Had to choose between old school SMAW and newer wire feed for a repair last month

Picked the 7018 stick over the MIG because the steel was greasy and beat up from years of use. Took me twice as long but the weld held up when they pressure tested it at 150 psi. Anyone else still running stick for dirty repairs?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyj1114d ago

Oh boy, you and me both. I swear half the time when I grab the MIG gun on something grimy like that I end up chasing porosity and slag inclusions all afternoon. The old stick just burns right through the junk like it's nothing. Sure it's slow as molasses in January but at least I'm not grinding out bird nests every ten minutes. 150 psi is no joke either, that's a real pat on the back when it holds. I've had too many wire feed jobs that looked pretty on the surface but failed the moment someone put a gauge on them. Stick may be old school but it's honest work when the metal's been through the wringer.

daniel14013d ago

Those 6010 rods really earn their keep on rusty stuff, @nancyj11 they'll burn through paint and mill scale that'd make a MIG gun cry. I had a buddy who tried pulse spray on an old bridge repair and the arc kept wandering before he finally grabbed the stinger and just laid it in.

anderson.piper13d ago

Ain't that the truth? Rusty pipe and stick just get along.