This setup ended up working well. At the recommendation of my instructor, I bought a Miller 211 MIG welder for its relative ease of use. The inert shielding gas comes from the wire itself. I also got a 30" industrial fan to suck the smoke out the window as I worked. (I also wore a welding respirator). To get 240v power to the room, I built a 50' 8 gauge extension cord to plug into the dryer receptacle in the laundry room at the other end of the house.