Is stick welding going by the way side

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 16:29:11 GMT

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I used to be a full time welder 25 years ago but went in a different direction when I was younger. I still like to watch all the different fabrication shows from ship building to high rise construction jobs. I have seen mostly wire welding going on very little stick welding. Back in the day when I was welding full time, stick welding was the standard for just about everything except maybe sheetmetal work. Is everything going Mig.
Reply:Heck no.Stick welding is still going strong. Lots of pressure work is still being done with stick.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:I wouldnt think so at all. I think at one time we tried to make a certain process do everything, and as time has gone on all the different welding types have kind of found their place in the world. At one time O/A was pushed as a do-all, then stick, thrn mig, then tig etc. We seem to find a process, think its great, try it on everyting, then come to find it does some things really well, and others no so much. I think thats why nothing really dies, it just finds its place.
Reply:Stick going Bye Bye?Nope.That will NEVER happen.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:stick welding is like a battle ship it has a job but there are other option Attached Images
Reply:uh....UA Local 598
Reply:I like stick.It is economical = stick welders are inexpensive, sticks are cheap and no expensive gas bottles/regulators/gas requiredWorks outdoors  = no worries about gas coverageGreatest choice/flexibility in consumables = mild steels (60 - 120 Ksi), stainless steels, hard-facing alloys, nickel alloys, aluminum, etc. in small, medium or large quantities.Fastest change over in consumables = just change the stick and maybe polarityAccess - you can get a stick into constricted places where a MIG/TIG gun can get.Biggest penetration for the $ spent on the welding machine.Works fast on bigger, thicker piecesWhat you see is what you get = no pretty looking weld that hasn't fused to the base metal.Done well, it also seems to provide me with the greatest sense of satisfaction.It's weakness is on thin materials where it tends to burn through.  It is also not suitable for joining very small pieces e.g. 1/2 x 1/2 inch.Yes, I like stick very much!Rick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet
Reply:Stick will never die, though it has been replaced by fluxcore in alot of on-site structural applications due to cost and time.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by ed macstick welding is like a battle ship it has a job but there are other option
Replyove stick....Just went through school and it is the first thing we learned.1981 Lincoln SA 200Miller Trailblazer 302gMiller 211 Mig Welder w/ AutosetI'm learning to stick metal together
Reply:Stick welding for me is very similar to guitar amp technology. When Solid state came out, everyone jumped on the SS wagon. Then modeling amps with effects built in. yada yada yada....Guess what? The more you play and the longer you're in the business, the more you realize that the good old Vacuum Tube sounds better, is more reliable, and usually outlasts SS and PC board construction.The Thermionic valve will live forever, just like the ever adaptable Stick Electrode.-az-
Reply:Maybe not forever, but it will last our lifetimes.Wire is good, but limited in the length of most liners, and relies on feeder mechanisms which can develop trouble (just one more possible problem to deal with), and parameters can be finicky."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I like stick because it can produce good strong welds for little $$ in equipment and consumables.  Rick V did a good job listing the pros of stick welding.  Because its all I've got, I've also had to use it for projects invloving thin and/or small pieces.  It takes good fitup and some finesse but I've had good luck with 1/16" electrodes (they're almost like the sparklers kids use on the 4th of July) to weld thin or small pieces.  You have to get a good feel for knowing just how long you can burn the rod without burning through.  The first pass has to be very fast.  Not a replacement for tig or mig but not bad either.
Reply:I cant imagine anything else for pipe. Sure TIG for root, but if SMAW goes AWAL, so would I.Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:Here's to RedNeckJazz  a tube amp guy.  I understand both of those and to me, yes it is similar, Tube amp sound and stick welding.   Both very kool when done right.  Ah to be 25 again,  this time a pipeliner in West Texas with an SA-200 in the truck and new Telecaster and a  tube tweed amp to play on weekends at some honkey tonk.  Would have been a heck of a life I tell ya whatThe USS Missouri Iowa class battleship # 63.  I love her.  She backed up my Uncles USMC buitt when he was on  IwoJima in WW2 and helped out in the first Gulf war. Now she sits at Pearl at rest.  Battleships, and B-52s both very special to me as USA at it's finest hour.  Wouldn't you have enjoyed being a weldor in 1942 and working aboard her building that beast. Friday eve and I'm waxing a bit nostalgic, sheesh... U fellas go on, i'm gonna' hang around here awhile.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:Originally Posted by PapaLionWouldn't you have enjoyed being a weldor in 1942 and working aboard her building that beast.
