Is Stick Welding Stronger Than MIG? An Honest Comparison

A maintenance supervisor hands you two broken brackets from the same plant. One was welded with E7018 sticks, the other with ER70S-6 MIG wire, and both cracked right through the fillet on the same shift. It is natural to assume the stick weld was simply ‘stronger’ because stick welding has a reputation for heavy, deep penetration. But fracture rarely happens because of the name on the electrode box. It happens because of the filler metal, the heat input, the joint prep, and the technique. By the end of this guide you will know exactly where stick welding genuinely delivers a stronger joint, where it does not, and how to build a weld that passes inspection either way.

Is Stick Welding Stronger Than MIG? The Direct Answer

No. Stick welding is not inherently stronger than MIG welding. Run both processes with matching-strength consumables under a qualified procedure, and the deposited weld metal lands in the same strength band, typically the 70 ksi class. What separates a joint that holds from a joint that cracks is the filler metal, the joint design, the heat input, and the welder’s technique. The arc process itself barely registers.

The belief that stick welds are stronger is understandable. SMAW has a reputation for deep penetration and for holding up on bridges, ships, and pipelines, so people assume the arc itself produces stronger metal. That reputation is earned under specific conditions, but it is a property of a particular consumable, joint design, and worksite, not of the process.

Two Process Names, One Set of Codes

SMAW, shielded metal arc welding, is the formal designation for what most people call stick welding. It uses a flux-coated consumable electrode and is classified under AWS A5.1, the specification for carbon steel electrodes. GMAW, gas metal arc welding, is the umbrella process; MIG (metal inert gas) is the member of that family most fabricators use on carbon steel with a solid wire and a shielding gas of roughly 75% argon and 25% carbon dioxide. MIG wire is classified under AWS A5.18.

Here is the detail that quietly dissolves the myth. The “70” in an E7018 electrode and the “70” in ER70S-6 wire both mean a minimum tensile strength of 70 ksi, roughly 485 MPa, for the deposited weld metal. These two product families sit in the same strength band by design.

That is not a technicality, because AWS D1.1, the Structural Welding Code for Steel, bases allowable stress for a welded connection on the filler metal strength (FEXX) and the base metal yield strength. It does not ask which process laid the metal. A SMAW joint and a GMAW joint in the same base metal using the same FEXX receive the same allowable stress. Both SMAW and GMAW weld metals are routinely qualified as matching or over-matching filler for ASTM A36 and A572 Grade 50 steel.

The reverse is equally true. Both processes can produce a weak, ugly weld. A crater-filled, spatter-covered bead run on dirty plate in a cold draft can fail in service faster than a clean MIG weld that cost half as much. The process sets the ceiling. Workmanship decides where you land.

The Four Variables That Actually Control Strength

1. Filler metal classification. The electrode or wire designation sets the minimum mechanical properties of the deposited metal. Picking a matching-strength consumable matters far more than picking a favorite process.
2. Heat input and the width of the heat-affected zone. Too much heat produces a wide, softened HAZ, more distortion, and grain growth. Too little produces lack of fusion. Travel speed, amperage, and voltage set this, and stick and MIG have the same physics to fight.
3. Joint design, penetration, and effective throat area. A fillet weld carries load through its throat, not through how deep the arc burned. Deep penetration is a profile, not a strength rating, and a properly designed joint can defeat a penetration advantage entirely.
4. Defect control. Porosity, undercut, cracks, and incomplete fusion. These are workmanship failures, and they do not care which process you picked.

How To Read This Guide

If you are new to welding, start with the vocabulary section that follows, because “stronger” and “toughness” get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. If you want the published numbers, the lab data section compares GMAW and SMAW mechanical properties head to head. If you specify work, the filler metal matching section is the technical core. If you simply need to pick a process on Monday morning, the decision framework and job comparison table give you the short version. We also cover where SMAW still wins outright in the advantages of stick welding, and where GMAW is simply the easier choice, such as aluminum MIG welding.

One more framing note. Roughly 700,000 workers in the United States perform welding or allied processes, according to federal workforce data. Choosing between stick and MIG is a mainstream industrial decision with real code consequences, not a hobby debate about which torch makes a better bead.

So the useful question is not “which process is stronger.” It is “which process will give me the required strength and toughness, with the least risk, on this specific job.” That is the question this guide answers.

What ‘Stronger’ Actually Means: Strength, Toughness, and Penetration

Before you can argue whether stick beats MIG, you need a way to measure them. “Stronger” is not one property but a bundle, and the bundle can disagree with itself. Six numbers do most of the talking in a real weld test.

The six numbers that describe a weld

• Ultimate tensile strength (UTS): the maximum stress the metal carries while being pulled apart, in ksi or MPa. The headline “strong” number.
• Yield strength: the stress at which metal deforms permanently instead of elastically. Often matters more than UTS, since steel yields before it breaks and a yielded joint can sag.
• Elongation: how much the metal stretches before fracture, as a percentage over a 2 inch gauge length. High means ductile, low brittle.
• Reduction of area: the percentage drop in cross-sectional area at the fracture point. With elongation it separates a ductile tear (cup-and-cone, dull) from a brittle one (flat, glassy).
• Charpy V-notch impact toughness: energy absorbed by a notched specimen struck by a pendulum at a set temperature, in ft-lb or joules. Charpy testing is the industry’s closest answer to “will this break or bend if hit?”
• Microhardness: a small-scale measurement, usually Vickers (HV), mapping how hard or soft the weld metal and base metal are and locating a softened HAZ.

Strong on paper, brittle in service

A weld can pull 80,000 pounds before it tears and still shatter like glass when a truck hits the bracket. That is strength versus toughness: strength is how much force breaks it, toughness is whether it breaks suddenly or deforms first. Meeting every tensile spec is not enough; impact requirements tighten on bridges, offshore structures, pressure equipment, and fatigue-loaded joints.

Second trap: the deposit is not the whole joint. The heat-affected zone (HAZ), base metal next to the weld that never melted but got hot enough to change its microstructure, can be the hardest, softest, or most crack-prone part of the assembly, so AWS D1.1 treats it as its own engineering material. High-carbon and quenched-and-tempered steels can give a hard, crack-sensitive HAZ under one process and a fine, tough HAZ under the other, because heat is distributed differently. This breakdown of where stick wins shows why SMAW earns its reputation.

Why “penetration depth” confuses people

Penetration describes how deep the arc melts into the base metal at the joint. It is a fusion geometry measurement, not a strength measurement: a deep, narrow profile can still be offset by a wide, brittle HAZ or by filler metal too weak for the load. It also depends on joint design, bevel angle, gap, amperage, and above all coating type.

