Can we talk about stick welding vs wire feed on thick plate?

I had to weld up some 3/4 inch brackets for a job site in Tacoma last week. Grabbed my mig setup first cause it's faster and cleaner. Got about 6 inches in and realized the penetration just wasn't there on the root pass. Switched over to 7018 rods and it was night and day difference. The bead laid down perfect and I didn't have to worry about cold lap. Anyone else find stick still beats wire on anything over half inch?

2 comments

2 Comments

milesrobinson3d agoTop Commenter

Stick actually wins under 1/2 inch too, not just over it.

gracejohnson3d ago

Tried a similar approach with 3/8 inch and @milesrobinson is right, it worked great for me too.