Sorry I’ve let things drag a bit on updating this.
After the tilt and paying for the welder, we have $320 for accessories. An aluminium spool gun is ~$500 new, so that’ll have to be a future purchase.
We’ve got the helmet and the cart. They’re great, thanks again @abucior
I went on a shopping trip to Lordco. I bought a MIG tool (pliers that have most of what you need to do normal tasks), some flux wire, welding gloves, and a bunch of welding tips. I did some test tacks with the flux core wire (first time trying it) and it did “ok”… Gas shielded is the way to go for sure, but it’s nice to have the flux for certain use cases.
We tried to get some sponsored gas, but haven’t had much luck, so I’m going to lease a bottle from a local welding shop for $90 a year for 1 year. They are several hundred to buy, so this is our best bet for now. We’ll keep trying to get some for free, but this let’s us try the tank size and not commit. I’ll be getting 75/25 gas. I think we’ll also need to pay the $60 for the fill.
This leaves me with about $100 for a bunch of steel wire, chipping hammer, wire brush, some angle grinder disks.
I’d also like to pick up another welding mask (as teaching, it’d be nice to have two people be able to see at once), another pair of gloves, a welding jacket, and some welding blankets. I’ve got a craigslist search running for these items, but haven’t gotten any recent hits for a good price. I may need to have the VHS equipment buying committee to help cover a bit of extra cost here, but I’ll try to keep it all under.
I am just waiting for a new credit card in the mail, the welding shop need one to do the lease (I broke my old one, they need a physical card). When I have that I’ll bring in a tank. I’ll try to do the prep for a basics course in the meantime.
I’ll be posting all receipts and a spreadsheet showing all costs.