WelderDave mentioned garbage cans for lead storage. I use military surplus communication cable reels. Works good for skidding lines to.
I was welding inside a local plant a few years ago and I was using all my cable plus a couple borrowed ones. They gave me a helper, someone from shipping I think. I was having trouble and asked him to go and see what the welder was set on. A few minutes later he comes back and tells me it's on the back of a truck.
I am no expert but just learned to cut and weld over the summer and for short money, I went with Orange The big mult-Processor Vulcan Omni-Pro welder and Simandra 5200DX for all our Plasma Cutting and a 14” Rigid Abraision Cutter for the chops on the cheap! My trainer showed me how to make an indestructible bench coffee mug holder Using a 3” steel car exhaust pipe too! This setup just works great for slicing off the bottom of a burnpot where the Igniter burned a big hole and welding on a heavier bottom so it will really last long! See 3rd to last pic
Had a chance to try out one of those eastwood 250 machines. I was blown away how nice it handled stick. A friend bought it as a disposable welder for hardening a few buckets.(new) If it holds up, I would consider one maybe. I was surprised the drive was built well.
I have a Hobart 175 mig and a Lincoln 180 (?) mig in my shop. Both are around five years old and work very well for my occasional stock car chassis repair jobs. Built a few trailers and a couple hot rods, too. These new inverter machines weld so nice compared to the old analog stuff I used years ago that it's almost made my welds look good.
X2 When I researched the welding market and heard about the new inverter welders, I was a little skeptical at first but since I do 10 Guage and lighter it seemed like the way to go and my new Vulcan Omni Pro with the digital screen just makes it so easy!
