I want to build myself a blast cabinet, spray booth and oven to upgrade my cerakote set up. The large cabinets I've been looking at are 1200 plus. I thought it might be up my alley to try and build one myself.

I'm kicking around plywood and metal, and metal seems like it would be better. I also want to use this opportunity to learn a new skill. Welding a box seems pretty straight forward.

Guys in the know. What would be the most beneficial type of welding to learn at home?  I know it can be dangerous if I'm not safe. What resources would you look at to get started?

https://www.millerwelds.com/equipment/welders/mig-gmaw/millermatic-125-hobby-mig-welder-m30036

That's all you need to get started. Great sheet metal machine. VERY easy to learn on. Will run on house hold current.
Miller

I had someone show me how to stick weld, probably an hour of instruction.  I learned gas and mig on my own.  I also read a few books on welding and metallurgy.  If you want to be self taught, do it right.

I was already torch/flame cutting, but a pro came to a car club meeting and broke down some of the finer details.  That really helped a lot.  If you can flame cut, you can plasma cut.  

A little bit of instruction won't hurt.  Probably some good stuff on the youtubes. 

There is a bit of a learning curve with tig.  I recommend a class for that.  Some welding stores, that are going to be selling you a welder, will get you started in their booth.   

A Miller 180, 210, 211, 212 are better choices.  Newer models are dual voltage.  Find one on Craigs list and be fast to respond or someone else will beat you to it.  I stole my plasma cutter in this way.  Seller's price was too low and I was the first one to his house.  His phone was getting blown up while I was counting out the cash. 

Even without a box and pan break, you can easily make a blast cabinet.  Make the frame of the box with angle iron, cut sheet metal panels with a Harbor Freight electric shear, weld it over the angle iron frame.  Instant box.  Add window, gloves, access door, legs with wheels,  a vacuum port to clear dust and blast away.  

My roommate wanted to weld so he took an adult education class at the local community college. He enjoyed it and it provided a structured way to learn with shop time.

Novice welder here - just got started this year.  I built a firepit for my new deck - kinda looks like this:



At any rate, my weapon of choice was the Hobart 140 in MIG, most of the steel was purchased from a local supply house that does cash sales.  My advice:

*If you have no equipment at all, startup hardware costs are easily $1K - and that's doing it on the cheap
*Steel isn't cheap, and you need to learn the language of steel
*Most of the time isn't spent running a bead: it's cutting, cleaning, fitting, clamping, and planning
*Good welds are hard to make, but bad welds can be fixed with a grinder & more time...

All that aside, I have a functional piece that I use on my deck & get compliments on.  I've also done side jobs for friends that gets me free beer !

ETA:  I took no formal classes.  Everything I learned or didn't learn, came from YouTube & websites.

Go to Tip Tools and you can build your own blast cabinet out of plywood.
The plans are good and you'll be up and running sooner and cheaper than if you went the steel route.

I learned plenty here: lots of welding videos & more

As stated above you'll spend more time prepping than laying down a bead, I had to learn that the hard way.

Learning to weld: I learned from my dad (a jack of all trades that worked in a metal fab shop for several years) when I was 9 so it's hard for me to relate to how easy it is to learn. That being said, I had never TIG welded until I wound up in a shop with a brand new Miller Dynasty 350 (the Cadillac of TIG machines) and nobody knew how to use it. I self-taught by reading instructional webpages and watching youtube videos. I'm not an expert, but I can put a nice TIG weld on just about any normal materials. I've TIG brazed broken cast-iron, TIG SS, carbon steel, hardened steel, & AL. Never taken a formal class of any sort for welding.


Blast cabinet: approach cautiously if you plan to cut sheets and weld the corners. Metal warping on full length welds on thin sheet-metal will surprise you. That is why most cabinets are made from just a few bent sheet-metal pieces that are welded in only a few places. I would recommend the plywood approach for a home-use type cabinet. If you need a more abrasive resistant wall in certain areas  you can always screw thin sheet-metal to the inside walls of the plywood box.