I have a small MIG welder at home.

I want to use it for some stick welding,

but have been told I cannot. Why is this? At work we have several different
types of welding machines. Why is it that some can only be used for stick
welding and some only for wire welding, but then other machines can be
used for both? I have heard the terms CC and CV, but what do these mean
and why are they important? Finally, our company has some portable wire
feeders with a CV / CC switch inside of them. Does this mean they can be
used with any welding machine?

These are very good questions and ones I am sure that have been asked by many
welders. From a design and arc control standpoint, there are two fundamentally
different types of welding power sources. These include power sources that produce
a constant current (CC) output and power sources that produce a constant voltage
(CV) output. Multi-process power sources are those that contain additional circuitry
and components which allows them to produce both CC and CV output depending
on the selected mode.

Note that a welding arc is dynamic, in which current (A) and voltage (V) are
changing constantly. The power source is monitoring the arc and making millisecond
changes in order to maintain a stable arc condition. The term constant is relative.
A CC power source will maintain current at a relatively constant level, regardless of
fairly large changes in voltage, while a CV power source will maintain voltage at a
relatively constant level, regardless of fairly large changes in current. Figure 1
contains graphs of the typical output curves of CC and CV power sources. Notice at
various operating points on the output curve in each graph how there is relatively
little change in one variable, while fairly large changes in the other variable (
(delta) = difference).