Right now I'm in a college welding class that is over before christmas and I'm trying to convince my parents that I need a welder for Christmas. I've been looking around on the internet and stuff and I found this one http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p000014.htm anybody know if it is any good. In high school my wood shop teacher got this welder for the shop because he was going to have to do some welding on a golf cart for school security. Would this welder be any good for welding custom bumpers and stuff like that. I'm not goign to try to build a whole buggy with it just bumpers, tire carriers, rock rails, stuff like that.

I think they will do you just fine. I have been welding with stick welders for a while now and I like them better than a MIG but thats just my preference. Those little buzz boxes will weld just about anything you want and will usually weld much thicker than a MIG. I would get that to start out then if you want to move up later on I would get a nice MIG.

Yeah I don't know I kinda like stick welding. I've been told by some guys who have taken the class that I'm in now that at the end of the class we get to use a mig welder for a night and that it will be so easy, but I've tried a mig welder before, but I really like stick welding so I might just stick with it.

Jeez, Homey Ds has them cheaper than that, I believe!

The ones that I have seen locally are mostly just the AC welders for about $250. If you could afford it I say go ahead and get the AC/DC because it gives you a broader use of the welder. (DC allows you to weld thinner metal with better control) For just about $150 more than just the AC I would say go with the AC/DC. IMHO

Yeah I would rather spend the extra money for the AC/DC than just the AC. I haven't looked at Home Depot for them because I don't have a vehicle up here because I'm away at college, and my Jeep is down in California and I'm probably going to end up having to sell it so that I can get a truck up here because I can't convince my folks that my jeep will do fine up here once I get it winterized and everything, instead they want to replace the whole drivetrain and they think that buying me a newer chevy truck is cheaper than all that. Eventhough I think that it would do fine without all that stuff.