my50trk,
A gas outfit can:
weld
cut
braze
heat stuck nuts, bolts, king pins, etc.
A wire-feed outfit can:
weld
A wire-feed outfit is easier to use on sheet metal than a gas welder. It also heats the metal less, leading to less warpage. However, with a gas outfit, you can braze your sheet metal. IMO, brazing is easier than MIG. It makes a nice seam, and heats the metal even less than MIG does. The bond is not as strong as a weld, but, if done correctly, it is still stronger than the metal itself.
If you can only get one, I would recommend the gas outfit for its diversity and infinite usefulness.
Please note that we have this discussion on a quarterly basis here on this site, and there are a lot of folks here who would recommend the opposite.
Hope that helps some,
Ed
