Handheld welder????

[jsears]

For light welding tasks, these portable units can be surprisingly effective, though they do have their limitations in terms of power and durability compared to larger, more industrial machines.

If you're new to welding and looking for more insights, particularly on different types of welders that might suit beginners, check out this guide: https://www.boomandbucket.com/blog/best-...-beginners. It breaks down some options that are user-friendly and might fit your needs.

[kurt18947]

I have a stick welder bought from Harbor Freight about 25 years ago. It's blue, rated at 120 amps and is 120/240 volts. That's about all I know about it. It's a bit of a trick to strike an arc with it; I've read that those welders tend to have low open voltage (whatever that is) which make it difficult to strike an arc, the rod likes to stick. Once I get an arc going it's fine. It's supposed to weld 1/4" steel though I wonder if that would be pushing it. I did fabricate a couple mobile bases - square steel tube about 1/8" thick - and some other small jobs and everything is still together.