MIG and stick welding are both forms of arc welding, meaning they use an electric current to form an arc that is extremely bright and hot. This arc melts the electrode and base metals to form a joint. Flux is used to protect the molten metal from mixing with oxygen. All four main types of welding use this process.
These two types of welding have two completely different ways of achieving an arc for welding. They both use an electrode but stick/MMA used a rod electrode and MIG a wire. They both use flux but MIG used gas and stick/MMA has a solid flux crust that is found around the rod.
MIG vs Stick/SMAW chart
MIG | Stick/SMAW | |
Price | $650 – $1200 for all equipment | $200 – $400 for all equipment |
Strength | Medium | Medium |
Ease of use | Very easy | Medium to hard |
Portability | Not very | Most portable welding |
Material thicknesses | Very thin to very thick | Medium thickness only 3-20mm |
Best use cases | Everyday welding/ Carbon steel welding | Less common steel. E.g stainless steel |
How does a MIG welding work?
In short form, a MIG welding machine’s electrode comes in a wire form. It is fed to the base metal through a wire feed. When the wire touches the base metal it forms the arc for the welding. Inert gas is also fed through the welding torch that acts as the flux to protect the molten metal from oxygen. Different gases can be used to achieve different effects like more or less penetration.
This is all achieved by pressing the button on the welding torch. The MIG machine won’t arc or feed any gas when the button isn’t pressed. This is in contrast to stick welding, which arcs when you touch the polarised base metal with the electrode.
You can read up on how to use and set up a MIG welding machine to completely understand how it works and you will immediately start to see the differences between the two types of welding.
How does stick welding work?
Stick welding is the easiest welding to set up due to its basic nature. You need an inverter, cables, earth clamp, electrode holder, and the electrode.
Your earth should be in the negative polarity and the electrode in the positive. This is the same for MIG welding as well.
After placing your earth clamp to the base metal you should insert the electrode into the electrode holder. Make sure the electrode isn’t touching your base metal or any polarized metal. As soon as the electrode touches the polarized metal an arc will start for welding.
Is stick welding better than MIG?
Stick welding has a few benefits over MIG welding, but in general, MIG is by far the more preferred method of welding.
Some benefits stick has over MIG is the portability of it, the fact that you don’t need to use any sort of gas and it is a lot cheaper.
Some drawbacks stick has over MIG are a bit more than the benefits. Stick is a lot harder to weld with and a lot harder to learn, you have to constantly swap out electrodes, and the range of material thicknesses is limited compared to MIG.
On the other hand, you sometimes need something portable or don’t have the expenses. Also, if you are looking to weld material like stainless you will be better off using stick welding.
You can check out all the pros and cons of these two welding types in my post on the different types of welding. It is a great source of information if you are looking to expand your general knowledge of welding.
Is stick welding cheaper than MIG welding
Yes, stick welding is cheaper than MIG welding. The machines and materials are cheaper in their skill range. For example, an entry-level inverter, that can be used for TIG welding also, will be about a quarter of the price of an entry-level MIG machine.
Taking into account that with stick you also won’t need gas or a welding gun that can be costly. At the end of the day, you will pay a lot less for the initial startup cost but I would still recommend you get a MIG machine because it is a lot better for general purpose use.
What is safer MIG or stick welding?
I wouldn’t say any of these two welding types are unsafe especially if you use the correct PPE for welding and general metalwork. That being said there are a few more things you should take into consideration when welding stick over MIG.
Stick welding tends to have a brighter arc than MIG so your risk of “arc eyes” or “arc tan” is a bit higher. The electrode also gets hot and is exposed to it is easier to burn yourself with it.
You can still get burnt with MIG welding but the risk is a bit lower. That is why I recommend wearing the proper PPE for welding doesn’t matter what type of welding you are doing.
Can you weld stick over MIG?
After you give a run of MIG welding you can easily clean the weld and weld over it with stick. Due to the lack of hard flux crust forming over the weld MIG makes it easy to give multiple runs of welding.
In turn, if you weld stick the hard flux scale makes it very hard to weld over it. That is why you should only give a single run with stick and avoid multiple runs because welding doesn’t stick to the flux at all.
You can still weld stainless steel with MIG and carbon steel with SMAW, you must just use the correct electrode/wire for your situation.
Welding carbon steel. MIG vs stick welding.
I would recommend using MIG to weld carbon steel because it is a lot easier, faster, and has a larger range of thicknesses that can be welded, and doesn’t have an annoying flux that is formed over it that you have to chip off every time. MIG also being the preferred welding type by professionals that deal with a lot of carbon steel welding.
The only real downside of MIG is the start-up cost you can read up in my post “MIG machine is the best for home use” where I have a detailed chart on the cost of each item for MIG welding. Stick can be a bit stronger but it depends on the electrodes you use and the difference is insignificant in most situations.
Carbon steel is the most common metal and you are most likely going to weld. Finding the correct place to buy metal for a welding project can be hard especially if you are new to it. You can read my post on where to buy metal for a welding project. I really recommend it if you are serious about getting metal for a project.
Welding stainless with MIG vs stick welding
In my personal experience I would recommend you weld stainless using stick welding/SMAW. I have noticed that it comes out a lot nicer looking and stronger, whereas using stainless wire for MIG I have noticed it cracks a lot more and doesn’t come out looking as neat as stick.
Conclusion
In conclusion both types of these weldings have their pros and cons and they both can fit a specific purpose.
If you are on a budget or have to move around a lot then go for stick welding.
If you are looking to weld a lot at a stationary location then I would recommend going for MIG because it is a lot easier to use and has a larger range of thicknesses it can weld.
