Whats your pleasure?

[pickeringchris]

Just a little poll here.

For mild steel. Do you prefer smaw or mig and why? Also, if your not shy please state your age.

Thanks

 

[kevinj]

Stick welder here, can't justify multiple process for the amount I weld.

I do have a scratch tig torch for welder tho.

Age, white haired

 

[Soundguy]

Stick welder here, can't justify multiple process for the amount I weld.

I do have a scratch tig torch for welder tho.

Age, white haired

too funny!

stick welder here.

can't justify the cost of a mig needed to weld 1/2" steel like a cheap buzz box can, for the amount I weld.

age: salt n pepper hair and about 8" beard.. mostly 'salt'

 

[k0ua]

Yep Stick here, for thicker and Lift start Tig for thinner steel and copper and brass. Don't have anything against MIG, may get one someday, but have not been able to justify one yet. White hair. (well over 50)

James K0UA

 

[deereman75]

Stick here. Never tried mig, see no need for it for me now. Stick weld the thick stuff, gas weld the thin stuff. Also cant see spending that much for one in the near future. Just trying to get the cash for an everlast pa200 right now. Age: still in high school.

 

[bearcreek paul]

Stick here also as said before stick can do thick and thin.Simple to use once you get the feel.
Mid fifties another salt and pepper.

 

[JB4310]

It could be where do you have more hair ?

Ears, Nose and Back or on your head ?

Hair seems to grow wild where you don't want it an thins out where you'd prefer it :confused2:

Arc all the way. I have a 135 amp mig but hardly ever use it. The why ? cause at 135 amp it can't handle what I'm welding. And a mig comparable to my stick machine is expensive.

I'm just starting with the salt, but with 3 teenagers, shouldn't be long before I have no hair at all :laughing:

JB

 

[rankrank1]

My age is 43 and I would gladly take white hair or gray hair over the deserters any day. You can not color what is not there.

I use mostly mig on thin metal only because I have it. If I knew 10 years ago what I know now then I never would have bought the mig machine. (Or if somebody would be foolish enough to give me the $750 or so dollars that I have invested in it then I would glady send it down the road) Nothing wrong with the machine itself as it really is a fine machine, but in practicality it is just an expensive luxury that I could easily do without. It is a one trick pony that only excels on thin metal and helpful if you weld a lot of metal less than 1/16" thick. There are people and business for whom mig makes perfect sense - I simply am not one of them.

Give be an AC (or AC/DC) buzzbox stick anyday which I also have and use. I have actually zero interest in acquiring an inverter based stick welder.
a) Can weld metal 1/16 to whatever thickness reasonably easily and very cheaply with my buzzbox stick. (no extra costs that add up over time like mig either).
b) Add Twin Carbon arc torch and I have a nearly free source of intense heat for bending metal, loosening rusted nuts, brazing, silver soldering etc. (Inverter not suited for this task so they are out for me).
c) If you are lucky enough to have DC too, then you can easily add a tig torch to even alowly DC buzzbox in order to weld thin metal via scratch start tig (plus bottle and gas) for thinner stuff.
d) Can also use the arc welder to cut metal and pierce holes in metal - try doing that with a mig unit.

While a stick welder will not always be the ideal tool for every job - it can actually do many jobs where the mig can only really do 1 job (limited to lower cost migs that a homewoner might purchase).

 

[4shorts]

I'm 51. Weld daily. The only time I stick weld is out in the field moble welding. If anything is brought into the shop it's miged or in some cases tiged.
The mig process is used 90% of the time and both machines are Millermatics. Faster to use. Less clean up. Nicer looking welds and never had a come back using them.

 

[Brushhill dave]

Although I'm not a professional welder I prefer stick to mig. It's more versitile, and in a pole of the 4 pressure welders that are working for me tonite they all agree.....well sorta 3 actually prefer tig and they say the 4th will too as soon as he gets his tickets!!

 

[Brushhill dave]

And I've no grey hais as of yet but haven't been in high school in a long time!

 

[sandman2234]

I took several welding class's at the local Votech back in the late 80's, and after I learned stick, the instructor put me in a booth with a tig and a stack of aluminum plates. When I got tired of that, I asked him about learning the Mig, and he told me to get my but back in the booth with the tig. I will always remember his next comment... "I can teach a monkey to run a mig but tig is where the money is at." I never did learn to run a mig correctly, though I have had one in my hand a couple of times. We had an aluminum push/pull machine that ran off single phase that we would take to jobsites when needed, (or to the house for a project) but in reality, most of my welding is done via stick. I do have a rather large (for a home shop) Miller AC/DC power source that also has high frequency for Tig, so welding 5/8" aluminum at the house is possible. (had some projects that I had to weld up using 5/8", so I know it will do it) Only thing I don't like about running tig that high is paying the electric bill, lol.
David from jax




(fixing to be 56)

 

[GLyford]

Stick. Buzzbox and couple of 5# boxes of 7014, plus a few # in the itty bitty stuff I use for sheet metal (1/16), and a box of nickel for cast. Can't afford another machine, and I find burning stick theraputic, I suspect my next purchase would be DC. Strictly a hobbyist, takes me a few sticks to get anything past chicken scratch and gorilla welds, but stuff stays together so I'm happy.

Age: middle, more pepper than salt. I'm usually covered in yellow lab fur anyway...

 

[Yandaddy1110]

Used a red tombstone (ac only) for 15years and never could get the hang of it.
Switched to a red mig w/sheilding gas and never looked back, welds look 100% better.
Age: Almost 50 old enough to know you get what you pay for.

 

[RPW]

Depends on what I'm welding. Stick, FCAW for outside or heavier work. MIG/TIG for indoors thinner stuff. Old enough to know better, young enough not to care

 

[lilranch2001]

I was always a better stick welder than mig, I got a better structural weld with 7018

I never much liked welding light metal when I welded for a living so I will stick with stick



and im old nuff to know better, and young nuff to still wanna do it anyway

 

[Sutol]

Mig here, I weld mostly thin stuff but my mig will weld anything from a biscuit tin to welding on a tow bar (done both)

Got a stick welder but hardly ever use it as most times it wont go down low enough and I would rather have the mig with its instant spark up than have the stick sticking because I'm not that good at it

Not much slag with the mig either and most times none.

I'm silver haired and sixty four soon but the old brain thinks its 21

 

[monckywrench]

I like 'em all, but if forced to choose I'd choose stick for versatility.

 

[Chilly807]

I have both, I learned to weld using a stick almost 30 years ago. I didn't strike an arc for 25 years, then bought a MIG and learned all over again.

I like the AC/DC stick for quick projects and repairs, and it's the cat's azz for heavy stock.

The MIG is smoother, faster, and a much higher production machine. I have a spoolgun for welding aluminum, which was the primary reason I chose the MIG. There's nothing like MIG for light metal, except maybe TIG which I don't have. Yet.

Sean

 

[micwzzrd]

I learned about 8 yr old with stick. used that for 40 some years. then got mig w/gas. used that for about 10 yr know. I doin't wield much over 3/8 stock.