Need advice to buy a welder.

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My current needs are I need something to weld sheet metal on a car, a motorcycle, and aluminum.I know I am asking a lot.   I am currently a Civil Engineering student in SWFL.My past experince I was a project manager for numerous steel and aluminum fabrication shops.I was trained to weld from a highrise iron worker.I will to buy new or used.Please remember I am in college with a limited budget.The max I can afford would be $200.Thank you in advance.Dan
Reply:Ain't going to happen I'm afraid with that budget. OA would be your only possible option in that budget range and you'd have to get very lucky to get a decent setup with cylinders for that price.Alum is the big thing that will crank up the price. A 230v mig with spoolgun new will probably set you back almost $1K if not more. Even with that you wouldn't be able to have much luck with alum thinner than 1/16" or thicker than maybe 1/8" in that price range. A new AC capable tig will set you back at least $2500 and up for a decent unit. A older used AC tig maybe $1000, but as a student I doubt you have the space and power requirements to run one.Drop the alum option and you can get a mig capable of just sheet metal for about $300-500 for a decent brand used. If you want to do more than 1/8" you'll need to get a machine that will run on 230v power and your price new goes up to the $600-900 and up range just like with alum ( you would have dropped the spoolgun you need to run alum with that machine)  ( FYI the best 110v capable machines top out at 1/8" under real world conditions despite what the manufacturers lit might say. They all over rate those little machines.)Go out and buy one of cheap welders in your budget range and they won't do any of the things you want to do. Most are FC only machines and will only do steel in a very narrow range, usually 16 to 14 ga and weld quality is usually so so due to QC issues with the machines and their erratic wire feed behavior. They really aren't worth wasting your money on..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I've never tried it but I'd spend the money on renting a machine.  locally where I am, you can rent a 250 amp tig / stick inverter for about $60 per week.  Not sure if it comes with a whip, but I suspect they do.  Sunbelt rentals.  I think they're nationwide.Or borrow / barter / trade.
Reply:As DSW pointed out, the limiting factors in aluminum welding are many. How many processes are capable of aluminum welding?1. Stick. Good luck. Sheet metal will be near improbable. 2. Oxy-acetylene. Good luck. Washed out beads are hard to control. 3. Tig. Good luck. Best chance for good welds, but money and time to master are considerable.4. Mig. Good ... luck. A spool gun is your best shot here, but for $200.00? You might find a used spool gun for that, but then you need a power supply, a regulator and flow meter, and a tank of argon. Oh, and copper leads too.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny