GRP, thanks for noticing. Advice much appreciated. Tailhunter, thanks for the ideas! Wolfie, part of the reason I wanted to learn to weld was your rebar stake video!

Been tinkering around as well washxc.

Looking good hammer! Have you ever used the auto-set feature on the 211? I've been using it between 1/8 and 3/16 on 110V. Seems to be working out OK.

Cool boat anchor.

Your getting better just keep practicing.

I have 4 years of it in high-school. I can run 4 different kinds of welders. I might take a collage course in it.

I can also run a Plasma cutter as well as a table top plasma cutter through a computer program.

I was in charge in high school of teaching others to weld when the teacher was too busy.

Yeah works good and gets the job done but I normally choose my own parameters. I run .035 and 220 the auto set seems to always have its parameters running a tad under on the wire feed with that set up but still burns in a decent weld. When I’m making stakes I just use auto set and 1/4in. I tap the nut down on the top leaving about a 1/4in of rebar sticking out past the nut so you ain’t actually striking the nut itself. When you burn it in it leaves a nice smooth service from rebar to nut top.

When making my stakes I don’t worry to much about it being all that pretty it’s about to get whacked with a hammer the rest of its life lol. But I will grind any sharp edges or burrs off from the rebar being cut so if you use your hand to push em in soft mud or ground people don’t get jaded or cut.

Had some time to play with the welder last week. I've been wanting to weld hooks onto the bucket of my tractor for a while. We've been wrapping a chain around the bucket for years, but hooks are much more efficient. i picked up a 4 pack of 3/8 inch hooks for $20 from amazon. They're pretty heavy duty and came pre-beveled. With the bevel there was a lot of gap to fill for welding on 110v with .030. I tried to go slow and I think they came out alright. I put three hooks on and I got a little better at getting into the base material after the first one. I tacked each end and then ran the bead down the length. I hooked the chain around a tree and into the new hook and was able to lift the back end of the tractor up in the air before breaking traction. Seems like it'll hold.

Nice job wash.