Today: finally some action on the welder front. Went with my brother to see a guy he knows who's a welder by trade. Neat guy - does artsy stuff on the side with his machines at home - sculptures, etc.
Keep in mind my brother has done a little welding before - stick & MIG. But I've only ever tried brazing..
Anyway, we both described the kinds of things we had in mind for using a welder, and he advised us to get a middle of the road wire-feed machine. There are a couple on sale around here for about $300. MIG capable, if we want to add that on, but he said flux-core wire will suffice.
He has one of each in his shop, and he gave us a super quick demonstration, then asked if I wanted to try. So I got to weld my first bead today (wire feed). Kind of cool
Said I was OK for a beginner, too.
For joining 1/8 angle iron for the batt trays, he said the machine probably won't quite do a big enough bead first pass, but you can always go back over it a second time and build it up.
So now we just have to actually pick one out and buy it.