Reply:Originally Posted by ed macstick welding is like a battle ship it has a job but there are other option
Reply:where production and speed matter, FCAW and MIG will dominate.   Stick will be a more and more limited use operation.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Originally Posted by steamboat519I used to be a full time welder 25 years ago but went in a different direction when I was younger. I still like to watch all the different fabrication shows from ship building to high rise construction jobs. I have seen mostly wire welding going on very little stick welding. Back in the day when I was welding full time, stick welding was the standard for just about everything except maybe sheetmetal work. Is everything going Mig.
Reply:Stick beats mig in the $ per hour catagory.
Reply:Originally Posted by SuperArcThe problem with your analogy is that there is not ONE battle ship in active military duty and hasn't been so in over 10 years  They're moth balled!  Mig has definately surpassed stick welding.....
Reply:Originally Posted by SuperArcMig has definately surpassed stick welding.....
Reply:For most field use stick is the simplest way to go, and that is never going to change. Wirefeeders are heavy, picky about settings and expensive. We are building a coffer dam with 36"x360# beams and each guy is running about 1.5 rolls of wire a day. We still have to use rods on all the small stuff or areas that would take too much time to get a feeder to. Overall I would say its about 50/50 wire vs rods. I have another crew installing pipe rails on a small junior collage campus. there will be a few weld joints that will be done with a small miller generator/welder. We have a passport and a dynasty and wire feeders that go with a engine drive, but a quick pull of the rope and one or two 6013s and your done. Some times slower is faster.
Reply:While I have two mig machines in the shop and a portable on the truck, I have been stick welding in the shop for the last three days. I have been building some kind of boxes out of 2"x2"x1/4 square tube that is galvanized. With it being over a hundred degrees and very high humidity I can't even imagine working with out the big fans going. That leaves out the mig, not that it is aggressive enough for me on galvanized any way. The 5P+ welds it very well so have gone through about fifty pounds.Next job is a pipe fence out of upset tubing. It will be stick as well. So while the mig has it's places the stick will always be here and there is no reason to be a one process weldor.
Reply:Well there may be some evidence that the demand for certain stick electrodes is decreasing.Lincoln appears to have dropped at least two stick electrodes from their list of consumables:Alumiweld 43 (AluminumW), andWearshield WRD/BUI went looking for the Lincoln aluminum electrodes and knew I had seen them earlier this year at the local Princess Auto Store.I went on to the Princess Auto web site and saw this.See that "SOLD OUT!" sign?Your local store 'may' have stock... by the time I got to the local store, the three parallel display rods, each formely holding about 5 packs of the aluminum electrodes, were EMPTY!  I asked a sales clerk, "OH, we are not getting any more of that product."Now I was able to get a similar Hobart product from the Tractor Supply Company (TCS) stores but... when a big welding consumable supplier like Lincoln Electric drops some specialized  stick electrodes from their line up ... what's happening?Is the writing on the wall for stick welding - at least in terms ofGreatest choice/flexibility in consumables = mild steels (60 - 120 Ksi), stainless steels, hard-facing alloys, nickel alloys, aluminum, etc. in small, medium or large quantities.Originally Posted by Rick VWell there may be some evidence that the demand for certain stick electrodes is decreasing.~~~~~~~~~~ but... when a big welding consumable supplier like Lincoln Electric drops some specialized  stick electrodes from their line up ... what's happening?Is the writing on the wall for stick welding - at least in terms of
Reply:Originally Posted by tanglediverThere is a big difference in reduced inventory and disposing of an entire industry.
