Interesting story, I ended up getting a cheapie stick welder -
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/cigweld-cigweld-arc-welder---120-amp-240v-turbo/130112.html on sale for $120 - Cigweld Weldskill 120 turbo. I bought on sale. I got a pretty good Cigweld Weldskill auto darkening helmet and I reckon it's really good.
I found the Bunnings electrodes not good, like those sparklers I had as a child.
I found the cigweld weldskill 6013 rods pretty good and I bought from Total Tools. I've used both 2mm and 2.5mm and I wouldn't say I can weld well but I can run a bead and join together two bits of metal. It's a little hard to strike the arc but I've found having a good ground with the clamp is important (using a C clamp close on to the metal close to the welding point) is important and having the amps turned up a bit higher than they recommend. I tried mitring together some square tube with 1.5mm wall but I found even with 2mm electrode easy to blow a hole through. That said I reckon the joins that this welder creates are pretty decent & very strong.
I'm going to try and make a basic stool out of concrete rebar as a first proper project.
