I am surprised most of us use only one iron for all purposes. I have discovered that exactly the same way we change scissors depending on the job being done, we change needles depending on the thread and we change rotary cutters depending on the fabrics and the project, I am changing irons depending on what I am doing. I have a regular iron for large pieces that sits on my sewing table. I have one for clothes. My sewing iron can take water for steam, but I use my Tobi if I need steam, because I am yet to find an iron that stays dry. If I am doing applique, I use a flat iron I found at Vermont Country Store. It doesn't take water, therefore has no little holes in the button that trap the corners of my pieces. This one I use for small pieces. The auto shut off, I hate it too, but see it as a safety device. Many times I forget to turn off the iron and is good piece of mind to know that it shuts itself off.