Reply:That only proves that Princess wasn't selling enough to continue stocking them and not that Lincoln isn't producing them.
Reply:The proper equipment to mig or tig aluminum is more readily available at reasonable prices now than ever before.  I can see Lincoln and the other consumable manufacturers eventually dropping aluminum stick rods from their product lines.  Lets face it, stick was never a great process for welding aluminum anyways.  Now that every body and their uncles dogs best friend has a spool gun or an ac tig, there's no real reason to fight with stick welding aluminum.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by MX727That only proves that Princess wasn't selling enough to continue stocking them and not that Lincoln isn't producing them.
Reply:I dunno Rick....If I were to use your logic, and apply it to Automotive History, I could make a case to run around pulling out my hair, screaming "The SKY is FALLING" just because production stopped on the VEGA.... or the GREMLIN,... or the MAVERICK... etc etc..The point is: We're STILL driving Automobiles aren't we?  Products rise in popularity, and then through evolution, are replaced by newer products that better meet the new demands of an ever changing customer base.... Happens everywhere, all the time...Not much use in making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill....Last edited by Black Wolf; 08-08-2010 at 04:40 PM.Later,Jason
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloWhere REAL money is involved, mig most certainly has not passed stick welding. For backyard welding, light material production, yeah, mig is great, and the logical choice....(If you are making 100 metal chairs a day, mig is the right weld.)But where REAL money is involved, and heavy welding????SHOW ME the: Superstrucutre high rise mig welded together. There is not much in the way of FCAW on pipelines or in refinery work. There is not much FCAW on heavy equipment like dozers, graders, etc.But for inexpensive garage welding???? Yes, mig welders are great.
Reply:Originally Posted by DualieI will give you $100 if you can find me a highrise being built within 200 miles of here with stick.   The onything we use stick for anymore is 6022 putting down sheet metal decking.
Reply:Most Navy ships at sea today were welded with fluxcore either dual or self shielded. Big heavy segments like parts for mining haul trucks are porduced with mig and sub arc. For guys that do repair and never know what they may find when they role on site, stick is just the way to go. Always has been, will be for a long time.Ranger 250 GXTSmith Gas Axe
Reply:Originally Posted by Rick VHey MX727.  My fault; I didn't make myself clear enough.  I had gone onto Lincoln Electric web site first. I looked at the products/consumables and could no longer find 'Aluminweld 43'.  I'm pretty sure 'Aluminweld 43' had been listed in the 2008 and 2009 catelog.  Strange I thought.  I then did a search for 'Aluminweld 43' and the Lincoln site came up with their Weld Directory of May 2008 (5/08) and the MSDS info... but no product listing.(That's why I said, "Lincoln appears to have dropped at least two stick electrodes from their list of consumables".)After I couldn't find 'Aluminweld 43' on the Lincoln Electric web site, that's when I noticed the two "Sold Out" announcements on the Princess Auto web site.No, I think these stick electrodes have now disappeared.
Reply:I have to agree every job around here I have been on all of the structural welding has been done with fluxcore. Every morning the iron workers pull out their ln-25's and goto work. only stick I have seen used by the iron workers is for q decking.But in the pipe trades most of the field welding is done with stick. In our shop we do the root with mig than dual sheild the rest.
Reply:Originally Posted by Black WolfI dunno Rick....If I were to use your logic, and apply it to Automotive History, I could make a case to run around pulling out my hair, screaming "The SKY is FALLING" just because production stopped on the VEGA.... or the GREMLIN,... or the MAVERICK... etc etc..The point is: We're STILL driving Automobiles aren't we?  Products rise in popularity, and then through evolution, are replaced by newer products that better meet the new demands of an ever changing customer base.... Happens everywhere, all the time...Not much use in making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill....
Reply:Originally Posted by WHughesAny iron worker will tell you that when putting together a high rise, that much of the structural is stick welded.
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloSHOW ME the: Superstrucutre high rise mig welded together. There is not much in the way of FCAW on pipelines or in refinery work. There is not much FCAW on heavy equipment like dozers, graders, etc..