I am looking to buy a stick welder, and have narrowed it down to the "buzzbox" as so many people call them. I am the type of person who prefers purchasing new, to guarantee the item has not be abused and is in great shape(as I take very good care of my tools). However, I was recently informed by someone that the new Lincolns use aluminum windings instead of copper, and that it makes them less durable, so I should by a used one instead. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this? There is one for sale that looks pretty rough for 115$ at a local used machinery shop. New they are 300$ at Lowes. Until the comment about the aluminum, I was willing to pay the 300$ and get the new one, figuring it would last longer than the used one, considering it is 30 years old... What do you guys think? Of course there is the third option, buying the AC/DC version...but this is for a farm, repair work, hard to justify the extra 250$ for the DC option you know?