• Cellulose electrodes such as E6010 and E6011 push penetration deeper and narrower, the classic choice for root pass penetration and structural fillets.
• Rutile and iron-powder coatings such as E6013 and E7018 lay down a flatter, wider bead with shallower penetration but better mechanical properties and slag behavior.

Deep penetration on a bad filler is still a weak weld; shallow penetration with a matching low-hydrogen filler and good fusion can be better.

Reading the AWS filler metal classification

American codes identify consumables by a number string, and the AWS Pocket Handbook lays the system out alongside AWS A5.1 and A5.18. For stick, the prefix E means electrode, the next two digits are the minimum tensile strength in ksi (E7018 is a 70 ksi class), the third digit is welding positions (1 = all position, 0 and 2 = flat and horizontal only), and the last digit is coating type, which is where behavior lives. For MIG wire the prefix is ER, S means solid wire, and the trailing digit picks the wire type: ER70S-6 is the general-purpose copper-coated solid wire, while the 2 in ER70S-2 marks a metal-cored wire with faster deposition and deeper penetration at higher cost. The Alloy 20 procedures show the same logic for a tough stainless grade.

The position digit matters in practice, not just on paper. A rod rated for flat and horizontal will burn or give poor fusion overhead, and the all-position rod guide explains how to match a rod to the joint you are welding. Low-hydrogen grades such as E7016, E7018, and E7018-1 also demand storage discipline, since moisture pickup destroys the hydrogen control that makes them code favorites on pressure and high-strength work; this electrode selection guide covers storage and handling in detail.

Classification	Process and coating	Min tensile	Min yield	Min elongation
E6010	SMAW, cellulose, DCEP, all positions	62 ksi (430 MPa)	50 ksi (340 MPa)	22%
E6013	SMAW, rutile/iron oxide, AC or DCEP	62 ksi (430 MPa)	50 ksi (340 MPa)	22%
E7018	SMAW, basic low-hydrogen, DCEP	70 ksi (485 MPa)	57 ksi (390 MPa)	22%
ER70S-6	GMAW, solid wire, 75% Ar / 25% CO2	70 ksi (480 MPa)	58 ksi (400 MPa)	22%
ER70S-2	GMAW, metal-cored wire	70 ksi (480 MPa)	58 ksi (400 MPa)	22%

Minimum values per AWS A5.1 (electrodes) and AWS A5.18 (wire); elongation measured over 2 inches on an all-weld-metal coupon. As-welded results run higher: typical ER70S-6 deposits hit about 83 ksi (550 MPa) tensile with 32% elongation, per the typical ER70S-6 specification sheet.

One more numbering wrinkle: Europe uses different codes

US and Canadian drawings say AWS A5.1, and the ASME edition is written ASME SFA-5.1. European work uses EN ISO 2560 for covered electrodes and EN ISO 14341 for solid wire, with designations such as E42 4 B 42 5 or G 3Si1. The strength logic is the same; the label is not. If you order consumables for a European job, make sure the distributor translates between the two rather than assuming the numbers line up.

What the Lab Tests Show: SMAW vs GMAW Strength Data

Most claims about stick versus MIG strength come from shop-floor memory rather than test data, and shop-floor memory is stubborn. Kill it with published measurements. Between 2022 and 2025, three studies ran stick and MIG welds through the same battery of tensile, impact, and hardness tests on structural steel. The results are strikingly consistent, and they do not support the idea that one process is simply “stronger” than the other.

The 2025 Scientific Reports study on IS 2062 E350

The cleanest side-by-side came from researchers who welded the same IS 2062 E350 structural steel with GMAW and SMAW, then pulled transverse test coupons and measured their mechanical properties. The headline numbers, published in Scientific Reports in 2025, read like this:

Property	SMAW (stick)	GMAW (MIG)
Maximum transverse ultimate tensile strength	676 MPa	634 MPa
Yield strength	634 MPa	616 MPa
Elongation	26.19%	25.49%
Charpy impact toughness	213 J	235 J
Maximum microhardness	185 VHN	175 VHN

Read that table carefully, because it cuts both ways. On paper, the stick weld won the tensile round: 676 MPa UTS against 634 MPa, with yield strength higher as well. That is a real margin, not a rounding error. If your entire definition of “strong” is the number a tensile machine prints, SMAW took it.

But the researchers did not conclude that stick made the better joint. They called GMAW the better overall weld, because the MIG weld absorbed more impact energy (235 J against 213 J) and carried a slightly softer, more uniform hardness distribution. Harder and stronger on one side, tougher and less prone to brittle behavior on the other. Two of that study’s more surprising results: most tensile failures occurred in the subcritical heat-affected zone rather than in the deposited weld metal, and GMAW produced a greater depth of penetration than SMAW under their parameters, which cuts straight against the belief that stick always digs deepest.

Why the subcritical HAZ keeps showing up

The subcritical heat-affected zone is the narrow band of base metal just outside the fusion line. The weld heat raised it above the lower critical point but not high enough to fully re-austenitize and re-form new grains, so the original steel structure survives the cycle coarser, softened, and often with precipitated carbides that cut strength further. It is not a defect. It is an unavoidable consequence of melting metal next to steel.

So when a tensile coupon snaps in the subcritical HAZ instead of in the weld metal, the machine is telling you the weakest link was never your electrode or your wire. It was base metal that got too hot. That distinction tends to vanish when the whole question gets compressed into “stick or MIG.” For a fuller look at where the SMAW process genuinely earns its keep on heavy plate, our guide to the advantages of stick welding is worth reading.

The 2022 CIRP study on naval grade HSLA steel

Hariprasath and colleagues ran a similar comparison in the CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology in 2022, this time on naval grade HSLA steel (DMR249A). Their verdict was that GMAW properties were marginally better across the board: impact hardness of 178 J for GMAW against 174 J for SMAW, recrystallized weld zone hardness of 310 HV against 285 HV, and maximum microhardness of 475 HV against 463 HV in the coarse-grained HAZ. The gaps are small. And here it is the MIG weld that came out harder, the opposite of the E350 result. Worth keeping in mind, because these outcomes depend on the specific consumable, gas mix, current, and heat input used, not on the name of the process.

The Cambridge study on 700 MPa grade steel

The most practically useful study for anyone working modern high-strength plate came from the University of Cambridge, which examined welding of 700 MPa grade steel in 20 mm plate. The published results showed GMAW weld metal that over-matched the base metal, with yield strength of 680 to 730 MPa and tensile strength of 745 to 770 MPa. The SMAW weld metal, using the same nominal consumable class, came in under-matched at 620 MPa yield and 695 MPa tensile.

The Cambridge authors drew a conclusion that is not a vote for either process. Weld metal chemistry should stay close to that of the base metal while being properly over-strengthened, so the weld never becomes the weak link in the assembly. In practice, that means reading the consumable data sheet. The all position welding rod guide and our notes on alloy steel welding electrodes make a useful starting point when you are picking consumables for higher-strength material.

