Do you guys think SMAW will ever become obsolete?

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Was talking today to some people I knew and they were saying a lot of there stick machines are being replaced by FCAW, I want to get into pipe welding and the smaw process just seems more reliable all around, from the types of machines to use to the actual process itselfI was just wondering your opinionskind of like how oxy acetylene welding is starting to become more and more rare around where I am, schools dont even want to teach it anymore which is asinine in my opinion, it has to be the most versatile welding process there is, cutting brazing and welding all from two cylinders on your truck
Reply:No.FCAW can be faster in that you can go nonstop until you run out of wire (at 100% or less duty cycle) but it'll never give SMAW the boot.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:One of the guys on here said something about counting on one hand how many times he stick welded in the past month.......he didn't. He uses FC. I look at the size of the job. Now, I am not a weldor by trade. But if the job involves alot of welding, I will hook up the feeder. If not, I grab the stinger. And stick welding happens to be my favorite."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:I doubt it - just too versatile. You can change your weld metal (electrode) in just a few seconds.Steel (many choices like 6011, 6013, 7014, 7024, 7018 and on & on)Aluminum - Al 4043 electrodes, 5/64 inch through 5/32Cast Iron, stailness steels, nickels, etc, etc.Also, it's about the only electric welding process where the amps needed doesn't depend so directly on the thickness of the material... but rather on the smaller diameter of the electrode.  This allows a weldor to weld thick material with a low amperage (inexpensive) machine.Then there's the 'craft'...  a good stick weld provides a lot of satisfaction that I just never get from a good MIG weld.Last edited by Rick V; 09-28-2011 at 10:18 PM.Reason: adding itemRick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet
Reply:The main reason FCAW is so popular is that people like Stick-man here borrow that expensive equipment from people like me, and then keep it for themselves.  Thievery, I say!But seriously, SMAW ain't dead and won't be dead anytime soon.  May not be the most efficient process all (or even most) of the time, but it'll be around when we're pushing up daisies.
Reply:I can rember when most small and home shops had a torch to weld with then they got stick welder now every one has a mig things change very quick. Mig is somuch faster and simpler for guy starting out. One place I worked didnt like thier guys useing mig they thout it would rune use. I would put money on stick will be a lost art some day.I worked at a shop that had 100 guys thier was about 3 of them that new how to stick weld. When thier was work out side the shop they sent me to stick weld. To many guy starting out dont wont to learn.
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550The main reason FCAW is so popular is that people like Stick-man here borrow that expensive equipment from people like me, and then keep it for themselves.  Thievery, I say!
Reply:20+ years and yesterday was the first day that I saw a mig gun on a job site.It was a 110v unit, I walked around it a few times, looked up at the guy using it and said "That's cute, think I'll get my wife one for Christmas."He was welding thin unistrut for electrical conduit supports.He's a buddy of mine, so it was all good Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Originally Posted by skelley521"That's cute, think I'll get my wife one for Christmas."
Reply:Hahaha thats a good one skelley, when my new apprentices come into my shop for the first time on their rotations they ask wheres my mig machine, i say well, theirs only skilled welding that goes on in this shop/power plant. I could teach my dog to mig weld. Even on very large projects its all stick such as coal handling equipment, loader buckets, dozer blades. stick welding will never be replaced, it is an art and takes years to become good/great. Ill retire before i pull a mig gun through a porthole into the boiler. I think its even crazy that theirs now orbital welding setups for boiler tubes.... really? maybe im old fahsioned but not everything has to be about speed.
