stick or wire feed

[brdmkr]

Wife says I need a welder 8) 8) 8) 8)

I know, good wife.  Anyway, I have melted a rod or 2 (literally 'melted' and 'one or 2').  It seems that wire feed would be easier, but the there seems to be much greater variation in amps of a stick welder.  What would you recomend for a real newbie?  I will likely use it for repairs on tractor and implements and for SIMPLE fabrication.  Is this something I can teach myself to do?

[scsmith42]

Most people new to welding seem to prefer the MIG (Wire) to the stick.  With MIG, once you have the amps and feed rate set you only have one things to control wiht your hands - the rate and direction of weld.  With a stick, you also need to continually move your hand closer to the metal to make up for the melting / depositing of the welding rod.  For most folks, this is harder to master as opposed to the MIG.

The reason that the stick has more amp variation is that on the MIG the rate which you feed the wire also impacts penetration (instead of just amps).

If you get a stick welder, try to get a DC machine.  AC is ok, but the welds are more susceptible to cracking than DC welds. 

If you get a MIG, get one with enough amps to do some real welding.  Stay away from the 120V machines unless you only plan to weld sheet metal. 

[DanG]

Mike, you can come up here and practice with my stick welder anytime you want to.  I can even teach you what not to do. ;D :D  I wouldn't worry too much about the "amp" ratings.  My rig will go up to 230 amps, but I've never had to go above 140 or so.

I look at it this way.  Welding is a little bit like baseball.  In baseball, you can enjoy the game with just a little basic knowledge...hit the ball, run to first, etc.  The more subtle nuances of the game are fun for the experts.  In welding, you can stick 2 pieces of metal together where gravity won't pull them apart, but if your life depend's on it, take it to a pro who understands the nuances of the game.  There is a lot to learn in both games.

[Coon]

These guys are correct in what they are telling you.  I am self taught with both arc and mig welding.  For lighter duty general welding I use my lil mig, but won't use it on heavier metals as it don't work too good.  I do though sometimes use it on thicker steel for tacking things together then take it over to the arc welder and weld whatever it is solid.  Keep in mind that my little mig is gasless.
Brad.

[Danny_S]

I would go with the stick if your going to be doing repairs on machinery and such. Stick is much more forgiving with dirt and rust than a mig. Mig is good for new, clean metals, although they will weld dirty metal, but not as well. Welding rods are easier to keep care of, keep them dry someplace. I used to use an old refridgerator with a 60 w bulb in a fixture at the bottom of it. Kept it nice and warm and dry, along with other things like your gloves, welding tools, paint, ect.  If you have a mig and the wire gets wet or a bit rusty, your in for trouble as it has a hard time feeding through the whip.

I love mig welders, dont get me wrong, but not outside underneath a greasy truck someplace..  ;)

[TexasTimbers]

I'm with Danny on this. For doing the kind of repairs you're talking about a stick makes more sense. What makes the most sense is to have both. The wire (with gas add-on capability) for the shop, and a Miller Bobcat or Lincoln (I don't care for the Hobart equivalent and other knock-off brands) for the field. It makes for a handy generator and you'll be able to take the shop to the broken-down equipment.
Plus, you can't weld in strong winds with a wire welder as with a stick.
If you don't think you'll need a field welder you can always buy a cheap little cracker box welder that will do just fine for welding dirty old equipment.

[Dana]

Also you need to consider how much money you are willing to spend. A good ac/dc stick welder, that will weld what you are looking to do, is going to cost a whole lot less, than a mig welder. ;)

[Murf]

With a MIG welder it's surprisingly easy to make a really nice looking, but structurally useless weld. 

The problem is the wire, it's fairly small, so it's easy to get it to melt, the trick is getting the material being welded to melt instead.

For general repairs around the yard, it's not a big isuue, but if you were to have ineffective welds in something like a trailer, that could be a serious matter.  :

[bitternut]

Go with a 220 volt mig welder. For rusty heavier stuff use flux-core wire without gas. On light gage clean stuff use smaller plain wire and gas. You have the best of both worlds that way and the learning curve for a wire welder is a whole easier than stick. The first projects I built with mine are still in use without failure and have seen plenty of abuse.

[Part_Timer]

I agree also Except we have a  120v 30a wire feed welder with a gas bottle in the shop at work.  We've welded 1/2 in  material with it you just have to grind your v in it  and make a couple of passes with it. 
I welded my headache rack for the trailer with it and am welding the log loading rack in the morming.  When we load logs this weekend that will be the test.  I may wish for the stick by the time it's done but I dout it

I'm wanting to get both for the house.

Tom