At the most I would be considered a hobbyist. I have never welded before, even though I have thought about it for a few years. My plans are to buy a MIG welder. The largest that I have seen that I would buy that runs off of 110 are the 140's like the Hobart Handler 140 or the Longevity MigWeld 140. That is what I will probably buy. The immediate thing I would plan to use it on is to build a BBQ smoker. I know that it is on the outside edge of its use, depending on the thickness of the material, but for my use this size unit makes the most sense. This should also give me the opportunity to do some fabrication that I have thought about over the years. You know where you say "man, I could have made that if only.....". There is a possibility that I would also consider a stick welder in the future if I were to work with any thick material but I am not sure I see that in my future.
One thing though that I have been thinking about is getting something to cut metal. There are two types that I am aware of, Oxy/Acetylene (or Oxy/Propane as the propane is so much easier to come by) or Plasma. I like the idea of the Plasma but man those rigs are expensive. I wonder what your thoughts are on that?
I don't see myself working on material thicker than 1/4 inch but a possible foray into 1/2 inch could happen. I just wanted to get y'alls thoughts on this.
