A foot clutch could be tricky while pedalling?????
Ha! Ha!
Might be like an Irishman in Riverdance! LoL
Gosh Harry, I have no opinion of any weight... if my two cents here and there can lead you even closer to a good idea for your project, that might be a good thing.
I don't know anything about the marketplace down under, but I bought a 3 in 1 welder a few months back on the bay. About 1/4 the price of Blue or Red with the same functions I wanted to learn. It has arc, Tig, and plasma cut functions, with all the bells and whistles. It's what's known as a W-200P.
It had two problems on arrival. The vendor stood behind it, and I got them both resolved within 10 days.
I researched the oriental welding machines before buying... that is a difficult task considering the amount of cloning they participate in.
Riland is highly thought of. Origin of mine is questionable, but it's a clone of Riland, or badged... hard to tell.
I took this pic of my spray gun... the welder is in the background, if you can see it... Best
rc