What's a good welder for a novice?

[MTABike]

Slim,
You made a comment that you keep thinking that MIG is the easy way out.  For someone who's goals are to fix things around the house, make brackets, etc., the easy way out is what you want.  If you buy a welder that you can become proficient with in a weekend, I think it will be a lot more likely for you use said welder regularly.  I've seen a lot of dust covered TIG machines in home garages.   Unless you're planning on making another career out of fusing metal, I really think a MIG is what you want.  I do it for a living and I still use MIG 80% of the time.  The comment about something you can load in the truck yourself is a handy tip, and you'll find that the FORD and CHEVY variants in the welding world both make a combo 110/220v combo MIG machine that fits the bill nicely.   A 220V MIG is more than capable of building a hotrod/bike/race vehicle frame, so even if you do get that itch eventually, you won't have to upgrade your machine.  Also, if you do end up buying from your local gas supplier, they will often let you test drive these machines (they will here).

[deucemac]

Just my 2 cents worth.  I have all the styles of welders, gas, arc, mig, and tig.  when I bought my mig outfit, I consulted with the welding instructor where I work as an automotive instructor.  He advised me to buy a Lincoln Sp135plus unit.  The reason being that it is light, easy to use AND Home Depot, Lowes, and other stores carry the consumables which is a big plus for me as a dedicated fool that almost always run out on a weekend when no welding supply houses are open.  The real reason he liked that unit was that he has 4 or 5 units that the inmate students he teaches use every day and so far NOBODY has been able to hurt one.  That's amazing when you see what trouble some of theses guys can cause either by accident (They don't call it dope for nothing) or on purpose!  I have welded many thickness' of metal and plug it into the nearest 110 outlet.  Of all the units I own, this one is the most handy. Yes sometimes, on thicker stock, it is necessary to make multiple passes. When I want go get fancy or weld aluminum I break out my Miller tig, otherwise I use the snot out of that little Lincoln all the time.  Bottom line I guess is it is easy to use versatile and even career dunderhead criminals can't hurt it!