So, I'm doing all my own electrical for my shop.  I have quite a bit of experience with 110v but next to none for 220v.  The panel I got is for 125A and is a 6/12.  I set it up to have 3 220v circuits and 6 110v.  The questions I have pertains to the wire and outlets for the 220v.  It appears that there is 2 different wire types a 3 wire (Black, white, ground) and a 4 wire (black, red, white, and ground along with outlets designed for 3 or four wire.  So what do I use?  I know I'm going to run 10 gage wire but I'm just not sure if I need 3 or 4 wire and the corresponding 3 or 4 wire plug.

Thanks for any help,

Shane

Shane,

I am not a professional electrician. You should use a professional. There I said it.
Typically the residential 220v circuit is a 3 wire circuit... (2) hots or phases and a ground. It is common practice with a cable colored Black, white, and green, to mark the white as a hot wire with tape or markers for safety reasons.
here is a link to several diagrams for your review. If you scroll down you will see a panel wired with all three types of cable you mentioned.
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The only input I can add is that the original post reminded me of in the mid 1980's I had a mobile home and the 220 for the dryer was a 4 wire pigtail. Getting a residential sparky would be wise in the long run.

Current NEC is 4 wire -- 2 hot, neutral, and ground.   

Still need the ground wire -- even with conduit.

I would suggest talking to an electrical inspector in your area, and taking out a permit .I wired my own shop and changed the wring to come from the street to the shop ,then to the house,with new mast and panel boxes.In my area you are allowed to do wiring on your own home with a permit.So I first talked to the inspector and found out what I was allowed to do and what not to do,got the permit and then it was all inspected and done right and is safe according to code,and no issues with my insurance.Different areas do have some differences in rules and codes so best to check first in your area.
I saved thousands of dollars I didn't have at the time ,so it was worth it ,to do it myself and I learned a lot from doing it,so good luck.

The requirements of each machine you are wanting to hook up dictate what you need. However, what you are calling 3 wire, is what you most likely need. Neutral isn't needed for 220v loads unless it uses 110 for control and doesn't have it's own internal transformer. Unless you have 3hp 220v motors or are doing long runs 10awg may be overkill, not that overkill isn't ok.
I'm an electrician, but I'm in Canada, quite a bit of the NEC and the CEC are the same, but I'd recommend talking to either an inspector of an electrician that can see what you are up to. In Canada if you use metallic conduit the conduit is the bond(ground), all connections must be tight, but I gather from your inquiry you are running cable so that doesn't matter.

I had an electrician come and check everything out and he said everything was A OK with one exception...  Apparently the 220 30A outlets I bought were not 220...  I guess I need to actually read the box in the future.  I figured that since they were 30A and huge like a "real" 220 outlet that they would actually be 220... Now I know.  The new twist lock 220 outlets are now in.  With all that said, the shop work came to a halt.  I'm dealing with some things and I have exactly zero motivation...  I'm hoping that I can get the will up this weekend to finish everything.  All that's left is to put down the epoxy floor, finish sand the outside wall (this wall is actually going to be a new hallway in the finished basement) then do the knock down texturing.  Throw on the door and move equipment in.  I know that at this point I really only have about 2-3 days of work, I just need to kick myself in the bottom and get to it.  If there is anyone in North Georgia that want's to come help me, I would absolutely accept and gladly supply the food and beverage.

Thanks Ralph, be sure to post some pictures (maybe that will get me motivated).