I started off back in the late '70s with oxyacetylene, when MIG was still a rumor. I got pretty comfortable with OA, but dreamed of the day when MIG would come to fruition. I got to try gasless MIG first and, while I liked it, it was (as others have said) very dirty, with lots of spatter to clean up afterwards. Eventually, I got a cheap, used gas MIG, and I loved it. It was a 110 volt machine and, while it would work on a normal 15 amp circuit, it had to be a clean circuit, not shared with much other draw sources. As long as I welded VERY slowly with it, I could get full penetration on up to 3/16" steel.
The downside of many of the 110V machines is their duty cycle. As they're intended for very light duty use, the duty cycle is limited, and exceeding it regularly will lead to expensive breakdowns (ask me how I know!). Most have thermal overload protection, kind of like a breaker, but tripping it too many times will eventually lead to failure. If (as it was in my case) the machine is not a name brand, finding replacement parts can be trying.
So - my advice would be to shop around, and consider spending a little more to get a name brand machine. I now have a Miller 190 - an exceptional machine, and surprisingly inexpensive (I'm seeing them in the US, brand new, at $889)- I will never need another welder in my lifetime.
I can get parts for it, virtually anywhere in the world. It's a 240V machine, so I had to wire in an extra 50 amp outlet for it. This was actually very easy, indeed and, while I was at it, I built a 20' extension cord/outlet for it, so I can reach every part of my 24'X26' shop with ease. I no longer have to weld sloooowly, penetration on even thick steel is a no-brainer, welding is several times faster, and I'll probably never even approach the duty cycle.
In addition, it has "Autoset", which means settings are far simpler than other machines - dial the wire thickness you're using & the thickness of the material you're welding, and the welder does the rest, all by itself.
As a bonus, the machine is designed for a plug-'n-play spool gun for welding aluminum (I just bought the spool gun a couple of weeks ago).
There are lots of welders out there, including HF quality ones, which will also do the job for you, for a lot less money. You need to consider whether you'll want to continue to use the machine for other things after your build - in my case, it's like the saying "to someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail" - even as a home-shop amateur fabricator, I do a LOT of welding...largely, because I can.
If you only want a welder for a single build, and have no intentions of welding anymore after that, I'd go with a HF or similar unit. You won't get much for it on resale, and you'll have to be careful not to over stress it, but it will work.
Hope that helps...
_________________ Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit. http://zetec7.webs.com/
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