Isn't there a way to make a magnet with a welder?

Question

I once had a very powerful magnet, it measured 1" x 1" x 5", more or less. I wonder if it was made with a welder? I think I heard somewhere that a person could make a normal piece of steel into a magnet by attaching a welder's leads to it for a specific amount of time, and in a certain manner. Is this possible? If so, what type of welder do you think a person should use? I just want the magnet to play around with, maybe use at work if the need arose. Plus, I like fooling around with things like this. Thank you to anyone that spends their precious time answering my question.

Thank you William B for your time spent answering my question! I will try it. I wonder, what setting did you use one the welder? Was it a/c or d/c? Also, why do you say to set the welder down to it's lowest setting? Is it because of the strain and heat the welder would be going through? I would think that the higher the amp setting, the stronger the magnetic pull would be on my magnet. What do you think?

Answer 1

take a carboard tube, wind a bare #12 wire around it 10 to 15 times, attach ends of wire to welder leads insert item to be magnitized in to tube, set welder at lowest setting, turn on for 10 seconds, turn it off,