Reply:Pressure_Welder,I've got to respectfully disagree with something you said.  If MIG welding were so easy you could teach a dog to do it, Why, oh why, do we see so many crappy MIG welds?I'm the first to say that stick welding is as much art as science, and that it takes someone with some genuine talent to produce the best welds.But MIG welding can be just as demanding in it's own fashion.  Otherwise, every Homer running a no-name 110V MIG/FCAW-S machine would produce X-ray quality welds on demand.Any weld needs the right joint prep, the correct filler metal, interpass, pre- and post-heat.I say MIG or FCAW welding requires more knowledge, or maybe better to say a wider field of knowledge, than stick welding.  Theres voltage, wfs, gun angle travel, speed, 'technique'(weave/stringer size, hand motion) stickout shielding gas, that all have to be correct to get the best quality weld.With stick welding, it's arc length, travel speed, amperage, and 'technique'.  Maintaining arc length and technique are harder with stick than MIG, no doubt.  But let's face it, it's a shorter list of things you(the welder) have to keep track of.Just my $0.02.To answer the OP's original question, no SMAW will never go away.  Just like O-A welding, there will always be a time, place, and application were SMAW is the better choice.  But that 'space' in the universe of welding were stick is the best/ right process, is shrinking.I'm waiting for the day when welding catches up to Star trek or Star Wars.  there you can weld metal using 1 hand and a hand-held widget.  No helmet, safety glasses, or leathers.  No filler metal, no flux or shielding gas.  Just point and shoot(or fuse)....At that point everything we know today will be obsolete.  But it won't happen in our lifetimes...so relax and enjoy what you do best. Originally Posted by Pressure_WelderHahaha thats a good one skelley, when my new apprentices come into my shop for the first time on their rotations they ask wheres my mig machine, i say well, theirs only skilled welding that goes on in this shop/power plant. I could teach my dog to mig weld. Even on very large projects its all stick such as coal handling equipment, loader buckets, dozer blades. stick welding will never be replaced, it is an art and takes years to become good/great. Ill retire before i pull a mig gun through a porthole into the boiler. I think its even crazy that theirs now orbital welding setups for boiler tubes.... really? maybe im old fahsioned but not everything has to be about speed.
Reply:I agree a Dab will do, iam speaking more along the lines of someone with welding experience under their belt. As you said someone who goes to canadian tire and buys a 300$ mig machine and a cool auto darkening welding helmet with flames on it and their automatically a welder. I see it time and time again on this forum of people who buy a mig machine and post their welds on here asking for help. Dont get me wrong its great! that people wish to dabble in our trade. If a professional welder gave instruction to that hobbyist for 2 or 3 days they would have the hang of it and already be producing sound welds maybe not asthetically pleasing. Of course their are people out there who simply just shouldnt weld for the safety of themselves and others. As far as mig being more indepth as far as settings, i agree to an extent, my very first welding job out of highschool was welding on huge structural colums, truss's etc, with webs as thick as 2", flanges 3" thick with 0.62 wire. I worked their for a year and a half and essentially punched my card in, put my brain on the coat hook and went to work. it only took about 10 minutes to establish the settings i liked, and when training new guys we had them rocking in 2 days flat. Its just my opinion but Mig will never take the skill tig/stick on pipe or other items does. It takes us 4 years to train someone through apprenticeship and learning to become a successful high pressure welder in our company with our tig/stick, tig all the way combo tickets. You can have someone trained on a mig gun doing cwb tests in a month.Last edited by Pressure_Welder; 09-29-2011 at 12:06 PM.
Reply:I may trade in my $300 FCAW machine for a stick set-up now that I have a real MIG welder, but I am keeping my $40 autodarkening helmet with the blue flame stickers on the side!
Reply:Originally Posted by Pressure_WelderHahaha thats a good one skelley, when my new apprentices come into my shop for the first time on their rotations they ask wheres my mig machine, i say well, theirs only skilled welding that goes on in this shop/power plant. I could teach my dog to mig weld. Even on very large projects its all stick such as coal handling equipment, loader buckets, dozer blades. stick welding will never be replaced, it is an art and takes years to become good/great. Ill retire before i pull a mig gun through a porthole into the boiler. I think its even crazy that theirs now orbital welding setups for boiler tubes.... really? maybe im old fahsioned but not everything has to be about speed.
Reply:I am a construction Millwright, I travel from powerhouse to powerhouse; chemical plant to chemical plant and jump around from State to State. Never have I seen or even heard of any Contractor or Plant Engineer even asking, let a lone talking about Mig.Being a General Foreman or a Superintendent, I am in the loop; go to meetings and I am involved in the planning process.They don't use the process in their plants and they don't allow us to either.Stick and/or Tig, that's it.Now maybe in some of these minimum wage fab/piece count shop they may us it.Now for the bad mig weld.The first time I welded was with mig (a long time ago), a guy spent a 1/2 hr showing me how to set it up.He walked me over and showed me what a good weld was and said "Make it look like that or grind it out and do it over." I set the mig up per the chart/instructions and you couldn't tell the difference between the welds.Piece of cake. He then cut the weld and showed me about penetration. I welded all week with it and thought it was so easy that even Ray Charles had one at home.You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Some ppl can weld and some can't.In the world I travel, it's Tig and Stick.Last edited by skelley521; 09-29-2011 at 05:38 PM.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Agreed that FC or other mig applications do have their place when it comes to large amounts of deposition needed. But their is no way in hell you will manually mig weld boiler tube or other boiler associated parts, nuke piping, chemical plant piping under high pressures. Various pipelines take advantage of orbital welding for speed. But any sort of shutdown maintainence of critical pressure vessel equipment will require a skilled welder with tig, or tig/stick capabilities. When certain jobs are too large for only myself to complete in the boiler we get the local union to come in and i assist along with them, haha i dare you to even think about saying "mig welder" around a boilermaker crew. NOTHING beats slingin tig roots with a mirror with ash falling on your face!
