Hot take: stick welding vs mig on thin pipe

I keep seeing guys grab a mig gun for thin wall pipe. Says it's faster. But at the shop on 45th, we did a pressure test last week. Three mig joints failed at 80 psi. My four stick joints held fine. Same schedule 10 stainless. So is speed worth the rework? Or am I the old timer who just doesn't get it?

3 comments

3 Comments

hill.margaret1mo ago

Well now, you've hit on something there. I've seen the same pattern with guys chasing speed and ending up with porosity or lack of fusion that just doesn't show up till you put some pressure to it.

lilya761mo agoTop Commenter

Oh man, same thing happened to me last month, rushed a weld and had to grind it all out the next day.

the_lee1mo ago

God I felt that 'ground it all out the next day' in my back before I even sat down.