Originally Posted by
Reynolds
No disrespect intended. Small shops usually have only stick welders and use to weld 3/16" stock and up IME.
I had a broken mountain bike repaired back in the 80s. The guy doing the repair is a master welder who has tons of experience welding scientific equipment and knows how to do delicate work. His comment when he welded the frame was that the steel is so thin it would be incredibly easy to burn through.
He has also welded an aluminum frames that I managed to break. He had zero problems with it.