There are a lot of good points brought up by most everybody that has responded to this thread, There are other air compressor threads in this and other forums as well, Hotrodders.com is one.
In your situation, I would first check my three circuits to see if I do not already have 220 in some form in the garage. 220 is very desirable because it cuts the amount of current drawn through your wires in half, and that reduces the losses in your wires by a factor of 4.
If you do not have 220, I would plan for it in the future. Would not that welder be nice?
I have ran two different air compressors at the same time into the same hoses with no special controls, just plug them in. Depending on the air tools used, and the compressors used, one air compressor may run all the time you are using the tool. Occasionally shut it off manually, and let it take a break, and cool off, and leave the other compressor that has not been running on, and use it to run the tool.
Some times you will use enough air that one compressor will run all the time, and the other one will cycle.
Again, take a break, and let the hot compressor cool down. A hot compressor wears out faster, and it puts a lot of water into your air lines.
Here is a trick I have used with a HVLP paint gun. I have a second tank, same size as the tank on my air compressor. I draw air off the regulated supply on my compressor, at the compressor, and connect that to my second tank. When you drop the pressure on the air, you trade volume for air pressure, and you also cool the air at the same time. I also run a long air hose to further cool the air, and then a remote water trap. There is a separate in and out on my second tank, so any water that makes it that far just drops into the second tank.
Start saving so you can get that copper 220 line put in eventually.

 

Ingersol Rand advised me to use a circuit breaker, or slow-blow fuse, and wiring rated at 125% of the compressor's amperage. (I was deciding between a 220V 3.5hp or a 220V 5.5hp compressor at the time)

 

125% of the compressors amperage is alot less then 2-3x the amperage it draws. That sounds more reasonable, and goes along with what i've always heard.

 

Mine is a tandem compressor (2 * 3HP motors sequentially wired) and the minimum requirement is 40 amp otherwise if the temperature drops it will have difficulty starting.

 

I couldn't believe how cheap and easy it was to wire my compressor.. the only problem came from a mislabling of the wires at the factory and it confused me..

With mine there were two hot wires and a ground. Both hot wires went to their own 15A, 110v fused source.
That was it.. and the best part is I get like a 4HP motor with only 7A being drawn from each of those 110v poles.

do you have a fuse box or breaker in your garage at all? I wired my compressor directly to it.

I know you don't want to deal with 220, but I have to say that it was the smartest thing I've done this year. My 220 compressor is leagues better than any 110v I've tried.