Reply:Absolutely NOT Never.
Reply:Originally Posted by Pressure_WelderBut their is no way in hell you will manually mig weld boiler tube or other boiler associated parts, nuke piping, chemical plant piping under high pressures.
Reply:In shop or in place welding?Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:GMAW plate tickets seem to be getting more work than tube tickets at the moment. (field work)Never say never...Last edited by ncfh; 09-29-2011 at 06:23 PM.mens agitat molem
Reply:If anyone has worked in a Power House, you would be surprised how few 120V & 480V power plugs are available. In 50 yds. there might be 4 480 volt plugs. So if you are in a shut down, the electricians can only wire 1 suitcase per plug. That's 4 welders in 50 yards or you can wire a 8 pk stick machine and have 32 welding. Like you say, time is money and that is simple math.Last edited by skelley521; 09-29-2011 at 06:30 PM.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:I can't see it becoming obsolete.  I work on heavy equipment in the field, and I can't see some one pulling out and setting up a feeder every time you need to weld something.  Don't get me wrong, I have a suitcase that I use for large projects like buckets, but some days are just too windy, and a lot of things are just easier to stick.  I do, however see what some of you are talking about.  Most of our shop guys do not know what to do with a stick.  If they can't mig it they can't weld it.
Reply:Originally Posted by SupeThis is incorrect.  I have procedures for all three right now using pulsed GMAW, and they are going to be used extensively on new nuclear builds.
Reply:At the pulp/paper mill I work at which includes a high pressure power plant, 75% of the welding today is done with stick. 20% tig (all the stainless pipe) and maybe at the most 5% of welding is done with mig. Yes, the 575v mig machines are there to use, but they just sit there for the most part.No one is certified with any mig procedures, the company dont care to have anyone mig certified. All tickets are for stick and tig procedures only.Stick is still going strong, at my place of work anyway.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:I work in a large plant that builds coal fire boiler products.I for the most part build superheater and re-heater panels.Stick is king for the most part for several reasons.One is that a superheater panel may have as many as 5 different filler metals required. It would suck having to have five feeders set-up and /or change wire that many times for just a few small welds.Two is the fact that alot of the odd ball filler metals we use would be simply to expensive to bother with trying to source and pay for rolls of wire.We do use flux-core stainless and carbon,b2,b3 etc mostly for welding roof seals and the like.The burner panel area uses lots of mig inconel.Really depends on the situation on hand.Now go into our header shop and flux-core is king for welding nipples/nozzles etc.Stick welding is here forever,so if you choose to call yourself a "real welder" you better be well versed in stick.Have you ever tired to drag a suitcase feeder up the side of a bridge to weld on it without a man lift.  You can't half the time get a mig gun in place to weld a bearing pad on a bridge.  Most of the time I got the rod bent two different directions just to get it in the right place to weld.  Another one is when your doing deck pans on a bridge.  No one in their right mind would drag that 75lb feeder across the deck to tack it down.  10 lbs of rod in your klein rod holder attached to your safety harness, stinger in your hand and your good to go.Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:home sweet home! imagine trying to fit a wire feeder in here? gas? not to mention trying to manipulate a gun around the bundles. Attached Images
Reply:someone needs to enlighten today's high school welding teachers. my boy is in his 4th year of welding in HS and wins mig tournaments every time he goes but can't run a bead with a stick or gas torch to save his butt. his instructor tells the kids that mig is the way to go because stick and gas are caveman processes. they are archaic and obsolete. i jumped his butt about it and asked him why he isn't teaching the kids these processes and his answer was "it's a little late for that". come to find out the real reason he doesn't teach it is because he can't do either himself.    your probably thinking why don't i/me teach him. well.....my answer is that i started him out on stick and gas before his instructor got a hold of him and the kid was coming along pretty good. i'm sure you guys that are fathers of teen boys understand the reason why i have the problem teaching him now. like i did at 16 so does my son. his instructor is someone to look up to while i am a dumb demanding SOB. i demand all the things in my shop that his instructor doesn't. safety glasses at minimum, 2 gloves while welding, no t shirts without sleeves, preferably leather, hood on and down while tacking, goggles or shade 5 visor while cutting with torch or plasma, etc. etc. to him this all constitutes a dumb ***. also the instructor is not big on teaching tig lol go figure. the kid has visions of being an underwater welder.....i just tell him good luck with that one. sorry for the rant folks but this post just brought it out.