Welding

[barleyfarmer]

Is stick welding getting phased out and being replaced by mig?The reason I'm asking is my kid wants to learn(he's in grade six) and I'm wondering if I should invest in a better mig welder and go from there or teach him to stick weld first.I learned to stick weld at about his age and took welding in school but back then they just taught you stick and gas welding and some mig.I graduated in 88' so I'm not that old!Lol!He wants to farm but I said he has to get a trade first and at least he has something else to do when it gets tight.But I was just wondering if stick welding is going the way of the dodo!He'll probably change his mind ten times before highschool but he likes money and he hears what welders make and that sounds good to him!Also our highschool teaches more mig than stick now also!My neighbor kid working for me tried welding my bale fork with a stick and it proved that the school isn't teaching stick anymore or very little!Just want to know what the future holds for the welding trade.Thanks!

 

[Lowlife82]

pretty sure stick welding is alive and well.

 

[dragonweld28]

If he just wants to learn then go with stick welding. It will teach him better hand skills.

You are right though, most shops now run a flux core or a metal core. Its much faster and slightly less money.

 

[Bnorth]

Learn to stick weld first as said it teaches better skills. Mig has really taken over for fab work and stuff but heavy duty welding is still stick.

 

[Dynamic]

Where I work in a lumber mill we only have mig in the shop, all jobs in the plant are done with stick. Not sure what the trend I'd elsewhere but ya stick is good to learn on. I'm better with stick myself cause its the only thing I have used.

 

[the_real_wild1]

Anyone can mig. Not all can stick. If you can afford to get a combo machine and teach him both.

 

[dvst8r]

As has been said learn to stick weld first. Even more then hand skills, it teaches puddle control far better, as you can manipulate the puddle with how far you hold the stick from the puddle. It is typically very hard to get a good looking stick weld that is a poor weld, where as it is very easy to get a good looking mig weld that is too cold and is ready to fail at any point. Once he has a good grasp of stick it will take him very little time to transition to wire.

As an added bonus stick is the only way to go for outside repairs (yes you can use fluxcore, but it is sh1t).

 

[Sofa king]

Money is in stick

 

[neilsleder]

Stick is the best weld. Teach him to stick weld then mig. Flux core is trying phase out stick but it's not as tuff.

 

[barleyfarmer]

Thanks for the responses.I figured I would teach him stick because of the hand control and around the farm I've had better luck with arc than mig.The mig is good for the thin crap.Also I'm making sure to pound it in his head about grinding and having clean surfaces!He seems to have a knack for welding so it makes it easier to teach him!But I think I'll wait to let him weld in the rain!Plenty of time for that,then he will understand why dad swears like a sailor when it's wet out and I have to weld!!:d

 

[byronkentgraham]

When I worked as a HD apprentice in brooks we had both sticks. Better welds almost always.

Welding would not be my trade of preference though. Hard life style, hard on your body lungs and eyes.

 

[boots]

i would buy a better mig machine .... as for teaching him how to weld i would wait till he is older... i knew lots of guys that didnt weld except in school and they did just fine and they were showen the proper way and not the farmers way..... high school is not were they should be learning how to weld for the reason the shop teachers dont know how to do it properly anyway,,,,

 

[luvz da mud]

Learn to stick weld first as said it teaches better skills. Mig has really taken over for fab work and stuff but heavy duty welding is still stick.

x2. pipeline and all the big sites still use stick but mig is taking over

 

[mxz sledhead]

In the shop we are switching to mig but you still need to learn the basics and that rods [you learn to walk before you can run] the other week we had a open house at the shop we had a 6 lb low hydrogen rod that was the biggest rod that i ever seen 'I was told that there a 44lb rod out there

 

[T-GUY1978]

If he wants to make the money he's gotta learn how to stick weld. If you want to make lots of money welding you have to weld pipe, an if your welding pipe your stick welding. Look at all those rigs driving around everyone of those welders on there trucks burn stick. And there getting 90+/hr


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[Jeff K]

ThermalArc makes some really nice 3-in-1 inverter machines (Mig, Tig, Stick) that are getting great reviews. Might be worth looking into....

 

[OVERKILL 19]

Harder to mig out side. Stick is not going anywere for awhile. There is auto mig welding pipline stuff but very clumsy and $$. IMO if he wants to learn how to weld start with brazing. If you can braze weld you can weld anything. It teaches heat soke, puddel control etc. My next weld I want is Tig but I just dont have the time to play with it.
I would start brazing then stick welding then Mig. I started out brazing then went to MIG now I cant braze a burger. But my Miller 350P lays down a pretty good bead.
When it comes to a mig ......buy Blue! the rest is junk that wishes it was a Miller.

 

[GYMBRAT]

do you guys think stick is better than the other options?

 

[Stompin Tom]

do you guys think stick is better than the other options?

no.

Thats like asking what size of lumber is best for building a house. You cant just use one size, there are many different applications. Sometimes stick is the best option, other times Mig is the way to go and other times Tig is your only option.

 

[KVF 700]

i would buy a better mig machine .... as for teaching him how to weld i would wait till he is older... i knew lots of guys that didnt weld except in school and they did just fine and they were showen the proper way and not the farmers way..... high school is not were they should be learning how to weld for the reason the shop teachers dont know how to do it properly anyway,,,,

What do you mean by the "farmer way"?

This is a great time to learn to weld, especially for a farm boy. I have to agree about learning how to weld in high school. That is not very helpful. Little buddy would be much better off learning at home with his own little projects.