Lol Cory, it's not as hard as it looks, and trust me if i can do it, anyone can. Now if we are talking xray pipe welds in a mirror while laying up in a pipe rack or stuff like that, it's not hard but the time invested to learn goes up. I've always believed what one man can do another man can learn to do, and this forum definitely helps people to that end. And Ray you are a bad mofo to work a while career dealing with powerlines, that spooks me to no end. The damn osha 30 class made sure of that lol
Rich, fine job on the trailer jack, looks like you used a mig gun? I'm sure it's fine if you did, but i have to say this... mig guns are awesome, but they have penetration problems out of position or if run too cold, and porosity problems if it's not perfectly clean. Stick welding, while not as user friendly, will work in all positions to make welds that meet structural codes. Mig is actually not allowed for out of position structural work. Are there settings that can make out of position welds, yes, are there different wires that can be used, yes (dual shield is the best), but for the average guy, a stick welder will do position work everytime, with rusty plate, outside in a breeze. Get some high deposition rods and you would be hard pressed to keep up using a single phase machine under 50 amps. Stick welders are more versatile too, and all you do is change rods.