Strength is not the only service property

One 2025 study on high-carbon steel reported corrosion rates in distilled water of 0.008 mm/year for SMAW welds against 8.24 mm/year for GMAW welds. That is an enormous gap, and a sharp reminder that a weld can pass every tensile test and still behave quite differently in service depending on how it was made, what it absorbed, and how its microstructure developed.

The honest caveat

None of these studies is universal law. Each used a particular shielding gas, current setting, and heat input on carbon or low-alloy steel, and each is a single study on a single material. Swap the wire, the electrode, the gas mix, or the pass sequence and the numbers move. What the body of evidence does support is a narrow band: in controlled trials, the two processes land within roughly 5 to 7% of each other on tensile strength.

Why Stick Welding Earned Its Reputation for Strength

The belief that SMAW makes stronger welds did not come from a forum thread. It grew out of decades of structural erection, heavy plate fabrication, and pipe work where stick was the default process. There are five legitimate reasons behind the reputation, and every one of them is real. Not one of them belongs to the process itself.

Reason One: The Electrode You Pick

The biggest driver is the consumable. Under AWS A5.1, E7018 is a basic coating with moisture control built into the core wire and the packaging. The coating is deliberately hygroscopic, drawing moisture from the surrounding air and burning it off in the arc, which leaves the deposited weld metal with low diffusible hydrogen. Low hydrogen means less cracking risk under restraint, and that is the single biggest reason code work names E7018 specifically.

Then there is E6010. Its cellulose coating produces a genuinely deep penetration profile with a pronounced root reinforcement, and beginners routinely read that bead as proof of extra strength. Usually the real story is that the cellulose coating runs a more forgiving arc. This is where the reputation gets its first crack. Penetration profile is an arc characteristic, not a strength characteristic. Choosing a rod for the position and the base metal is a technical decision about service temperature, fit-up, and hydrogen requirements, not about how impressive the finished bead looks.

Reason Two: Heat Input and Section Size

SMAW became the default on thick structural steel and heavy plate, where a complete joint penetration groove weld has to reach the root of a deep, narrow gap. Getting full penetration there is a joint design problem, not a process problem, but a flux-shielded electrode is easy to feed by hand into a tight groove. AWS D1.1 lists prequalified joint details for CJP groove welds and fillet welds under SMAW, GMAW, and FCAW alike, which says plainly that the code does not consider one of those processes stronger than the others.

Reason Three: Slag and Shielding

Welding takes place in air, and air carries hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen that all ruin molten steel. MIG depends on a shielding gas blanket, a clean gun, and a dry setup. SMAW surrounds the arc with a flux coating that breaks down into a shielding atmosphere plus a solid slag layer that physically caps the bead. That cap is why a stick weld laid down on a cold, dirty, windy structure is far less likely to come up porous than a gas-shielded weld made in the same conditions.

Reason Four: Ruggedness

Field welds get judged on the spot with a visual inspection and a bend test, and a stick weld that passes both is usually a sound weld. SMAW needs a power source and a rod. Nothing leaks, clogs, or runs dry mid-repair. GMAW depends on a gas supply, a clean gun, a good liner, and consistent wire feed, and every one of those can fail on a bridge or in a plant where the nearest gas supplier is an hour away. Much of the case for stick welding is reliability logistics, not metallurgy.

Reason Five: Heat-Affected Zone Behavior on Heavy Plate

On thick plate, experienced stick welders run stringer beads at moderate amperage with a deliberate travel speed. That discipline holds heat input per inch down and keeps the softened zone beside the weld narrow, which is where residual stress and distortion live. Matching low-alloy electrodes to the plate and controlling amperage matter far more than the name of the process.

The Honest Turn

Each of those five advantages belongs to a consumable, a joint design, a working environment, or a set of good habits. Change any one of them and the advantage changes with it. Stick on a thin, clean, gas-supported production line is slow and awkward. MIG on a rusty bridge deck in a February wind is a porosity problem waiting to happen. None of it is inherent to SMAW.

And the cellulose electrode that gives the best-looking penetration profile also gives you weld metal with lower toughness and higher diffusible hydrogen than a low-hydrogen electrode. That is precisely why E7018 exists and why structural codes specify it. A 2023 study on thick HSLA steel reported an SMAW joint ultimate tensile strength of 951 MPa with only 2.9 percent elongation, a clean reminder that a very strong joint can still be a poor joint if it will not deform or absorb impact.

Finally, the code has already settled this. AWS D1.1 allowable stresses are derived from the filler metal classification strength and the base metal yield strength, so an E7018 joint and an ER70S-6 joint in the same ASTM A36 steel carry the same allowable stress. Switching processes cannot make a compliant weld stronger.

I’ll rewrite this section, tightening the prose while preserving all the facts, links, and structure.

Where MIG Wins: Speed, Thin Steel, and Control

Strength rarely decides a production bracket line or a 16 gauge stainless flashing job. Speed, burn-through risk, cleanup, and heat control do, and that is where GMAW earns its place.

Deposition rate and cycle time

The biggest structural difference is how often the arc is lit. With stick, the welder burns an electrode to the stub, discards it, grabs a new one, and restrikes. Every cycle is dead time. With MIG the wire feeds continuously.

The AWS Pocket Handbook puts numbers on the stick side: an E6010 at 1/8 inch and 100 A deposits roughly 2.1 lb/hr, 2.3 lb/hr at 130 A, and 3.3 lb/hr at 3/16 inch and 160 A. Those rates assume 100% arc time, and the handbook notes arc efficiency near 60% once you account for 2 inch stickout and the unweldable stub. GMAW spray and globular transfer lay down far more metal per hour on the same joint.

Lincoln Electric’s E6010 data shows the windows a stick welder is stuck inside: 3/32 inch at 40 to 70 A, 1/8 inch at 75 to 130 A, 5/32 inch at 90 to 175 A, all on DCEP. There is no comparable dial on a MIG gun. Set wire feed speed and voltage and keep pulling, and the difference compounds on every unit of a production bracket.

Thin-gauge work

MIG’s advantage shows below 1/8 inch. A 0.030 or 0.035 inch wire with short stickout and 15 to 20 cfh of gas runs narrow beads on 16 gauge material with little burn-through risk. Stick is awkward there: the SMAW arc is large and diffuse, the electrode must be dragged to avoid cutting through, and the bead profile is hard to hold. On 20 gauge and up, GMAW is often the only process that makes economic sense.

Aluminum and stainless

On aluminum, MIG is dramatically simpler. The spool and gas combination works once the oxide is cleaned off. Our aluminum MIG welding guide covers the setup, and getting the surface right matters more than almost any parameter. See also our guide on how to prep aluminum for welding.