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodssomeone needs to enlighten today's high school welding teachers. my boy is in his 4th year of welding in HS and wins mig tournaments every time he goes but can't run a bead with a stick or gas torch to save his butt. his instructor tells the kids that mig is the way to go because stick and gas are caveman processes. they are archaic and obsolete. i jumped his butt about it and asked him why he isn't teaching the kids these processes and his answer was "it's a little late for that". come to find out the real reason he doesn't teach it is because he can't do either himself.    your probably thinking why don't i/me teach him. well.....my answer is that i started him out on stick and gas before his instructor got a hold of him and the kid was coming along pretty good. i'm sure you guys that are fathers of teen boys understand the reason why i have the problem teaching him now. like i did at 16 so does my son. his instructor is someone to look up to while i am a dumb demanding SOB. i demand all the things in my shop that his instructor doesn't. safety glasses at minimum, 2 gloves while welding, no t shirts without sleeves, preferably leather, hood on and down while tacking, goggles or shade 5 visor while cutting with torch or plasma, etc. etc. to him this all constitutes a dumb ***. also the instructor is not big on teaching tig lol go figure. the kid has visions of being an underwater welder.....i just tell him good luck with that one. sorry for the rant folks but this post just brought it out.
Reply:Originally Posted by DemonSpeederWOW he needs to find a new instructor, he should at least learn fcaw or dual shield fcaw...
Reply:I agree completely with you JBmprods. What kids today see is guys like paul junior on orange country choppers tig welding with no gloves, or mig welding with no eye protection/helmet/gloves/arm protection and they automatically think well that must be the cool thing to do. Yet all of us seasoned professional welders "most anyway" take all the precations to not go home to our wives full of burn holes, blisters, arc flashed, and arc tan'd skin. The fact that their not being taught to stick/tig in his class will be a huge down fall, atleast he has you to set him in the right direction. Again another example of someone teaching only mig because its "easy" Christ by the time i was finishing my grade 11 welding classes i was ticketed in all position CWB, grade 12 test was equivilent to a journeymen/red seal status welder all position beveled 3/8" plate with 6010 root/fill/cap 100% visual bend. Also all position 3/8" beveled plate, tig root, fill, cap 100% bend. I would have to admit that my teacher as an amazing welder, and VERY hard on us to the point of frustration, but he wouldnt accept anything but perfection and why wouldnt he? Mediocre welds dont cut it, he completely prepared me for "real world" welding industry before i step foot out the highschool shop. In the 4 years of highschool classes we had only 1 semester on mig, the other 14 courses were basic, intermediate, and advanced stick, tig, and oxy acetaylne. He was an old school pipe welder and he basically said to us, those of you who move on and stay with me throughout your highschool peroid and enjoy welding i will make you ready for high pressure welding, if you want to mig weld for a career you can drop out after grade 10 as you wont be able to hack the advanced classes.Last edited by Pressure_Welder; 09-30-2011 at 09:17 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by skelley521In shop or in place welding?
Reply:Wire on shutdowns or construction is great when you will be making numerous welds in one area. To make 2-5 welds way up there, it dont pay to set up the wire or automatic  process. SMAW will continue just for that alone. Not to mention the tens of thousands of cracker box and engine drive machines in the hands ot as mant US citizens. When the SH!* hits the fan Joe with his engine drive will be a highly needed member of a community. Remember too with some Argon and tungsten you got scratch start GTAW off the same machine. So the CC machines will not go away.
Reply:For me, burning rod is fun.  That's it.  I like the sound and yes even the smell and I start making tiny circles or 8's out of habit.  It is so satisfying to watch the slag curl up or come off with a knock.  Conversely, it's amusing in a head slap, got to keep the head in the game, kind of way to use a air chipping hammer to remove the slag and try to remember not to do that again.The splatter from my tiny flux core wire feeder was so everywhere that I didn't take to it like I thought I might.  I'll admit that a better weldor could coax that little machine into doing something nice I think but I just went back to stick and now attempting TIG to stitch the small stuff together.Stick welding is great good fun and I can't see that going away.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Hey guys,Personally, I don't think SMAW(stick) will ever get eliminated....too many applications that it is the absolute best process. I don't use it in the shop unless really necessary & my "lunchbox" inverter stick unit(200A) works quite well on most of the mobile jobs I go on. The availability of many types of rod for specific jobs & some of the working conditions make SMAW really shine. I like it & got weaned on stick after my O/A lessons/education back in '55. It's not goin' away.........DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Yeah, I also couldn't see a Iron Worker carrying a suitcase mig around on high steel either, then drag up a large power cord to power it.That would be funny.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Originally Posted by hankhillDo you guys think SMAW will ever become obsolete?
