Why there is no love for stick welders?

[epanzella]

The flux on a stick rod creates shielding gas and is not impervious to wind. If you don't believe me try doing a stick weld in front of a fan. I don't know why they used MIG on the root. Maybe the spec called for no slag on the inside of the pipe? With MIG they could use shielding gas in the pipe to protect the inside.

 

[Flyinfool]

Mig is also a lot faster than stick or tig. This lets them get the parts glued into position quickly and on to the next part so that the crane can go home sooner and stop running up the bill. Another thought is that MIG is a lot cleaner, if the inside were done with stick then all of that chipped off slag would have to be meticulously cleaned out of there. As mentioned, stick is not impervious to wind, but it can handle a lot more wind than MIG or TIG. When only half of the tank is up, there is not much difference between inside and outside.

 

[jwmay]

I think it’s welding snobbery. The Joneses have a mig machine. I’d hate for them to see me out there with my chipping hammer and wire brush. How embarrassing!

 

[gr8legs]

I took night courses at our Community College in all flavors of welding. Definitely time well spent. Now, having a choice between welding processes I seem to gravitate toward stick, but the reason is shop configuration and logistics.

My Idealarc 250 is always plugged in and the leads are easily accessible so it's just pull down the leads, click the switch and GO. I may have to turn the dial once to get an acceptable arc depending on the rod and material combination. Fastest setup option, slag removal not included.

To use the MIG (Miller 250X) machine I have to roll it out from its under-bench storage, unfurl the power cord and get it plugged into an outlet across the shop, then orient the hose and stinger - Second fastest option, some spatter to deal with. Pam spray and a needle scaler are your friends.

To use the TIG machine (a Miller 180 which sits on top of the Idealarc) I have to unfurl the leads, unwind the pedal cord, place the pedal somewhere convenient, turn on the gas, and then start fighting with the machine settings. Tied for seccond place, no slag, no spatter.

And then, another consideration: If I'm welding outside in the wind, the stick is best even with the time spent chipping slag.

Related thread: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/show-us-your-welders.16877/#post-387527

 

[Downunder Bob]

I think MIG was chosen for a couple of reasons.

1 As has been mentioned it is quicker getting the job set up and tacked into place, then the crane can go home.

2. the root pass might have been specified in MIG because there is virtually no clean up required, and no slag to clean up so that the next pass can be run on a clean surface.

 

[Downunder Bob]

Reminds one time I had to do a welding repair on the top end of the jib of a crane mounted on the deck of a ship. The crane was the forward most one and therefore up near the bow. We were at sea heading east from the cape of Good Hop (South Africa) to south coast of Australia

We were in the "Roaring 40's", and had a following sea so we were climbing up the back of each swell and running down the other side, occasionally the bow would plunge into the next swell wave, throwing a huge amount of water and sea spray all over the job and me. A great place to work, even without the presence of 36V A/C at around 140A. I had a bosuns chair lashed to the crane jib and secured myself to that. I was wearing a T shirt , with a heavy jumper over that and a canvas welding shirt and a nylon Parker over that, rubber washing up gloves with leather welding gloves over them etc, I was soaked, My helmet was of the type that you nod your head and it drops down over your face. So ready to start welding, as I nod my head my chin touched the metal zipper on the jacket the resulting shock would throw my head back and I'd lost the starting point of the weld.

The job had to be done, so I got one of the deck hands, who had been helping me with the rigging, to keep an eye on me, and as I nodded my head he would turn the welder on. It took us a couple of shots but then we got the timing right such that after nodding my head and lifting it up again my skin was away from the zipper. No shock and a good weld

The job only;y took two 8g rods total of about 10 min welding but about 4 hours to set up another hour to make it happen and then 3 hours to pack up. A days work for 10 mins of welding.

 

[NCjeeper]

I think it’s welding snobbery. The Joneses have a mig machine. I’d hate for them to see me out there with my chipping hammer and wire brush. How embarrassing!

Nah. The Joneses don't even know what a welder is. All they know are mini vans and Starbucks.

 

[eugene13]

Just a guess, but i would say stick wwas used on the outer surface welds due to wind.
Harder to shield mig without external hard wind shield/curtains.

Thanks for the comments, everyone, that's what my welder son said. I would like to hear some more bad position welding story's.

 

[General Zod]

Y'all need to try HTP's stick welders. This here little lunchbox will dance with the devil in the pale moon light. It ain't scared of no rod (under 1/4" that is, lol). One acquaintance of mine who also runs Lincoln Vantage 400 engine drives says it's above them in terms of arc dynamic/quality.

I though stick welding was awesome before, now it's just killer!

 

[ericc]

TIG is expensive, about a buck a foot with small tanks. Stick is very cheap. Unless I am doing something delicate, I just tack with TIG and take it outside for a stick weld. Thin stuff gets 6013, plug welds get 6011 and medium carbon or stuff to be machined gets 7018. I can just imagine the $$$ going out the end of the TIG cup.