Mig or stick?

[Tractorguy24]

I need to reweld the handles on a manual pilot hole post pounder. As it is subject to a lot of shock , i am wondering if it would be better to reweld it with 6010 stick rather that er70 mig wire as the mig has a higher tensile strength than the stick electrode. In my understanding, the mig weld would be more brittle and break easier. Then again i only stick welded once and have been mig welding for 3/4 year. i don't care whether or not its pretty as long as it will be stable. Whats the better option in your opinion?

 

[Ritothebull]

The mig will be fine, a good weld done with just about any wire is better than a crappy weld no matter what wire you use.

 

[Silvic]

Either will be fine if you have good penetration. Without enough power a lot MIG welds have poor penetration but look great. Typical you see a beautiful weld but worthless. Look at some of Shield Arc's examples. depends upon what equipment you have.

 

[Tractorguy24]

Either will be fine if you have good penetration. Without enough power a lot MIG welds have poor penetration but look great. Typical you see a beautiful weld but worthless. Look at some of Shield Arc's examples. depends upon what equipment you have.

its an old migmaster 250 by ESAB

 

[Shield Arc]

Tractorguy24 several years ago I did some fillet weld break tests. Lincoln L-56 wire broke from 29 blows of a 4-pound hammer.
7018 right out of the rod oven broke with 23-blows from a 4-pound hammer.
7018 that never seen the inside of a rod oven broke with 18-blows from a 4-pound hammer.

 

[Tractorguy24]

Does the lincoln l-56 have a tensile strength of 56,000psi? Mine is 70,000psi. Makes me think that will be quite a bit more brittle.


Ps:
Shield Arc, Thank you for taking the time to teach newbies (like me)! I still have a lot to learn and really appreciate your help and advice.

 

[Shield Arc]

Here is the spec sheet from Lincoln's web site.
SuperArc(R) L-56(R)

 

[CincyFlyer]

Does the lincoln l-56 have a tensile strength of 56,000psi? Mine is 70,000psi. Makes me think that will be quite a bit more brittle.


Ps:
Shield Arc, Thank you for taking the time to teach newbies (like me)! I still have a lot to learn and really appreciate your help and advice.

Do not equate tensile strength with brittleness.

 

[dragoneggs]

Do not equate tensile strength with brittleness.

True enough... different beasts. Brittleness is more of a relative term while tensile strength is absolute. That said, generally in metals the hardness is associated with tensile strength. Higher strength metals tend to have less ductility (bending) before reaching ultimate stress (failure).

Welding is another beast, as locally the metal is upset due to heat and depending also on its cooling, the grain structure can result in a more ductile or brittle structure. Okay I should shut up.

Point trying to make here is that while Cincy is not wrong, a layman can generally assume that higher strength metals will not 'plastically' deform (are more brittle) as much as lower tensile strength metals.

Way deeper than the subject of stick vs. Mig. Oh and I love Mig.

 

[Tractorguy24]

Here is the spec sheet from Lincoln's web site.
SuperArc(R) L-56(R)

The l-56 super arc is a ER70S-6 wire which is also what I am running, just not from lincoln.