Stick Welding Name: Every SMAW Alias Explained

Quick Note: If a search returns nothing useful, repeat it with the other aliases: try “MMA welding electrode selection,” “flux-shielded arc welding procedure,” or “manual arc welding certification.” You are almost always looking at the same process under a different regional label.

Quick Note: Every SMAW arc needs four things: (1) a power source capable of delivering the right current, (2) a complete circuit running through the work clamp and workpiece, (3) a consumable flux-coated electrode, and (4) a maintained arc gap. Lose any one of them, and the arc stalls or the weld is unprotected.

Note: The physics never change. Whether a drawing says SMAW, MMA or flux-shielded arc welding, the arc, the flux decomposition, the shielding gas, the slag and the consumable core wire behave identically. The names describe the same machine doing the same job.

Quick Note: Watch for “buzz box”: the nickname for older transformer-based stick machines, which hum loudly while running. American shops use it affectionately to set those heavy units apart from modern inverters. If someone calls your new lightweight machine a buzz box, they are teasing you.

Quick Note: The word “stick” also lives in “stick-out” — the distance the electrode or wire extends past the contact tip or holder. It matters most in wire processes like FCAW, but the fact that the same root word shows up across arc welding shows how deeply the metaphor runs in the trade’s language.

Note: When you shop, “stick welder,” “arc welder” and “MMA machine” all point to the same category of power source. Knowing the aliases keeps you from thinking you found a different process at a better price.

Quick Note: Reading a WPS header tells you which name family you are in. Look at the procedure specification’s Process line: “SMAW” or “GTAW” with an AWS reference means US/AWS naming; a three-digit code such as 111 means ISO 4063 naming; a “QW” reference plus a process number means ASME Section IX. Same arc

The Other Stick Welding Names: Decoding Electrode Codes Like E6013 and E7018

There is a second naming system hiding inside every stick welding conversation, and it trips beginners more often than the process aliases ever do. The print says SMAW. The box says E7018. The welder burning the beads calls it “low hydrogen,” the foreman calls it “the 70,” and the supply catalog calls it a 3/32 all-position iron powder electrode. Same stick, four labels, and a beginner standing at the counter unsure which box to ask for.

Process names tell you how the welding happens. Electrode names tell you what you are burning: the strength, the usable positions and the flux chemistry of that specific consumable. Both layers matter, and mixing them up is exactly how someone ends up trying to run a 7018 on a machine that cannot supply the current it needs.

How the AWS Electrode Code Works

The system you will meet in the US comes from the American Welding Society’s AWS A5.1 specification for carbon steel electrodes for shielded metal arc welding, and the AWS numbering convention reads left to right, one digit group at a time:

• E — electrode. Every stick rod code starts with it.
• First two digits — minimum tensile strength in thousands of pounds per square inch. A 60,000 psi rod is a 60xx; E7018 yields a 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength, so it is a 70xx.
• Third digit — welding positions. “1” means all-position capability (flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead). “2” means flat and horizontal only, which is why rods like E7024 stay in the downhand lane.
• Final digit — coating type and the current it runs on: 10, 11, 12, 13, 18 and the rest of the family.

So a single glance at E7018 tells you: electrode, 70,000 psi minimum, all positions, 18-type low-hydrogen coating. E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013 and E7018 are the common mild-steel stick electrodes defined under AWS A5.1, and they cover the vast majority of what a beginner or maintenance welder will ever strike an arc with.

The four rods worth knowing by heart:

The coating drives the arc behavior. Cellulose coatings on 6010 and 6011 give a forceful, digging arc that blows through mill scale; rutile on the 6013 gives the soft, forgiving arc beginners love; the 7018’s basic coating produces a smooth bead with an iron powder boost and very little spatter. The trade-off is hydrogen control: E7018 is a low-hydrogen electrode that must be kept dry, so opened rods go into a rod oven or baked packaging to prevent hydrogen-induced cracking and porosity.