SMAW on aluminum needs AC, specific electrode types, and cleaning between every pass. On stainless, MIG with tri-mix shielding gives a clean bead and fast cycle times, which is why it dominates food-grade and rail fabrication. TIG still leads on thin stainless and critical cosmetics, but between stick and MIG, MIG is the sensible choice.

Cosmetics, spatter, and automation

A MIG bead is smooth, uniform, and nearly spatter free when wire feed speed, voltage, and gas are matched, so it often needs no dress-up. A stick bead is convex, textured, and covered in slag that must be chipped and ground before painting, and that finishing labor can erase any deposition-rate advantage. Stick also throws spatter, and a rutile coating like E6013 throws more of it than a basic coating.

Automation is where MIG pulls clearly ahead. Wire feed speed, voltage, travel speed, and gas flow are continuous parameters a robot can repeat, so a cell welding the same bracket four hundred times does it the same way every time. Stick is a nightmare to automate, since arc length and drag angle are judgment calls.

Heat control and the HAZ

Heat input controls the heat-affected zone, and MIG gives more direct control on a given joint because you can hold a thin wire and slow travel speed. Still, heat input is a function of amperage and travel speed, and stick gives that same control. A welder running E7018 with big stringer beads at low travel speed is cooking the plate; a welder running MIG at high wire feed speed and fast travel is not.

The middle ground: self-shielded flux-cored wire

For structural steel erected outdoors where gas is inconvenient, self-shielded flux-cored wire is often the compromise that makes sense. It is classified under AWS D1.1 with its own prequalified joint detail tables, and the consumables fall under AWS A5.20 for carbon steel flux-cored arc welding electrodes. Deposition rates beat stick comfortably, there is no cylinder to haul to a remote site, and on a bridge job or site erection it frequently wins on logistics.

Side-by-side comparison

Factor	Stick (SMAW)	MIG (GMAW)
Deposition	E6010 at 100 A is about 2.1 lb/hr, roughly 60% arc efficiency	Spray transfer multiples the stick rate
Consumables	Electrode changes every few minutes	Continuous wire feed
Thin-gauge limit	Awkward below 1/8 inch	About 16 gauge on 0.030 to 0.035 wire
Outdoor use	Excellent, no gas cylinder	Needs gas; wind is a problem
Cleanup	Slag removal and grinding	Light wire brush usually enough
Bead	Convex, rippled, reinforced	Flat to crowned, smooth
Cost per pound	Labor and stub loss raise the real figure	Gas and labor usually land lower
Automation	Difficult	Robots run GMAW daily

Where the shielding gas question lands

ER70S-6 is normally run on 75% argon and 25% CO2 per the gas selection guidance in AWS C5.10, and it needs a higher level of oxidation protection than some other A5.18 classifications. If flow is too low or the mix drifts, the weld picks up nitrogen and hydrogen, and you get the porosity that turns a fast process into an expensive one.

A properly qualified GMAW joint with matching filler lands in the same strength band as a qualified SMAW joint. What MIG changes is how fast you get there and how little material you waste.

Matching Filler Metal: How to Pick Electrodes and Wire That Are Genuinely Strong

This is where the strength question gets settled. A weld is only as good as the metal deposited in it, and building codes apply one rule: the filler must be at least as strong as the base metal it joins. That is called matching strength, and it outranks any process preference. Get it wrong and you have built the weakest link into the structure by design. Get it right and you have already answered most of the “which process is stronger” debate, because matching-strength consumables do not care how the arc was made.

Reading the FEXX number

For electrodes, AWS writes the strength designation as FEXX, where XX is the minimum tensile strength in thousands of pounds per square inch. E7018 means FEXX = 70 ksi, and ER70S-6 means the same thing despite the different-looking code. Both deposits are rated at 70 ksi minimum, as confirmed in the ER70S-6 wire data sheet and the matching electrode specifications.

That number is where the stick-is-stronger argument quietly falls apart. A qualified SMAW joint in E7018 and a qualified GMAW joint in ER70S-6, in the same base metal, carry the same allowable stresses on the same drawing. The AWS D1.1 structural welding code does not ask which process deposited the metal, only what the classification and base metal are.

Prequalified base metal and filler combinations

AWS D1.1 Table 3.1, with parallel tables in D1.6 for stainless and D1.2 for aluminum, lists prequalified base metal and filler combinations, so obvious pairings need no separate qualification. ASTM A36 and ASTM A572 Grade 50 both appear there with SMAW grades E6010 and E7018 and with GMAW filler including ER70S-6, meaning code writers had already treated these sticks and this wire as interchangeable for the same base metal. Annexes L and M add informative filler metal strength tables, and AWS A5.36 defines fixed and open classifications for multiple-pass FCAW and GMAW metal-cored consumables, which is where the higher deposition rate wires and their strength levels are defined.

How the allowable stress actually works

Load case (AWS D1.1)	Limit from filler metal	Limit from base metal
Tension normal to the effective throat	0.60 × FEXX	0.60 × base metal yield strength
Shear on the effective throat	0.30 × FEXX	0.40 × base metal yield strength

Run the numbers with A36 steel (36 ksi yield) and 70 ksi filler. Tension is capped at 42 ksi from the filler but only 21.6 ksi from the base metal, so the base metal governs. Shear is capped at 21 ksi from the filler and 14.4 ksi from the base metal, so again the base metal governs. Nothing in that arithmetic knows whether you held a rod or a gun. The formulas sit in the publicly available text of AWS D1.1.

ASME takes the same idea in a different direction. Section IX Table QW-432 groups consumables into F-Numbers for qualification: F-No. 3 for E6010 and E6011, F-No. 4 for E7018 and E7018M, and F-No. 6 for ER70S-2, ER70S-3, and ER70S-6. Because one F-Number can cover several classifications, a procedure qualified on ER70S-6 also covers the other F-6 wires, which is why fabricators keep both stick and MIG on the same job.

Low-hydrogen practice is part of the specification

E7016 and E7018 are low-hydrogen electrodes, and that label only means something if you protect them from moisture. Producers ship them in sealed containers, and busy shops keep them in a rod oven or electrode heater so damp air never reaches the coating. Manufacturer handling guides spell out storage conditions, re-drying limits, and how long a rod can sit exposed before discard.

There is also a toughness upgrade. E7016 and E7018 can carry a -1 suffix when the manufacturer demonstrates a 20 ft-lb (21 J) Charpy V-notch impact requirement at -20°F (-46°C). Electrode data sheets and the AWS pocket handbook list these designations, and specifying the suffix is how you make toughness part of the purchase order instead of a hope.

