Why use wire or stick?

[MoArk Willy]

I have both welders, like many if not most here.
What makes you decide to use your stick welder or your wire feed?
When you decide to turn it on and put on your helmet......which machine fits the bill?
I'm fairly new to welding and I admit my wire feed welds usually look better than the stick.

But the DC stick isn't that bad and I have done a lot with it.

So what is your preference and why?
If you had to have only one...which would it be?

 

[4570Man]

Based on my opinion the advantages to stick is much longer leads available. Works much better on dirty metal. Which is important for doing repair work when proper grinding isn’t possible. Works better in the wind. Is stronger than a smaller mig machine can do. Advantages to the wire machine. Much faster. Easier. Fills gaps better, and it’s a lot easier to tack a delicate setup together with. All of the above is based on thicker metal. For thin metal the wire welder wins hands down. The mig seems to arc burn my skin a lot worse but that could be avoided if I wasn’t a t shirt welder.

 

[Big Barn]

Limiting myself to ONE machine :

If all I did was fabrication , MIG

If did mostly farm repair then SMAW (stick)


But then of course with the three in one inverter machines you can have it all.

 

[5030]

I prefer filler rod and TIG myself but with TIG, there is a steep learning curve. MIG is electric gluegun welding and SMAW is close with slag. I 'fell' into TIG because when I started welding many years ago, it was with a gas axe and coat hangers for filler rod. Only difference between that (gas axe and coat hangers) and TIG is you keep the filler rod in the gas envelope. TIG is 2 handed welding, something I got proficient at, at a young age (back when a Lincoln Buzz Box was high tech)....

Still have mine somewhere in the shop btw.

My shop does limited production MIG weld ups but then again, it's cost effective. TIG isn't unless the metals are exotic.

 

[4570Man]

I think if all I had was a AC buzz box I’d just bolt it together.

 

[Big Barn]

I still have my AC buzz box. I never use it anymore but I’d be fine if it was all I had. It’s the only welder I used for over 50 years.

 

[RNeumann]

Some if it is preference and some of it is circumstances. If it’s outdoor and heavy grab the stick. That what structural welders and pipeline welders are using. If it’s in the shop the wire feed may do the trick. Wire feed can generally do lighter gauge steel.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I think if all I had was a AC buzz box I’d just bolt it together.

You must love drilling holes. If I can't get it into the drill press I have to re-think bolts. Outside of the work place where getting paid is the game; give me a buzzbox any day. The AC/DC ones are still better. I have a lot of hours behind the stinger on both. 6011 and 6013 is what I cut my teeth on. For what most of us tractor guys do 70,000 psi rod is an overkill. Most of what we work on is even way under the strength of the 60s. I have done my share of coat hanger O/A welding also. Old timer taught me how to weld low grade castings with bare coat hanger in a AC buzz box stinger.

Ron

 

[4570Man]

You must love drilling holes. If I can't get it into the drill press I have to re-think bolts. Outside of the work place where getting paid is the game; give me a buzzbox any day. The AC/DC ones are still better. I have a lot of hours behind the stinger on both. 6011 and 6013 is what I cut my teeth on. For what most of us tractor guys do 70,000 psi rod is an overkill. Most of what we work on is even way under the strength of the 60s. I have done my share of coat hanger O/A welding also. Old timer taught me how to weld low grade castings with bare coat hanger in a AC buzz box stinger.

Ron

No I don’t like that either. I have to admit I’ve only tried to use a AC buzz box once and it was a complete disaster.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

No I don’t like that either. I have to admit I’ve only tried to use a AC buzz box once and it was a complete disaster.

It takes a lot of practice. Some folks take to it quickly, others never get it. I happen to be one of those intuitive guys so for me it was easy. I probably put in 100 hours getting ready to take my first arc certification test. O/A I did the first time with no extra practice. The O/A test was on 4" xh pipe in one pass. It was a sweat shop. The inspector said he had never had any one pass the first time. Then I was fitter not a welder full time so did not have the hours a full time welder gets in a production environment.

Ron