steel scrap. Or cast aluminum cooking pots out of scraps containing ??? heavy metals.FWIW my flux core welds are very brittle. Metalurgy or base metals?