Hot take: I think stick welding is overrated for small repair jobs

I spent 2 years fighting with a Lincoln 225 on farm equipment, burning through rods and grinding out slag. Then I borrowed a buddy's Miller 211 MIG welder for a cracked trailer hitch near Indianapolis and finished in 20 minutes with no cleanup. Am I crazy for thinking MIG beats stick for most stuff under 1/4 inch, or do you still swear by 6010 rods for everything?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron_hernandez699d ago

MIGs are great but stick still wins past 1/4 inch with the right rod.

patricia329d ago

Stick with 7018 in the right hands will burn through anything and leave a cleaner bead than most MIG setups. MIG is just too finicky with wind and dirty metal for my taste. Once you're past half an inch, stick gets deeper penetration with less trouble. Plus you don't have to drag a gas bottle into a ditch or up a ladder. Give me a tombstone and a box of rods any day.

torres.blair9d ago

Price of a spool of wire keeps going up too though.

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