There's nothing that I can add, in reality every situation is different. I have a Lincoln 225 buzz box (copper windings) that I converted to DC many years back. Most of my welding is in the 40-60 amp region with 1/8 4011 (I think) rods. Some of it is for my tractor accessories, some for shelf standards, things of that nature. The only thing that needed to be "accurate", I took to work and had a buddy weld. That was before 2005, so my memory has gotten a little fuzzy. . . He made the welds at 60ish amps on an industrial machine.
The point here is that at 60 amps at the electrode on the Lincoln (transformer type) the line load was well below 30 amps. When I rebuilt the machine, I included a 50 ft cord, replacing the OEM cord. I keep it in the barn and roll it outside to weld, no need for an extension. The OEM specification for 60 amps is around 50%. I am sure I have exceeded that several times. The cable I used was SO 8/3, ~50 feet, and has never gotten warm, well never above ambient. Although the plug is wired for and uses a 50 amp connector, the circuit breaker is a 30 amp 2 pole. I use the same plug for a generator when it's run, so the breaker is set to protect the genset. It has never tripped. . .
Although I have seen, but certainly don't agree with, using NM 10-2+G. Some jack leg wannabe fixers will do whatever is necessary.
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