It's begun....

[JAZZCNC]

BTW - the new house has a 31x15 foot workshop and I'm going to be building a workbench down one wall out of steel box section, which means learning to MIG weld - does anyone have any recommendations for a welder and whether gasless or gas is better?

Gas less is mickey mouse stay away if you want to weld seriously. If your mainly going to weld box section or thicker stuff then just buy a cheap stick welder because to weld 3mm box section you'll need a decent sized Mig. . . . Cheap Migs are rubbish and pretty much useless for thick stuff.

Also to get decent welds from a Mig you wan't CO2/Argon mix (Boc Argo sheild) and the little cannister bottles and regulators that usually used with cheap Migs are rubbish/expensive and last about 40mins on a good day.!! Plain CO2 or pub gas spits like crazy.
The real Mcoy bottles are difficult to get hold of unless you know somebody with an account at Gas supplier and even then you'll have to pay for the bottle rental plus Gas.!!

Even the cheapist stick welder will give better welds in 3mm box than an average power Mig.!!