Quote Originally Posted by Commander_Keen View Post
Just going to unpack some of this for a well rounded discussion on these ideas:
Appreciate that

I'm happy to spend as I grow and if I get to the point where I have a justifiable reason to grow into a 3phase monster I'll do it. Our place is rural with 3phase power coming in with cables as thick as car battery leads so the juice is on tap if needed. We're also running 3phase solar.

I'll be welding anything and everything as the heart desires or the need arises but for me it's a long journey and everything I tackle will need to be preceded by learning, practice and destructive review. Farm equipment repair, small purpose built trailers, powered toys/carts, gates, comms and solar towers .. the list will end when I run out of time and imagination. I'm really only just coming up to speed with what's required for notching, bending, folding, etc and finding it hard to source raw material at less than the cost of finished products!

It's moving into retirement learning for me, but practical skills development for my son too.

BTW I do get your point on seriously high end machines being capable of improving a weld result .. just like a real rubbish machine could make it hard for an experienced welder to get a good result. My world is somewhere in the middle for now! I've got to get 240V power to the shed near the house immediately as it's just a short hop from the house but the new workshop will be elsewhere on the property and much closer to the meter box (getting appropriate 3phase to the existing shed would cost more than your $20K example. The new workshop will have all the power it needs and space for more gear).