With the warm sunny weather on it's way, along with plenty of rainy days to work indoors, I figure this is the perfect year to start on that go-kart I've always wanted to build :cheers: . I'd like to get a welder to build the frame as well as to have around for general repair work; a rattling exhaust, the hole in the floor of my dad's truck, mostly household stuff. I plan on building the frame out of .12" wall thickness steel square tubing, probably 1" or 1 1/4" to a side. I'd also like to keep the cost of the welder under $400.

The two welders I'm stuck between are:

The Lincoln weld-pak 100 mig welder

and

The Lincoln AC-225 AC stick welder

I've done some welding with mig before, and the breaker box and 120v outlet are near where I'm going to be working. On the other hand, I could run a 230v extension cord across the basement from the washing machine. I'd really appreciate any help!