what is the least expensive welder i can get away with ?

Fst73_360 said
Friend has one from Harbor freight it works well, but not a lot of amps for cages or thick metal. There might be more. Might check craigslist

Stay far far away from the Harbor Freight brand welders. The duty cycle is real low so you can only weld for a minute or two before it over heats and you need to let it cool. Also, there is virtually no parts available.

My wife bought me one and I learned the hard way how frustrating they can be and when the wire feed motor crapped out it went into the trash because you can't get parts.

I do commend my wife for the thought and effort but the Harbor Freight unit was junk.