Reply:No. SMAW will never be obsolete. But, mig is getting more and more present in heavy equipment repair.You better know how to operate both process.In mining it's 90% mig and 10% stick. Every process as their place.Then again I've seen many diehard stickmen that couldn't FCAW even if their life would depend on it. If you want to call yourself a welder better be expert in all of them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Pressure_Welderhome sweet home! imagine trying to fit a wire feeder in here? gas? not to mention trying to manipulate a gun around the bundles.
Reply:Arguing that wire fed processes put down more weld metal is a mute point. It does not match the versatility of SMAW, it can't.In answer to the original post, ... no.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by claymans13I don't know what its like out your way, but we weld almost 100% of the membrane on waterwall panels with a mig gun anymore, at least on the hot side. Most of the cold side work is still done with good ol' 8018 or MO10. We have even started overlaying old sections of walls with a mig overlay process.I was on a 60' tall, by 32 tube wide section saturday night.
Reply:Originally Posted by claymans13I don't know what its like out your way, but we weld almost 100% of the membrane on waterwall panels with a mig gun anymore, at least on the hot side. Most of the cold side work is still done with good ol' 8018 or MO10. We have even started overlaying old sections of walls with a mig overlay process.I was on a 60' tall, by 32 tube wide section saturday night.
Reply:Originally Posted by skelley521Was it at a First Energy or AEP Power House?Who was the Contractor? I mentioned using a mig process on a Duct job and the plant wouldn't go for it.They weld the membrane downhill at 1 plant, but still wanted it welded uphill at another, go figure.The membrane is still done with stick around here and I'm only 2 hrs away from Pittsburgh.
Reply:There are some things you can only do with the old stick welder, I for one am not strapping a feeder to my a$$ to weld up a steam line in the rafters. I use my feeders a fair bit doing heavy equipment repairs, and general fab work. Stick will always have a place, engineers will spec it on certain piping, and us guys will grab a stinger over setting a feeder up for a small job. Want to change materials, just chuck a different rod in the holder,  need to be hanging off a bridge, give me the stinger, etc....... SMAW will be around for a good long time.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:you an not beat a open root pipe mig welded...in my opinion stick is going down hill...while im alive i think i will still ave to use is in alot of ocasions but as things get better and better i think stik will eventually be phased out or be very rare
Reply:I tend to do a lot of different kids of joinery - but just a few at a time.  I don't own a MIG, I rely on SMAW and OA for all my welding.  I have a hard time seeing MIG making life easier for me when I consider how easily I swap electrodes on the stick welder.  Seems as though jumping between wire sizes and types would be a real pain with a MIG.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:Unfortuneately I think stick is in decline.  I see more and more jobs now being done with mig/fluxcore that years ago all were done with stick.  MIG machines are for sale everywhere now, when I started welding I bought an AC buzzbox and moved up to a DC machine.  It was many years before I bought a mig and it was expensive then.  Now anybody can afford a small mig and welding (shop) programs in high schools are disappearing fast.For small jobs where you do a quick job then move on to another, stick will always be fastest.  But if you are working on one project in a shop where you need to lay down hundreds of pounds of weld, mig/fluxcore is necessary to keep productivitiy up and costs down to be competive."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:Originally Posted by gwileyI tend to do a lot of different kids of joinery - but just a few at a time.  I don't own a MIG, I rely on SMAW and OA for all my welding.  I have a hard time seeing MIG making life easier for me when I consider how easily I swap electrodes on the stick welder.  Seems as though jumping between wire sizes and types would be a real pain with a MIG.
Reply:Smaw isn't going anywhere anytime soon.  It's still the cheapest process to run and until that changes It will still be the most widely employed process.  It's reliability has been proven over and over throughout the years.  No feeders, no gas, no expensive guns or attachments, just raw juice is all that is needed.  And skill of course which may be another reason.
Reply:Originally Posted by DanthemanYou'd go and weld ice lugs on a dozer tracks with a stick for a customer and you would never be called back to do it again in my neighbourhood.