Few tools inspire the raw sense of accomplishment like the welding machine. I can be welding a simple 1/4" nut to a 1/2" piece of angle iron but as soon as I lower the visor on my welding helmet suddenly I am 30 stories up a sky scraper on a windy day welding steel girders without wearing a safety harness. Using a glue gun to stick pieces to plastic floral arrangements just doesn't elicit the same sense of conquest. There are many different kinds of welding machines as well as methods of welding. But why go into all of that now. All we want to do is weld some light gauge tubing together so it won't come apart. This can easily be accomplished with a MIG welder that uses 110 Volt house hold current. From my limited study of welding technology I actually remember that MIG stands for metal inert gas. The great thing about modern MIG welders is that you don't even need to use gas if you use flux core wire. We could talk about welding all day long but I am not a professional welder. I don't even consider myself a good welder. I am what the pros refer to as a dobber. Sometimes my welding looks like a drunk Dirt Dobber tried to make a nest out of molten metal. But I am interested in improving and if you have never used a welding machine before then that is the only direction you can go. Professional welders earn every cent of their paycheck because there isn't a much hotter and dirty working environment in most cases. It takes a lot of practice and skill to be a good welder. As in most professions some are just naturally talented while others have to struggle. I believe that just about anyone with average coordination can learn to weld low risk components acceptably. What I mean by low risk is something not to be used in a critical application like an automobile, trailer or a building structure. That is not to say that a simple go cart is not subject to dangers from deficient welds. But we are contemplating a low speed vehicle and not a high speed Indy Racer.

Prices for small 110 Volt MIG welders range from just over $100 to $1000. The cheapest machine is capable of doing lightweight welding as well as the more expensive machines. It is just a matter of durability. Here is an example of a lower range MIG welder that is perfectly suitable for light useage as required for a small Go Cart.

This is a Chicago Electric Easy Mig 100. You can buy it at Harbor Freight for about $150.00. I have owned one of these and for the money it worked fairly well. If the wire quits feeding then the fuse is probably blown. I sold it on E bay and got a step up.This is my Hobart Model 140. It is a mid range priced model and currently sells at Northern Tools for under $500.00.