OK - I am confused

I have seen plenty of used Lincoln 225 stick welders (and even new aren't too awfully expensive).

on a wire welder I think you'd be going to alot of trouble to change out wires....

Wind is a big issue as well. Also not sure if you can cut with a wire welder.. course cutting with an arc welder is more akin to cutting with a chainsaw.. Another option for welding is different environment. A buddy of mine does marine salvage.. and they use arc welding underwater.

Soundguy

Mig is usually easier to learn because of the way it delivers the electrode at a steady pace. I can make a pretty decent looking weld w/ a mig,
But put a stick in my hand & I"m all over the place....deep, then shallow, puddle, skip-skip(you get the picture). Put a stick welder in the right hands though, it"s a beautiful thing.

Jeff

A good stick welder is just fine for repairs and heavy welding, but takes more experience to weld thin sheet metal with than a MIG. For use outside, the stick will work with some wind, where it's tough to weld with a MIG in a breeze because the shielding gas gets blown away from the weld area.