[Cooper]

Reality is you are probably accurate Bo, last time I was thinking about welders Lincoln had a nice ac/dc for 1600$ that one must have changed into the one I am looking at now. It doesn't sound too bad for the hobby. 60% duty cycle, I can run it on the higher voltage, price is nice. I just don't know enough about the settings I should be looking for in a welder that would apply to what I would be using it for. Like welding thin steel by just using the arc, how far into a 1/2" block of alum it will penetrate. How thin of alum I can weld ect. I just don't want to spend the initial funds to find out later you were spot on to start with. But on the other hand I know what I'm going to be using it for and don't want to spend more than I really need to. Most of the local guys I can talk to about tig/mig welding are working on machinery parts or production and don't really weld small stuff like what's used in our hobby. One guy I know welds a lot of stainless sheet metal used for commercial kitchens, know his stuff but never used any of the small welders, just big stuff in the 5-10k range. And it would be nice if I didn't need the hoist to move it !! Lol!! Thanks again for the input Bo!! Saab hu! Never really liked those cars!!! Haha just bustin on ya!!