<font color="blue"> What kind of welder did you use for those hooks?
I've been contemplating a welding purchase, but don't know which would be good for "farm use."
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Herdfan,
It was a stick weld. I also welded on a piece of angle across the top, to make the bucket stronger and give me a good place to put the hooks.
The particular welder I have is a tig/stick combo and would not be what you want for "farm use" as it more electronics than transformer. So it will take less abuse in storage than a transformer machine will.
You would probably want to get a transformer welder, ac/dc units cost a little more but DC is nice to have. Now I am a novice but even novice welding skills are wonderful to have!
Bottom line is to get something that will start and hold an arc for you. If you get a very low end welder that is lacking power, you may end up frustrating yourself when all you get is a rod sticking to the metal you are trying to weld [when you are starting out, anyway].
Now some start with a wire feed welder [MIG] too. Can't comment on them as I have never used one. People say that you can get a good looking weld with them that is not strong at all...come refer to these welders when they are in inexperienced hands as "hot glue guns." For a person with experience they do a fine job.
A stick welder it seems to me is a good choice for around the farm as it will weld thicker stuff than an inexpensive wire feed will, will probably be the most durable of all.
By the way...welders as viewed by weldors share a lot of common traits with tractors viewed by tractor owners. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif