what is the cheapest welding kit you can buy?

Question

i dont want anything fancy

Answer 1

Try looking at some of those used tool places. They tend to have professional quality tools that still have a lot of good life in them. Look in your phone book or on the internet for some local to you.

In the Boston area there is "The Tool Shed" in Waltham that buys used tools and fills up tables with tools at flat rates (everything costs $6) and then halves the prices on unsold things over a period of weeks to trivial (until what is left is 2 for 25 cents). The larger tools (including welders, drill presses, framing guns, generators, etc) sell for way below their wholesale new cost.

I think that buying a solid (but used) contractor grade tool is better than getting a new under-powered home-workshop quality one.

Answer 2

Get a mig welder for 110 bucks they work ok but not the greatest. Get the arc welder for 70 they work good but metal needs to be thick. over 1/8
The mig can be thinner but but not the thin. If you're just learning help your self out and buy one of the automatic helmets for 50. They will help you more than anything.

Got to remember this is all china junk it works but not the greatest. You're not going to be as good of welds as you could with something better. Seeing that you're learning you welds are going to look like crap :)