The Gun Counter

I currently have a Lincoln 220v stick welder and a Hobart Handler 125 spool unit.

Over the winter, I have two trailer projects that are going to require 16 gauge sheet metal welding. As is, using flux-core wire, the Hobart is a spatter machine. It's hard to use and the welds look like sh*%. But it does have a gas option. I can purchase a tank and solid wire to weld the sheet metal. OR, I could drop some more coin and buy a decent used TIG welder.

I don't weld a lot (I actually don't weld much at all. My foreman was a welder for 10+ years before changing to carpentry). Maybe once or twice a month.

Should I set the Hobart up to MIG? Will it give decent welds? Or should I drop the coin for a nice used TIG unit?

How much is a welder rental cost per day
How often do you plan on using the increased capacity of the new machine

Will renting a TIG for odd jobs and just keeping your old one for regular welding be more economical?

1)Spatter issues are part and parcel of flux core wire.
2)Flux core was not meant to avoid the bottle, but to be used where gas isn't feasable(IE outside in high winds, overhead welding, etc).
3)Mig is about the easiest welding there is - Tig is close to the hardest. If you buy a TIG welder, don't expect to just pick it up and start laying down a row of dimes if you have zero experience with them.
4)a bottle and hose kit will be far cheaper that a new machine.

I picked up my dads wire feed welder, and after a few minutes, I was able to make caltrops out of horseshoes. I made hangers, too.

Of course, those things are hard to cut.

Gas kit it is.

One of my employees has a friend whose welding shop went out of business. He says he has a "$2000 TIG machine he will sell for probably $500." Now, this is a new employee.... so I took that statement w. a grain of salt. But it's worth checking into.

If its true, it's probably a miller or an esab, and you should buy it right away, without hesitation

He's getting the specs on it this weekend.

I have TIG, MIG, Stick, and oxy-acetylene capability available to me (or at least I will, once the power comes back on... $%^#$^&* windstorm). For most welding of 16 gauge mild steel I would opt for the MIG. It's faster, which helps in minimizing distortion. I won't generally use the TIG unless I'm working on something small and intricate, or for chrome moly steel or aluminum. I tried to use the TIG unit for stuff like autobody work back when that was all that I had, and the MIG is just plain better and easier to use in most applications.

Netpackrat's complaint about the power raised a question. What sort of amperage do these various welding systems draw? What size portable generator would you need to run one? I remember reading about someone who got a welding setup on a sailboat and would weld stuff for the other boat bums at the various anchorages. I thought he ran it off his Volvo, but I don't know.
Never mind, there's a good discussion at NPR's thread on losing power for five days.