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Seems a bit much alright but, I wonder if maybe such stuff might also be considered as sort of sweat equity, similar to assisting in the building of one's house to save money? I would hope that PM paid for the bearings in any case. I'm getting the idea that one could buy a new inexpensive...

Wow, that guy is remarkably sanguine given what he was faced with. I'd be pretty bummed if I bought a lathe and found the gearbox in such a state. I have also noted remarks on this forum about folks buying the more inexpensive new lathes and spending many hours getting them into decent shape...

Hey folks, the amp adjustment on my Century box is pretty crude (a balky lever sliding up/down) and I expect the indicated amps may not be v accurate. I do though have a clamp-on ammeter so will try to get a reading. In any case, if I goose up the amperage, I do get a lot less sticking but I...

OK, cleaned the cable connector for my ground clamp. It looked fine but scraped with a bit of fine sandpaper and tried it. Arc starting seems notably easier now so maybe that was the issue. Not sure though as if there was a bad connection there, one would expect it to heat up after the arc...

Thanks gents. Ben, I've been looking at buying one of the Ali Express inverter welders (I have an old Century 200A AC buzz-box now) and am also wondering if they would do a better job apart from the Hot Start capability. I guess they provide DC welding but whether or not that would provide...

Or "hot start"? I notice that some inverter stick welders have such a feature which, as I understand it, aids in starting the arc by supplying an extra burst of current for a second or two. Now, that is of considerable interest for me as I have pretty consistent trouble getting the arc started...

Thanks all for your kind welcome. I too visited Calgary Metal on occasion and poked around in their yard. Never found a whole lot in useful scrap however and wound up buying new angle from them once or twice after Short Iron went out of business. I would be interested in the cut-offs as well...

(near Calgary). Retired Chem Eng here. Have dabbled in metal working for about 20 years now with not much stuff (drill press, abrasive cut-off saw, side grinder and stick welder only). From scrap steel have made a couple of trailers, a 10' wind turbine and numerous smaller projects...