Matching strength outside carbon steel

• Stainless: AWS A5.4 covers stainless electrodes including E308, E308L, E309, E316 and E316L, and AWS D1.6 covers stainless welding in structural work. E308L is the standard match for 304L and E316L for 316L. The low carbon suffix matters in corrosive service, so do not swap an L grade for a standard one without checking weld metal chemistry.
• Aluminum: AWS A5.10 sets the electrode and wire classifications and AWS D1.2 covers aluminum structures. ER4043 and ER5356 do nearly all the work. Aluminum is unforgiving about oxide, so prep decides the joint more than the wire does: read the guide to prepping aluminum for welding first, then the aluminum MIG guide for wire selection.
• Low-alloy and HSLA: AWS A5.5 covers low-alloy steel electrodes. Keep weld metal chemistry close to the base metal and slightly over-strengthened rather than under-matched; the alloy steel electrode guide covers the coating and strength families. Weighing coatings instead of numbers? The all-position rod guide shows what each classification is designed for.

Common base metals and matching consumables

Base metal	Matching SMAW electrode	Matching GMAW wire	Note
ASTM A36 (Fy 36 ksi)	E6010, E7018	ER70S-6	Filler over-strengthened, base metal governs
ASTM A572 Gr 50 (Fy 50 ksi)	E7018	ER70S-6, ER70S-8/9	Pair with A5.36 metal-cored wire
ASTM A106 Gr B pipe	E6010, E7018	ER70S-6	ASME IX governs procedure qualification
304L stainless	E308L	ER308L	AWS A5.4 and D1.6
316L stainless	E316L	ER316L	Chloride service, low carbon for corrosion
5052 / 6061-T6 aluminum	E5356 (AC)	ER4043, ER5356	AWS A5.10 and D1.2
HSLA / low-alloy plate	E7018, E8018	ER70S-6, ER80S-D1	AWS A5.5

Strength is only half the requirement; toughness is the other half. A 70 ksi deposit that is brittle at service temperature can fail at a lower load than a matching-strength weld that stays ductile, which is what published process comparisons measure when they report Charpy impact energy and microhardness profiles across the heat-affected zone in comparative welding studies. Specify matching strength and toughness together, and say so on the WPS.

Choosing Between Stick and MIG for Real Jobs

Everything so far compresses into one practical question: for the job in front of you this week, which process gives a code-acceptable weld with the least hassle? The answer shifts with material, environment and how much cleanup you can tolerate.

Six jobs, six answers

1. Field repair of structural steel on a bridge or inside a plant. Go stick, normally with an E7018 electrode. The steel is dirty or weathered, wind picks up, and there is no gas cylinder at the curb. A flux-coated electrode does not care, because the coating supplies its own shielding. E7018 is a matching-strength, low-hydrogen, all-position filler for common structural grades, and its slag blankets hot metal from wind and moisture. Store rods in a rod oven or hot box, though, or you lose the low-hydrogen benefit you paid for. Why SMAW still wins in the field digs in further.
2. Production shop fabricating sheet metal brackets. Go MIG. Continuous wire means far more arc-on time per shift, and spray transfer lays down a flatter, cleaner bead with less slag to knock off or grind. That speed and finish translate directly into dollars. For thin material, a 90/10 argon-CO2 mix gives better control than 75/25. Strength is rarely the deciding factor here, because sheet metal joints fail more often from distortion or bad fit-up than from filler strength.
3. Thick pressure vessel or pipe work to ASME code. Either process is acceptable, provided it is qualified. AWS D1.1 and ASME treat SMAW, GMAW and FCAW as separate processes with separate qualification tables and prequalified WPS tables, so the written procedure has to name the process you are actually running. ASME Section IX qualification is per process too. On code work, the procedure and the welder qualification matter far more than whether the arc was a stick or a wire.
4. Aluminum trailer or boat work. MIG almost always, using 100 percent argon with 4043 wire for general fabrication or 5356 where load-bearing strength is needed. Aluminum will not tolerate a dirty surface, so cleaning is not optional. Our aluminum MIG welding guide walks through the setup, and aluminum boat welding covers hull-specific joints. Stick on aluminum means AC, special electrodes and a much smaller process window.
5. Stainless food-grade or rail components. MIG with a tri-mix shielding gas, or GTAW where appearance and root control dominate. Purge the back side on food-grade and rail work so the root does not oxidize. Heat input, not filler choice, is what drives distortion and sensitization here. E308L matches 304L, E316L matches 316L.
6. Farm and off-road repair with no power infrastructure. Stick wins on simplicity: one inverter, no gas, no wire feeder to strip and maintain. Where structural field erection needs more deposition speed and no gas is available, self-shielded flux-cored wire under AWS A5.20 is the standard answer.

The home shop learning path

Be honest about the learning curve. Stick is steeper in the first weeks because of electrode angle, the drag technique, and slag that must be chipped and ground between passes. MIG lets you make a decent bead sooner, but it adds gas, wire and machine setup to learn. The saving grace with stick is that it forgives dirty steel and needs no gas bottle.

Job type decision table

Job type	Recommended process	Consumable	Key reason	Strength caveat
Field structural repair	Stick	E7018	No gas, dirty/windy tolerant	70 ksi class, low hydrogen
Sheet metal production	MIG	ER70S-6	Deposition rate and finish	Not strength-critical
ASME pressure work	Either, if qualified	Matching filler	Procedure compliance	WPS must name the process
Aluminum trailer or boat	MIG	4043 or 5356	Stable arc, clean aluminum	5356 for load-bearing
Stainless food-grade or rail	MIG with tri-mix, or GTAW	E308L / E316L	Control of heat and appearance	Purge the root
Farm and off-road repair	Stick	E6013 or E7018	Self-contained setup	Watch electrode angle

What it actually costs

Look at cost per pound of deposited metal, not cost per pound of consumable. A 14 inch E7018 rod still leaves an unusable stub in the holder, and AWS Pocket Handbook data reflects the fact that you pay for the whole rod. Wire is close to fully usable and needs no rod oven.

Then add the gas. A 330 cfm cylinder of 75/25 argon-CO2 has to be stored upright, capped and protected from damage, and regulators and hoses must stay dry and free of oil or grease, which is a common cause of porosity. See our gas and cylinder guide for storage details. Electricity is comparable, but MIG puts more metal down per arc-on hour, and that labor saving is usually the biggest line item in any real comparison.

For structural steel, the cheapest path is the qualified process that produces the least rework. A repair cycle costs far more than a few pounds of wire.

Choosing a first machine

A single-process stick machine is the simplest investment: fewer controls, no gas, no feeder to maintain. A shop that will do both can start with MIG and add an inverter for stick, because both processes run on the same inverter power source technology and one machine can handle both with the right accessories.

