I had 220 strung in our shop when we got the lighting done, because I wanted to eventually get a welder. I still haven't pulled the trigger on one yet because I'm still looking, and have many other projects going on. I DO have projects where I think 'if I just had a welder, I'd be done by now...' but am still welderless.
I have no clue what's good, but those new 'combo' welders are looking good, and getting cheap, but I'm afraid you'd get what you paid for if you're not careful. Usually, with 'combo' things, while they can be multi-functional, the parts that go inside are usually cheaper than the individual unit to keep the prices down. I hope to find a unit that's not like that.
I don't think we have such a dedicated forum topic, but they do over at Corner Carvers, with some good info from folks that actually use the things:
Welder TechYou could just get an inexpensive unit to use to tack things together and then take the parts to a real welder to get the welds finished, but it depends on the availability of such people.
Let us know what you end up with, and how it works.