dont be a sissy and learn a new skill! at 16, the world is yours...
get a stick welder, lumps of steel, read some material, sleep on it and go play! learn what its all about!
such as that the current flowing through the material being welded has nothing to do with weld embrittlement, but that the simple gradient of temperatures from molten weld puddle to cold parent metal causes localised hardening and tempering in alloy steels. alloy being anything other than plain old mild steel. hardening means brittle means break without heat treatment.
a good safety factor is to make the tubes thicker. i judge a bikes weldability by its weight. heavy frame...thick, low quality steel. probably just mild steel. weld away! lightweight and delicate...cromo, tempered, already near limits of stress under normal use...leave alone or braze. only weld cheap bikes is another system...
gusseting and judicial use of braces can work. what youre welding and where youre welding can be major factors.
while the basics are simple, it leads into chemistry, physics and metallurgy. it can be quite complex. but the basics remain the same. melt, mix, cool. too easy
sometimes i steck weld frames just cus its less hassle getting it out