Common Mistakes That Make Either Process Weak

The gap between a strong weld and a weak one is rarely the cost of the machine. It is a handful of habits any decent welder could fix in a week. The 2025 Scientific Reports comparison of SMAW and GMAW on IS 2062 E350 steel shows both processes landing within a few percent of each other on tensile strength, but only when both are run properly.

Stick (SMAW) mistakes that weaken the joint

• Dragging instead of striking an arc. Strike to start, then drag at about a 45 degree angle at a steady speed. Too fast gives a cold, narrow bead with poor penetration; too slow burns through or traps slag.
• Wrong electrode for the position. The third digit in an AWS classification lists usable positions, and picking the wrong one is a code violation. E6013 is rutile, for flat and horizontal work only; vertical and overhead need an all-position electrode like E7012 or E7018. See our all position welding rod guide.
• Cold or damp electrodes. Low-hydrogen electrodes rely on a baked, dry coating, and AWS A5.1 sets moisture content requirements for low-hydrogen coverings. A damp E7018 gives off hydrogen during the arc, and that hydrogen drives cracking in the weld and heat-affected zone. Keep E7016 and E7018 in a rod oven.
• Leaving slag between passes. Weld over solidified flux and you weld slag into the joint: lack of fusion, porosity, and crack-initiating inclusions. Chip and brush every pass.
• Burning the electrode into the work. Drag too hard or the arc sputters out and the tip freezes to the workpiece, leaving a crater and a keyhole-shaped defect mid-joint. Break it free, chip to good metal, re-strike slightly ahead.
• Wrong amperage for the diameter. Too much gives a wide, flat bead with undercut at the toes and coarse, brittle grain; too little gives a narrow, cold bead with slag inclusions. The operating range is printed on the electrode packaging and in the AWS Pocket Handbook.

MIG (GMAW) mistakes that weaken the joint

• Wrong shielding gas or insufficient flow. The gas shields the molten pool from oxygen and nitrogen. Too little flow, a draft, or the wrong mix pulls atmosphere into the pool and you get porosity, often a sponge-like bead. Check flow at the nozzle, check for leaks, and match the mix to the wire datasheet.
• Wrong wire stickout. Too short and the wire touches the work, causing stubbing and spatter; too long and the arc wanders and penetration drops. Most solid wire setups run roughly 3/8 to 1/2 inch stickout for spray and short-circuit transfer, and feed speed must match amperage. If the machine fights you, check feed speed and spool tension.
• Pushing too much wire. Set the feed speed higher than the machine can supply at the set voltage and the wire drives the contact tip into the puddle, spits droplets, burns through thin material, and adds heat beyond the parameters you set.
• Whipping the puddle. Moving the gun in and out to let it cool stops the puddle from consolidating, traps slag at the toes, and leaves an erratic bead. Control heat with travel speed or a smaller diameter wire.
• Welding over mill scale, rust, or paint. Mill scale is a brittle oxide skin that melts and flicks off; rust is water and oxygen in the joint. Clean to bright metal first, and expect more trouble on aluminum, where the oxide reforms in seconds. Our aluminum cleaner prep guideCommon Mistakes That Make Either Process Weak

  The gap between a strong weld and a weak one is rarely the cost of the machine. It is a handful of habits any decent welder could fix in a week. The 2025 Scientific Reports comparison of SMAW and GMAW on IS 2062 E350 steel shows both processes landing within a few percent of each other on tensile strength, but only when both are run properly.

  Stick (SMAW) mistakes that weaken the joint

  • Dragging instead of striking an arc. Strike to start, then drag at about a 45 degree angle at a steady speed. Too fast gives a cold, narrow bead with poor penetration; too slow burns through or traps slag.
  • Wrong electrode for the position. The third digit in an AWS classification lists usable positions, and picking the wrong one is a code violation. E6013 is rutile, for flat and horizontal work only; vertical and overhead need an all-position electrode like E7012 or E7018. See our all position welding rod guide.
  • Cold or damp electrodes. Low-hydrogen electrodes rely on a baked, dry coating, and AWS A5.1 sets moisture content requirements for low-hydrogen coverings. A damp E7018 gives off hydrogen during the arc, and that hydrogen drives cracking in the weld and heat-affected zone. Keep E7016 and E7018 in a rod oven.
  • Leaving slag between passes. Weld over solidified flux and you weld slag into the joint: lack of fusion, porosity, and crack-initiating inclusions. Chip and brush every pass.
  • Burning the electrode into the work. Drag too hard or the arc sputters out and the tip freezes to the workpiece, leaving a crater and a keyhole-shaped defect mid-joint. Break it free, chip to good metal, re-strike slightly ahead.
  • Wrong amperage for the diameter. Too much gives a wide, flat bead with undercut at the toes and coarse, brittle grain; too little gives a narrow, cold bead with slag inclusions. The operating range is printed on the electrode packaging and in the AWS Pocket Handbook.

  MIG (GMAW) mistakes that weaken the joint

  • Wrong shielding gas or insufficient flow. The gas shields the molten pool from oxygen and nitrogen. Too little flow, a draft, or the wrong mix pulls atmosphere into the pool and you get porosity, often a sponge-like bead. Check flow at the nozzle, check for leaks, and match the mix to the wire datasheet.
  • Wrong wire stickout. Too short and the wire touches the work, causing stubbing and spatter; too long and the arc wanders and penetration drops. Most solid wire setups run roughly 3/8 to 1/2 inch stickout for spray and short-circuit transfer, and feed speed must match amperage. If the machine fights you, check feed speed and spool tension.
  • Pushing too much wire. Set the feed speed higher than the machine can supply at the set voltage and the wire drives the contact tip into the puddle, spits droplets, burns through thin material, and adds heat beyond the parameters you set.
  • Whipping the puddle. Moving the gun in and out to let it cool stops the puddle from consolidating, traps slag at the toes, and leaves an erratic bead. Control heat with travel speed or a smaller diameter wire.
  • Welding over mill scale, rust, or paint. Mill scale is a brittle oxide skin that melts and flicks off; rust is water and oxygen in the joint. Clean to bright metal first, and expect more trouble on aluminum, where the oxide reforms in seconds. Our aluminum cleaner prep guide covers what actually removes it.

  Mistakes that are common to both processes

  • Welding a dirty joint. Grease, oil, moisture, and paint all end up in the weld. Clean to bright metal within a few inches of the joint.
  • Skipping preheat on thick or cold stock. Cold plate pulls heat out of the puddle faster than the metal can flow, raising residual stress. Combined with hydrogen from the consumable, that produces delayed cracking days after the weld passed inspection. The Cambridge study on 700 MPa grade steel showed an under-strengthened SMAW weld metal developing micro-cracks in bend testing, with manganese and silicon oxides clustered around the cracks.
  • Skipping or botching the root pass. In a complete joint penetration weld, an incomplete root is a rejectable defect that no amount of cap welding will fix.
  • Ignoring the plate or trusting a visual check. Without the carbon equivalent you do not know if hydrogen cracking is a risk, and a good-looking bead can hide porosity, incomplete fusion, or a cracked root.
  • Failing to qualify the procedure. AWS D1.1 separates prequalified WPSs from those qualified by test, publishes detail tables for SMAW, FCAW-S, FCAW-G, GMAW, and GMAW-S, and lists the essential variable changes for SMAW, SAW, GMAW, FCAW, and GTAW that force requalification. Change the process, consumable, position, or heat input and you need a qualification, not an opinion.

  Quick Note: Symptom to Cause

  Symptom	Likely Cause
  Porous, spongy bead	Low gas flow, wrong mix, dirty joint, damp consumable
  Undercut at the toe	Amperage too high, arc too long, weaving
  Lack of fusion	Travel speed too fast, slag or oxide in the joint
  Cracking	Hydrogen, no preheat, high restraint, high carbon equivalent plate

  Short Note: Code work requires a written, qualified WPS backed by a PQR. A welder’s confidence is not evidence, and neither is a passing visual inspection.

  None of this changes the original answer. Stick and MIG can both produce 70 ksi class weld metal that meets or exceeds base metal strength. The strength gap people blame on the process is really a workmanship gap, and fixing the habits turns process choice back into what it should be: a decision about speed, environment, and logistics.

  Safety, Codes, and Verification: Proving Your Weld Is Strong Enough

  Strength isn’t proven by how a bead looks. Whether you run stick or MIG, proof comes from two things: controlling exposure to welding fume, and verifying the joint through qualification and inspection. The process name itself carries no advantage here. The evidence does.

  The Health Picture: Welding Fume

  The OSHA Fact Sheet 3647 on welding lays out both the immediate and long-term risks. A single shift in a poorly ventilated area can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, along with dizziness and nausea. Over time, exposure has been linked to lung damage, cancers of the lung, larynx, and urinary tract, metal fume fever from zinc oxide, and manganese exposure with possible Parkinson-like symptoms.

  Stainless steel is where these risks tighten the most. According to OSHA Fact Sheet 3647, welding converts chromium into its hexavalent state, and the permissible exposure limit for hexavalent chromium is 5 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour time-weighted average, regulated under 29 CFR 1910.1026 and 1926.1126. This isn’t about handling Cr(VI) itself, it’s about the arc creating it.

  The NIOSH Pocket Guide entry for welding fumes lists welding fumes as a potential occupational carcinogen with lung cancer as the cancer site. Crucially, there is no general OSHA PEL for welding fumes, only an Appendix G reference for nuisance dusts. With no single number to rely on for general fume, the responsibility falls to proper control.

  Quick Note: OSHA requires local exhaust or general ventilating systems to keep toxic fumes below the maximum allowable concentration, per 29 CFR 1910.252(c)(1)(iii). If ventilation cannot reach that limit, the answer is respiratory protection or a different approach, not working through it.

  The Control Hierarchy

  When it comes to fume, the fix should always follow this order:

  1. Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) – A hood or extraction arm placed close to the arc to capture fume at the source. This is the most effective option.
  2. General ventilation – Adequate shop airflow to dilute any remaining fume. This should never replace LEV on its own for heavy work.
  3. Respiratory protection – Strictly a last line of defense for short jobs, unusual situations, or confined spaces.

  The benefit is measurable. Per the NIOSH engineering controls database entry on welding local exhaust ventilation, without LEV, total welding fume concentrations ranged from 2 to 60 mg/m³, while adding ventilation brought them down to 3 to 13 mg/m³.

  Two points are worth keeping in mind. First, welding outdoors is not automatically safe. Without a ceiling or controlled cross-draft, fume can still accumulate around your breathing zone. Second, confined space welding requires its own plan, including a permit, atmospheric testing, and either assisted ventilation or supplied air. An open garage door on a still day does not qualify as either.

  Process-Specific Fume Notes

  • Stick welding: Cellulose electrodes, such as the E6010 family, tend to produce noticeably more fume than low-hydrogen basic electrodes like E7018. More fume means a higher ventilation demand, not a stronger weld.
  • MIG on stainless: This carries an increased risk of chromium and nickel fume, tying directly back to the Cr(VI) limit above.
  • Gas cylinders: Shielding gas is a compressed gas hazard. Cylinders must stay upright, chained or secured, fitted with the correct regulator, and protected from damage.

  For those working with aluminum, fume and prep go hand in hand. Our guide to prepping aluminum correctly before welding covers the cleaning steps needed before any shielding gas rules come into play.

  How Strength Is Actually Verified

  Once safety controls are in place, the next step is proof of strength. This comes in two layers: qualification, and inspection.

  Procedure and welder qualification. The AWS D1.1 structural welding code defines how a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and a welder must be qualified. Common tests include:

  • Macroetch: Reveals full fusion, proper penetration, and any internal defects in the test coupon.
  • Bend tests: Face, root, or side bends prove the weld and heat-affected zone can deform without cracking.
  • Tensile tests: All-weld-metal coupons confirm the deposited metal meets its classification strength.
  • Fillet weld break tests: Used for fillet joints to verify throat size and soundness, the test that matters most for brackets and connections.

  AWS D1.1 also allows certain joints to be prequalified for processes like SMAW, GMAW-S, and FCAW. This isn’t a blanket pass for the process, it’s proof that a properly qualified procedure, filler, and joint can meet the code.

  Inspection and NDT. Visual inspection is only the baseline. For critical joints, methods such as radiography (RT) or ultrasonic testing (UT) are used to find internal flaws like porosity, incomplete fusion, or cracks. For high-liability work, a third-party inspector is often the most efficient way to remove any guesswork.

  Codes For Other Contexts

  • ASME Section IX: The go-to code for pressure vessels and piping, with its own ranges for procedure and welder qualification.
  • AWS D1.6 for stainless, and AWS D1.2 for aluminum. These adjust qualification requirements to fit the physics of each base metal. For shop application of the latter, our practical guide to aluminum MIG welding is a helpful pairing.
  • ISO 9606-1 for welder qualification and ISO 15614 for procedure qualification, both widely used for international contract work.

  Short Note: To prove your welds are strong enough: (1) Identify the base metal and its yield strength. (2) Use a matching-strength filler classification. (3) Write and qualify a WPS. (4) Qualify the welder against it. (5) Inspect with visual plus NDT on critical joints. (6) Keep mill certs, WPS, PQR, and inspection reports on file. If any of these are missing, you have an opinion, not proof.

  The codes don’t pick stick over MIG. They test the filler metal, the procedure, and the workmanship. And when safety and verification are both accounted for, the cheapest strong weld will always be the one that passes inspection the first time.

