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Tom,
Jumping to a Tig machine does not mean that you loose capacity. I'm sure google can sort out the details between Mig and Tig for you. A quick summary:
Mig: the welding wire feeds off a spool, through the tip of the torch and is deposited on the waterial your welding. Mig is the "hot melt glue gun" of the welding world.
Tig: the torch is used solely to melt the material your welding, you feed filler in manually using your other hand. Things like amperage are controlled by you on the fly using a foot pedal or a slider on the torch. The advantages are much greater control of your weld, better control of the heat affected zone around the weld, etc etc.
Jumping to a tig machine such as the 200 allows you much greater control of welds on thin and thick materials. I can jump from butt welding razor blades to butt welding 1/2 plate in seconds, and have total control of the welds the entire time. Tig on aluminum is great; resulting in nice "roll of dimes" looking welds. I've never been able to produce these kinds of welds using Mig on Aluminum. With tig you can do some exotic materials like Ti, copper, etc, which are not easily done with mig.
Stick is typically also found on all TIG machines. It is really simply welding, using a coated electrode. Stick is what you typically see used in large construction like skyscrapers and bridges. I like Stick for welding heavy steel together that might not have the best surface finish or environment. You can typically stick weld in windier conditions, and can opten get great weld quality right through rust paint etc., without spending a ton of time on surface prep.
I suggest heading to the local weld supplier and picking their brain a bit. I'm a fan of Tig for a variety of reasons, one being it allows you to grow and do a ton of different jobs well. With mig it is a little tougher to get this versatility.
Vin
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