Best gas welding rig for 4130?

On Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:10:03 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Howdy,

I did a bit of welding in highschool, and would like to refresh the
skills. I figure I'll order a 4130 mixed bag, and get a little gas
tote rig.

I checked at air&gas, and they want 150$ for two tanks, 20cf, and 10cf
oxygen and acetylene respectively, filled. I could get this plus a
chinese guage and torch set off ebay for about 100 bucks. Add a pair
of flashback supressors, a dolly, (doesn't come with a tote) and
shipping and I'm looking at around $355 before buying safety gear.
They exchange tanks, so I pay for new tanks and get... old ones. (Not
stoked about that.) That would give me a "medium duty" rig (medium
likely refering to both capability, and quality control) with 3 tips,
rosebud, cutting torch hoses and guages.

I'm a south paw, and after poking around on the net I found the meco
midget, which I really like the look of. This torch is ambedexterous,
and looks like it would be great for getting in small places. But she
sho' ain't cheap, and with a gauge set and tanks she breaks the above
price by at least an extra $100, and probably closer to $200, since
your really can't buy regulators inexpensively by themselves. And
frankly I do kinda want the cutting torch, even if I only call on it
once in a blue moon, so I'd be looking at more than that. (Amazing how
many uses you find for stuff, when you already have it)

I've shopped around for complete tote rigs, and they vary in features
and prices. The cheapest is HarborFreight at $275. I haven't heard
anything about this rig, and would be interested in hearing any
comments.

I try and avoid buying anything from Home Despot if I can possibly
help it. Fortunately in this case their stuff, (as is often the case)
looks like it has been returned about a dozen times and there is parts
missing. So if I was going with them, they'd have to order it, and I'm
not waiting around for the staff to learn how to do their job. I
looked at Lowes too. Better, but not good. In both cases their prices
did not compare favorably.

Tractor Supply has a Victor Cutskill tote rig for $300. It is light
duty, has one welding tip and a cutting torch. They also fill tanks,
and are closer to me than air&gas. (though air&gas fills tanks
cheaper). This would be about $350 total after they filled the tanks.
The down side is just one tip.

Smith has a nice looking tote rig, it is more expensive at over $450
off ebay. Their cutting torch has the oxygen valve canted instead of
on the left side of the torch. As a south paw that means I don't have
to reach across the torch for adjustments. However, for the price I
should get more than one welding tip IMHO.

At this point I'm leaning towards the Victor Cutskill from Tractor
Supply. It is light duty, and by the look of it is probably pretty
decent for tube welding. It is made by a company that is American.
While this doesn't neccessarily mean that it is more safe than a
generic rig, it does mean that there is a company within the domestic
jurisdiction to sue in the event that it blows my shed to the moon. So
there is more impetus for safety, which _hopefully_ means there is
better QC. And frankly, Tractor Supply has good customer service,
which I try to reward if I can.

Any comments or recommendations? What rigs have you used for aircraft
welding, and were they worth the price compared to the others? Anyone
had safety issues with the cheap torch sets off Ebay?

Thanks in advance!
Nobody ever got fired for buying Victor.