What value stick? (185 owner)

[MCoupe]

OK, owner to be. I just purchased the powertig 185 that comes with stick ability. After you buy the stick cable. <frown> I'm truly looking forward to TIG welding - modest stuff on my race car. But why/when would I want to use stick welding? For tack welding it seems that the TIG would be fine. Please educate me - how is stick welding an advancement? It surely must be.

Chris

[Gerry]

You don't need gas & depending on the rod, metal don't have to be very clean. You can stick weld in windy conditions

[performance]

Stick is still the standard. It's faster, and can give just as aesthetically pleasing of a weld. You can weld just about anything except the thinnest materials with it...and as said, wind does not typically bother stick. It's more economical and portable. Did I mention faster?

[Titan winch]

Unfortunately the US Office feels it should be extra for adding the stick electrode holder to the Welders. Canada and Australia have these as standard options and they are included in the package . I would recommend asking for the addition of the stick holder when placing the order as the added cost at this point would be minimal.

[DaveO]

Welcome, Chris, and congrats on the new machine! Welcome to the forums- a number of racers here. I can't add to the "why stick" responses, since they've been covered. Definitely a worthwhile skill, another tool for the toolbox. It may not be a space shuttle or even a helicopter, but sometimes a DC3 is the right vehicle for the job.

[Rambozo]

I'll add a few...
A wide variety of specialized SMAW electrodes are available.
Nothing can get into tighter places than a stick.
Depending on material and heat input, you can end up with a more ductile weld for things that are subjected to high shock loads.

[geezer]

the best way to understand the power of stick welding is to get someone who is a stick welder and let him work your machine,,,that and a box of 7014 1/8 rod will explain everything and give a whole new view on your machine and it's abilities....you may find yourself wanting to weld with stick,,,,

[everlastsupport]

We did some maybe .030-.050 walled stainless today. Stick is cool. But not for this project. This was a tiny hot water tank for the inside of a commercial coffee machine.

TIG 316L on a 255EXT 10-15 amp range (no pedal).

Stick has its place, but let's not say it will do anything. It is cheap, works well in the wind, etc. But you will not be doing stick in a commercial kitchen. I doubt I will be doing any car panels with it either.

[joshuab]

Stick is simple. No fussing around with a gas bottle, water cooler, filler rod, pedal. Just put the electrode in the holder and go. If you are ever working in the field, you will be glad not to have to tote that stuff around.

Stick can be used in windy environments where TIG would have its shielding gas blown away.

Stick is fast. Unless you are an exceptional TIG welder, you can put down inches of weld faster with stick than TIG. This is especially true when tacking up because no post-flow is needed. In the ten seconds of post-flow, a stick welder can put down two or three more tacks!

Stick is cheap. Filler. Tungsten electrodes. Shielding gas. It all adds up. I would guess stick is half the cost of TIG, off the top of my head. Maybe somebody else has hard numbers.

Stick is robust. With TIG, the metal must be absolutely clean. Because stick has flux on the rod, it is much more tolerant of dirty, rusty, greasy metal. Best practice is still to clean/grind the work piece, but stick is much more tolerant. This also contributes to the speed, since you don't have to spend as much time cleaning every last speck of contamination off your work piece.

Stick is easier to learn and more tolerant of less-than-perfect technique. Which is not to say that you can get lazy with stick, just that there are fewer things to screw up.

[MCoupe]

What a fascinating thread. Thanks, guys!

Chris

[joshuab]

I thought of one more: you can stick-weld one handed. Useful if you don't have enough clamps and/or if you are working in the field. Can hold a piece in place with one hand while tacking with the other. I guess you can do autogenous tacks with TIG one-handed too...