  Conclusion: Match the Process to the Job, Not to the Myth

  So here is the honest answer to the question you came with: stick welding is not inherently stronger than MIG welding. When both processes are run with matching-strength consumables, a qualified procedure, and clean workmanship, the deposited weld metal lands in the same strength band, usually the 60 to 70 ksi class. E7018 electrodes and ER70S-6 wire are both 70 ksi class consumables, and both are listed as matching-strength fillers for common structural steels such as ASTM A36 and A572 Grade 50 in AWS D1.1. The name on the box changes how you get there, not where you end up.

  The published data backs this up. In the 2025 comparison of GMAW and SMAW joints on IS 2062 E350 structural steel, the spread between the two processes in ultimate tensile strength was about 6.6 percent. That is a gap easily explained by electrode or wire selection, amperage, voltage, and travel speed rather than by the process itself. If you felt that spread in your gut, you were probably comparing one careful weld against one careless one.

  Three things genuinely differ

  • Toughness and diffusible hydrogen behavior. Low-hydrogen SMAW electrodes such as E7016 and E7018 and a properly shielded GMAW setup with clean, dry shielding gas both deliver sound notch toughness and low diffusible hydrogen. Bad practice ruins either process just as thoroughly. A damp electrode or a moisture-laden shielding gas will drive hydrogen into the heat-affected zone and open the door to delayed cracking, no matter which torch you picked up.
  • Heat-affected-zone width and distortion. The size of the softened zone and the amount of twist in your part track heat input, arc time, and preheat, not the process label. Hold amperage and travel speed roughly constant and the two processes produce similar HAZ geometry. Control the heat and you control the zone.
  • Environment and logistics. This is where stick genuinely earns its reputation. No gas cylinders, no wire feed to jam, works in wind, rain, and dust, and the slag tells you where the weld is. It is also why the advantages of stick welding keep coming up in field work. In a production shop, MIG wins on cycle time, finish, and automation. That is a logistics decision, not a strength decision.

  Quick Note: If you can hold a qualified procedure and clean the joint before you strike an arc, choose the process your environment supports. If you are unsure about the consumable, E7018 or ER70S-6 will match the base metal in the overwhelming majority of structural work.

  One important footnote: matching filler metal does not mean matching qualification. AWS D1.1 defines minimum fillet weld sizes and prequalified groove weld dimensions separately by process, which is why a procedure specification has to name the process being used. A WPS qualified with SMAW does not automatically cover GMAW, and vice versa, even when the deposited strength classification is identical.

  Your next five steps

  1. Identify the base metal and its yield strength. Find the grade and the mill yield from the material stamp or the mill certificate. Everything downstream depends on this number.
  2. Look up the matching filler classification. Check the AWS D1.1 prequalified combinations table and choose a consumable whose strength equals or exceeds the base metal. For carbon steel, an all-position rod guide helps narrow the electrode choices.
  3. Write or adopt a WPS. Specify the process, the consumable, the positions, the parameters, preheat, and filler pass details.
  4. Qualify it. Run the procedure qualification record with the bend and tensile tests the code calls for.
  5. Verify the critical work. Radiography, ultrasonic testing, or third-party inspection where the service load or the code demands it.

  Note: To keep learning on your own, start by reading the mill certificate or the electrode spec sheet that ships with your consumable. It confirms the actual classification, mechanical properties, and lot number you can trace back later. For a non-critical joint at home, you can make a simple bend coupon from matching filler and bend it over a radius to check ductility and fusion. It will not qualify your welds for code work, but it teaches you what a sound weld feels like.

  When you are ready to go deeper on the process itself, the aluminum MIG welding guide covers the case where a swap to GMAW changes everything, and aerospace TIG welding shows what a third process looks like when cleanliness and control matter more than arc time. Pick the process your job, your shop, and your weather support, then put your effort into the joint prep and the procedure. That is where strength actually comes from.

  Frequently Asked Questions

  Is stick welding stronger than MIG welding?

  No. Stick (SMAW) and MIG (GMAW) can produce weld metal of essentially the same strength when the consumable, procedure, and workmanship are right. Both product families include 60 ksi and 70 ksi class fillers, and a code-compliant E7018 joint and a code-compliant ER70S-6 joint in the same base metal get the same allowable stress. Where they differ is toughness, heat-affected-zone behavior, and how well each survives a bad environment.

  Which process makes the strongest weld for structural steel?

  For structural steel the process matters far less than the filler metal and the procedure. AWS D1.1 bases the allowable stress on FEXX and on the base metal yield strength, so E7018 (FEXX 70 ksi) and ER70S-6 (FEXX 70 ksi) produce identical design strength. Choose the process your environment and shop can execute most reliably, then qualify it with a written WPS and mechanical tests.

  Does stick welding penetrate deeper than MIG, and does that make it stronger?

  Cellulose electrodes such as E6010 do give a deeper penetration profile, and deep penetration can reduce the amount of filler needed on a groove weld. But penetration is a joint geometry outcome, not a strength rating. A 2025 comparison study on E350 steel actually found GMAW produced greater penetration under its parameters, and the authors still rated the GMAW joints slightly better overall because of toughness and hardness distribution.

  Which is better for outdoor or field welding?

  Stick, almost every time. The flux coating shields the pool with a protective slag, so wind, dust, rust, and cold weather degrade the weld far less than they degrade gas-shielded MIG. Stick also needs no cylinders, no gas regulator, and no wire feeder, so it is far easier to power from a generator or truck.

  Which is better for thin sheet metal?

  MIG. With 0.030 to 0.035 inch wire it welds thin gauge cleanly and quickly with minimal burn-through, while stick welding on thin material is hard to control because of the large arc and the need to drag slowly. For stainless and aluminum thin work, MIG is the standard answer in most shops.

  Can you weld aluminum with stick welding?

  Yes, using AC power and aluminum-specific electrodes, but it is far more difficult than MIG on aluminum. Aluminum oxide must be removed and the arc must be broken repeatedly to clean the puddle, which makes the result inconsistent for most fabricators. MIG with an appropriate spool and shielding mix is the normal production choice.

  Is stick welding safer than MIG in terms of fumes?

  Neither is fume-free. Welding fume can cause metal fume fever and, over time, lung, laryngeal, and urinary tract cancers, and OSHA sets a permissible exposure limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter for hexavalent chromium. Stick adds flux and slag products to the fume stream, while MIG adds stainless or galvanized fume risks, so both need local exhaust ventilation and, where exposure remains high, proper respirator use.

  How do I know a weld is actually strong enough?

  Do not estimate. Identify the base metal and its yield strength, pick a matching or over-matching filler classification, and run the joint on a written WPS qualified to AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, or the code that governs your work. Then verify with mechanical testing and, for critical welds, nondestructive testing such as radiography or ultrasonic inspection.