I was taught how to arc weld in my 20s and then became friendly with a pro welder and spent years assisting another friend who ran a metal fabricating business therefore I never needed to weld anything myself until I moved interstate to our rural property.
A neighbour gave me a no- name arc welder and a packet of rods he had inherited but never used and after watching a few online videos I soon was confidently welding 2 to 10 mm steel, a very handy skill out in the bush.
A few months ago I was given an old WIA "Hobby Welder", heavy booger, just needed a bit of TLC and it works perfectly for my needs.
As far as " duty cycle" goes my two are supposedly at the bottom of the scale but as I'm not trying to build a replica Eiffel Tower who cares.
Yep, old school arc welders are great. I know nuthin' about Mig, Tig or Shmig, not welding thin stuff.
A good auto-darkening helmet and a big fan are two essentials. And an angle grinder to tidy things up.
