The fumes from flux welding are not something that you want to breathe. Having said that, a window with a fan is sufficient; I typically just open the garage doors. If you go with gas, be aware that it doesn't take much breeze to blow away the shielding gas with detrimental effects to your weld so plan your work space accordingly.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: If you really want to drill in the underlying principles oxy acetylene is the way to learn.
+bunches
Learn to oxy-acetylene weld first and you will be better with every other method.
That aside, the "IG" in both MIG and TIG is an inert gas and will fill up the basement about the same. Neither should be done indoors without proper ventilation and they are probably pretty similar on the bad for your kiddo scale. Given that it is a first welder $600 will buy a 220v Hobart 190, $800 with the spool gun, and if you ever wear it out in home use than you will have done enough welding that it won't owe you a thing. Especially if you get $3-400 for it used. Both the 125 and 140 Hobart Handlers are good units but the $125 doesn't come with gas parts.
Now flux core wire feed is a whole other animal and should not even be considered in a basement. You might as well stick weld, it's pretty much the same from a fume standpoint.
If it was my dollars, and I wanted the maximum versatility for the minimum dollars I'd be buying a 110v MIG welder in the 140A range and a inexpensive 220v stick welder. Everything that is too big for the wire feed is just right for the stick and the portability of the small wire feed makes it perfect for tack welding to set up for the stick.
Or disregard all that and get a cheapo Harbor Freight TIG and google up how to add a foot pedal to it.
Wow, I learned with a 220v stick welder. I'm decent with the 110v mig as well, but the stick is my bread n butter on good looking welds. Both are Lincoln BTW.
I want a tig welder at this point to have my friend teach me......he has a shelf of soda cans welded together in his garage. 
Without reading the entire thread, the rule tends to be: The more money you spend on the welder, the thinner the material it can handle.
Any knuckle-dragger welder can do thick stuff, but it takes finesse (money) to be able to handle thin material.
oldopelguy wrote:Kenny_McCormic wrote: If you really want to drill in the underlying principles oxy acetylene is the way to learn.+bunches Learn to oxy-acetylene weld first and you will be better with every other method. That aside, the "IG" in both MIG and TIG is an inert gas and will fill up the basement about the same. Neither should be done indoors without proper ventilation and they are probably pretty similar on the bad for your kiddo scale. Given that it is a first welder $600 will buy a 220v Hobart 190, $800 with the spool gun, and if you ever wear it out in home use than you will have done enough welding that it won't owe you a thing. Especially if you get $3-400 for it used. Both the 125 and 140 Hobart Handlers are good units but the $125 doesn't come with gas parts. Now flux core wire feed is a whole other animal and should not even be considered in a basement. You might as well stick weld, it's pretty much the same from a fume standpoint. If it was my dollars, and I wanted the maximum versatility for the minimum dollars I'd be buying a 110v MIG welder in the 140A range and a inexpensive 220v stick welder. Everything that is too big for the wire feed is just right for the stick and the portability of the small wire feed makes it perfect for tack welding to set up for the stick. Or disregard all that and get a cheapo Harbor Freight TIG and google up how to add a foot pedal to it.
Right on. Acquire used welder, sell for same price a year later.
Fact of the matter is that any welding process is going to stink the house up.
Lets not forget that where there is welding there will be grinding. That also has an aroma all its own. And sparks...lots of sparks that go everywhere and start little smoldering fires that you don't see or smell until it is too late.
Weld outside. Buy the 10 AWG extension cord and plug in your 110V MIG welder and you are good to go. You will be able to do 99% of the jobs your run into and your learning curve will be started for much less than $1000. None of the other processes will get you going for less. God has not decreed that you only get one shot at this, you can try new processes as your interest grows.
To those who say you need to start with gas welding, its like saying you need to learn how to write with a goose quill before you can write. Or like talking to people rather than texting. The world has moved on, so try to keep up.
No one has said it yet, but budget for a good auto-darkening helmet with adjustable shade and reaction times. Miller sells good ones. Knowing how much the Chinese care about any health concern, I would stay away from any HF or discount made-of-china helmet and I don't care how many people tell me that their $60 one is great. I want my eyes to last.
As far as auto-darkening goes... faster than 1/20000 is what you want. Faster is better. Adjustable shade from #8 to #13.
Don't worry about cut/grind modes and all that E36 M3 - buy a set of cheap cutting goggles for that work.
You can spend anywhere from $60 to $600.
NOHOME... Miller helmets are made in Korea. My old Jackson lid had lenses made in India but some of their models were actually made in Michigan and advertised that way. They were bought by Kimberly-Clark since then though... so maybe not anymore. Speedglas were made in Sweden but they were bought by 3M so...
It is really tough to say if you are getting what you pay for with these things. I won't argue with you about the HF unit except to say... I've got 100 hours on it with no itchy eyes. YMMV.
Both of my welding instructors have recommended the Thermal Arc 181i Fabricator. It runs on 220v. It runs MIG, TIG and stick. I bought one this week. Tomorrow I will give it a shakedown session. So far I have taken it apart and inspected it. It seems to be a very well built unit. Here is more info.
http://www.weldersupply.com/P/538/ThermalArcFabricator181i
As far as TIG or MIG welding in the basement, fumes are not your only hazard. The gasses used in welding are often heavier than air. They can displace the air in enclosed spaces and make life more difficult to sustain. Ventilation is required for all welding.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Don't worry about cut/grind modes and all that E36 M3 -
Cut/Grind modes are excellent ways to accidentally flash yourself when you forget to switch it over, and also a great way to scratch the lens of your welding helmet when you're grinding.
NOHOME wrote: No one has said it yet, but budget for a good auto-darkening helmet with adjustable shade and reaction times. Miller sells good ones. Knowing how much the Chinese care about any health concern, I would stay away from any HF or discount made-of-china helmet and I don't care how many people tell me that their $60 one is great. I want my eyes to last.
I paid $60 for my Hobart auto helmet and it's a quality piece.
I've only been welding for a few years, mostly with my 120V mig, it's a Lincoln and has done anything I've needed, from motor mounts to body work, etc. I'll get a TIG someday I'm sure.
Here's the thing, a MIG will get you welding faster and weld faster once you're going, a TIG will make better looking welds, that's it in a nutshell. You're romanticizing welding, it's cool, taking a pile of metal and turning it into something really impressive. I was this way when first starting, it's so cool. You know what though, for me, welding sucks, it's hot(obviously) and uncomfortable. Once I got over the wonderment, I just wanted whatever project I was doing to be done. A MIG will be faster, if you really like welding, you can go super slow and make the best MIG welds possible.
Oh ya, for grinding, get a nice electric die grinder and carbides, no sparks or fumes, much quieter.
Again on the MIG bandwagon, you'll always find a use for a 120V MIG, even if you get a TIG later. Easily portable and can work almost anywhere, especially with flux core.
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