JordanOfGilead

I entered into a contest to win one of those a few years back. Would love to own one, not too keen on the price tag though.

I'll definitely look into it once I get more established.

Not yet. Should I be?

The biggest downside I have experienced from the cheaper flux core welders is that they have a much lower duty cycle. They work great for learning the basics regarding technique and power settings (obviously you won't learn anything about gas flow) and for thinner sheet metal, but wear out quickly if you try to weld a bunch of, say, 1/4" thick angle iron. Ask me how I know. It all depends on what you're looking to get out of it. If you are just wanting to tack some stuff together and it doesn't need to withstand a lot of abuse or look pretty, flux core will do just fine. If you are looking to do more structural welds, a GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welder, formerly known as MIG - Metal Inert Gas) Welder is more what you're looking for. I say GMAW because CO2 isn't technically an inert gas, but can still be used with a "mig" welder, so they changed the name a couple years back even though 99% of people still call it MIG.

Hi all. I'm Jordan. I've been around motorcycles for a few years helping people work on them, but just purchased my first operational one in December. I've only ridden a couple times, but plan on signing up for the safety course as soon as registration opens. I'm looking forward to getting to know the community and maybe going on a couple group rides.