For steel as thick as this, stick welding is very forgiving though. Big heatsinks, hard to melt through. Most people can probably learn to make (ugly but) strong enough welds in an afternoon.
They will look strong enough. Whether they really are strong enough or not is a completely different story and I guarantee that you won't learn that in an afternoon. Veteran of many thousands of welds here, welding is a real skill and with gear like this making a mistake could cause injury or death to operator or bystanders. Better make sure you know how to weld beforehand.
