mig verses mma/stick welding

[andyclimax]

Hi all i am after a bit of advice regarding mig/stick. I do a fair amount of heavy fabrication on beams for builders. Making lintels and suports for door openings . at the moment i use mig , high amps 1.2 wire that kind of thing.
Today i needed to buy a new torch (MB36 as my old one melted) and a couple rolls of wire. it got me thinking mig is fantastic for most things in the workshop but they do cost a fair bit in consumables, wire, gas, liners, tips when doing heavy.
so i have a very big old oxford oil cooled thing that occasionally gets doug out for the odd job. how much cheaper do you think it will be using 5/6mm 6013 rods downhand verses mig. the strength will be fine as nearly all the welds are doing nothing really as the plate is on top of the beam and the wall on the plate. the big welds are just for the building inspectors .
any other brackets and bits will be miged it is just for the main welds.
i hope you can understand what i mean, i am dyslexic and my grammar makes me confused.
fire away.

 

[Welderpaul]

The one thing you don't mention is time. MIG is used extensively in fab shops because it is quicker...and therefore cheaper.

 

[andyclimax]

yep good point. it is just brainfarting at the moment. i usually have just enough in the jobs to cover another 20 minutes welding time .

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Mig is quicker but on structural , unless told otherwise I'll always run a stick round it

 

[matt1978]

MMA in a production environment for Structural Steel or simerla is old hat and out dated. It's massively slower, far more stop/starts due the physical length of the consumable, more dirty and fumey.

MMA has its place and is a fabulous process but I don't personally think it's best suited to a production environment of beams and columns, especially when you already have the Mig set up in place

 

[desmo11225]

Hello andyclimax, When I was working in the college MIG Welding was coming in big time, all pretty new, I remember one of our students worked for a building firm and was welding 12 inch 3/8 inch thick plate with MIG, there were 3 specimens all ready for inspection, my boss and I just looked at these welds and we were both very dubious about them, all 3 welds just broke in the vice with jaws and bar, in those days MIG was regarded as great car body welding but now a colleague of mine says that he very rarely uses MMA for any thing.
If that's a big old oil cooled Oxford you've got capable of using 4/5/6 mm diameter electrodes that will weld any thing, how about running them both along side one another and compare them both for speed and cost, I know you have the pain of removing the slag but your young learners could do that, try it and let us know how you get on. All the Best desmo11225

 

[Kent]

Some worrying aspects in what you say.

Downhill 6013 on heavy beams
Big welds just to keep inspectors happy

It's pretty well known on here that I ain't a fan of 1090 but this post I find slightly worrying in nature if your not just having a laugh

It's pretty much got impossible to get insured on structural now even on site repair exclusions are being added on renewal

If I am barking up the wrong tree and you already have 1090 then it goes to show what a waste of time it is

Sorry just re read excuse I read it wrong downland not downhill oops

 

[Kent]

And then a typo