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Wire or Stick Welder

J

johnyquest69

Member
Ive been running a ac/dc Lincoln buzz box. Not a qualified welder. Tried to read and learn and practice. It is shot out. Debating on stick vs wire welder. Of course a lot of this stuff is rusty a lot of times and sometimes 1/2 metal. Opinions?
 
A well train monkey can mig weld but for thick metal stick is the way to go and it take practice and lots of it. I've been welding since I was 16 and been schooled by people years ago and did it for a living at times
 
Most of those Lincoln welders last forever, what's wrong with it? For welding 1/2 rusty metal you want a stick welder and 6011 rods. After you run a root pass of 6011 you can make it strong and pretty with 7018. They used to joke about 6011 at work, called it a farmer rod, "you can weld right through cow $hit with it"!
 
Only works on a couple of settings. I took the cover off and found several burnt wires. Had seen smoke before from box. Maybe I outdid the duty cycle. Ive welded several things that held up and some that didnt. Never heard about running 6011s for root and then 7018. Thats the main rods Ive used, 7018 seems to be a little better looking, About to have to buy a welder and was curious of opinions. Thanks for the info! I learn something from every reply!
 
Only way a mig welder is good is if you also have the Gas set up flux core is for small stuff only. Sounds like the fan in your buzz box stopped working so you let the smoke out. My buzzz box is old like me as in I have had it 30 plus years and still work well but I have had to fix the fan once or twice
 

I vote stick and only have good results using DC with 6011 and 7018 but I learned about 50 years ago. If you want wire then I recommend trying one out. You would need an expensive wire welder that can crank out the amps to do what you want. The cheaper wire welders are good for melting wire on top of metal and don't get much penetration. With a stick, you have total control over the speed and the puddle. With the wire you have to buy gas and they aren't good for welding outside in the wind. The wire feed isn't very long either compared to the leads you can have with a stick.

I know some good welders that use a wire welder (usually a Miller but some Lincolns) for a couple grand plus in their shop but they are experienced full time welders

I had my ac/dc welder that I liked stolen in a burglary at the farm 3 years ago and have had good luck with my 600 buck replacement from Harbor freight. I would rather have bought an old copper wire Lincoln or a new Miller but I had other things to buy. Good luck.
 
If you buy a good mig it will be a great welder. Cheap and low
power migs are worth what you paid. Stick can do a few more
things like cast iron but the theory that mig can't weld thick or
rusty metal is a myth. Welding rusty metal requires grinding
the rust off either way if you want a good weld. If you don't get
the rust off the weld sucks with either process. My mig will
easily weld 1/2" steel, but it cost $1500.00 20 years ago. If
you spend that today you will have the power to weld most
anything on the farm, and easier than stick.
 
(quoted from post at 00:06:51 08/13/20) Only way a mig welder is good is if you also have the Gas set up flux core is for small stuff only. Sounds like the fan in your buzz box stopped working so you let the smoke out. My buzzz box is old like me as in I have had it 30 plus years and still work well but I have had to fix the fan once or twice
Click to expand...
ou've got that backwards. Flux-core is deep penetrating. You want to weld thin stuff you need solid wire and shielding gas.
 
MIG welders have made so called welders out of everyone that can afford one. I make a lot of money fixing things that people have
screwed up wih MIG welders. You can weld 1/2 in plate with an oxy-act torch with the proper preparation, torch and the right rod,
plus you can cut, braze,heat and have fun making acetylene bombs. Buy a torch set.
 
(quoted from post at 04:15:38 08/13/20)
(quoted from post at 00:06:51 08/13/20) Only way a mig welder is good is if you also have the Gas set up flux core is for small stuff only. Sounds like the fan in your buzz box stopped working so you let the smoke out. My buzzz box is old like me as in I have had it 30 plus years and still work well but I have had to fix the fan once or twice
Click to expand...
ou've got that backwards. Flux-core is deep penetrating. You want to weld thin stuff you need solid wire and shielding gas.
Click to expand...

There is the process, and there is the machine.

Flux core itself is a deep penetrating process. Professionals use it when they want to deposit a lot of metal, BUT they're not using the $99 Harbor Freight Special welder. They're using HUGE welders that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

It's the $99 Harbor Freight welder, and cheap flux core welders like it, that are for small stuff only.

Nobody makes a purely flux core welder in a 220V model. They're all MIG/flux or full multiprocess welders (MIG TIG flux stick).
 
It depends on what it is you're trying to do. Hobbyist-grade MIG welders will handle up to 1/4" steel and will do a great job on lighter stuff. As welding man said, if you don't already own an oxyacetylene torch rig, that should be your first purchase.

Can you take a welding class at a nearby community college? An introductory course will expose you to the different processes, and you'll be able to use equipment far more expensive than you're likely to ever own. Once you get semi-proficient using high-end stick, MIG and TIG welders, plus gas welding, you'll be able to make a far better decision on what it is you really need.
 
I would suggest keeping an eye out for
an old Lincoln Idealarc 250. It's duty
cycle is 100 percent through most of the
ranges you will be using. With the
better stability your welds will be
greatly improved.
 
> Only way a mig welder is good is if you also have the Gas set up flux core is for small stuff only.

As we have discussed before, a MIG welder without gas is NOT a MIG welder. (The "G" stands for GAS.) MIG and flux-core welders are collectively referred to as "wire-feed welders".

FWIW, the two processes are collectively called "Gas Metal Arc Welding" (GMAW) and "Flux Core Arc Welding" (FCAW). And as someone else said, FCAW will give greater penetration than GMAW with the same machine. GMAW delivers a cleaner weld with less spatter. Both processes have their place.
 
A MIG probably takes less skill and would be more fun to use. MIG can do a lot of weld tasks. Cheap MIG machine will annoy you.
 
I bought a Lincoln Mig/wire welder a couple of years ago just for welding old rusty car bodies. All I have used so far is the flux core wire as i didn't want to
get into tanks and gas. It works fine for the jobs I wanted it to do. But for ordinary farm repair welding I'll go back to my almost 50 year old Smith Roles stick
welder. Its 180 amp which has always been enough for my use. No fan in it to give problems and it has had zero maintenance issues since 1973. Yes, 6011 is the rod
I use most. I hated 7018s as they were so hard to strike and hold an arc for any of the jobs I was working on. 7014 left a nice finish but did not have the
penetration of 6011s.
 
Welding rusty stuff you need a good grinder. Nothing will weld rust and
hold,clean the steel. and for easy welding it is mig,but there are times a
places for stick too. I have a buddy that bought a HF top of their line welder
and he loves it for home use,115/220 plug and play. He makes a living running a
welding and fab shop. Sometime you want to work from the farm.
 
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