Rod Nicknames: “Low Hydrogen,” “5P+” and “Running Rod”

Nicknames are where rod talk and process talk start colliding. Ask for “a box of rod” and you have said nothing at all — rod is the generic word every stick consumable answers to. Ask for “the 6013” and you have picked a coating and an arc style. Ask for “low hydrogen” or “7018 stick” and you have signaled that the joint is structural and someone will likely inspect it.

Pipeline shops run on shorthand. Names like “5P+” get spoken the way other trades say “7018,” but they trace back to specific brand rods rather than to any AWS code, so confirm the actual classification on the box before you order or qualify on one. Filler-specific labels work the same way: a “hardfacing rod” is named for the job it does, not for the process, and it still runs as SMAW under the hood. The rod code itself stays the same worldwide, so as the TWI manual metal arc process description makes clear, a 7018 on a UK drawing is still a 7018 on the box.

For a deeper dive into how rod choice changes position work, see our all-position welding rod guide, and for filler metals beyond plain mild steel, our alloy steel electrodes resource covers selection, use and safety.

The practical takeaway is simple: read the code before you read the label marketing. E, strength, position, coating. Four pieces of information that tell you the machine settings, the joint positions you can weld and the storage rules you have to follow, all in five characters and all independent of whether the print calls the process stick, SMAW or MMA.

Stick Welding vs MIG vs TIG: How the Names Shape the Choice

Half the confusion in a job interview or a supply-house conversation comes from people using one process’s nickname for another. “MIG” gets thrown around to mean any wire feeder, “TIG” gets used for anything that looks neat, and “flux-cored” gets mistaken for the flux coating on a stick rod. Before you can choose the right process, you need to know what each formal name actually describes.

The Four Neighbours: GMAW, GTAW, FCAW and SAW

GMAW — Gas Metal Arc Welding, universally called “MIG” (historically metal inert gas), feeds a bare consumable wire continuously from a spool while an external cylinder pushes shielding gas over the puddle. The wire is both the electrode and the filler, so there is no rod to change and no coating to burn off. That is why MIG wins on speed: higher deposition rates and faster travel speeds than stick, with almost no slag to chip. The trade-off is that the gas envelope is fragile, so the base metal has to be reasonably clean and the cylinder has to travel with you. Our Aluminum MIG Welding: The Complete Practical Guide walks through that gas-shielding dependency in detail.

GTAW — Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, known everywhere as “TIG,” uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode; the filler metal is added separately by hand. Because nothing from the electrode enters the weld, the arc is precise and the bead is clean and attractive. TIG is the process commonly specified for stainless, aluminum and root passes where the inside of the joint has to look as good as the outside, as our Aerospace TIG Welding: Standards, Techniques, and Training guide explains.

FCAW — Flux-Cored Arc Welding is stick’s closest cousin. Instead of a coating wrapped around a solid rod, the flux lives inside a tubular wire that feeds through a gun. Conceptually it is the same trick: flux that decomposes into shielding gas and slag. Dual-shield FCAW needs an external gas; self-shielded wire does not, which is why self-shielded FCAW also tolerates outdoor work. See Aluminum Flux Core Welding: What Actually Works in 2026 for where flux-cored wire genuinely performs on aluminum.

SAW — Submerged Arc Welding buries the arc under a blanket of granular flux on flat, automated seams: pressure vessels, tank floors and heavy plate. There is no visible arc and no stick-style manual work.

Side by Side: Shielding, Portability and Cleanup

Why the Stick Name Refuses to Leave the Field

The physics explains the loyalty. A stick electrode makes its own shielding gas and its own slag right at the arc, so a breeze that would blow the gas envelope off a MIG puddle barely bothers SMAW. Add the fact that you can carry an inverter stick machine, a clamp and a bundle of electrodes up a tower or into a trench with no cylinder to secure, and it is obvious why “stick welder” remains the default search term for field work. As TWI describes the manual metal arc process, the coating supplies both the shielding gas and the slag that protects the solidifying metal — the same principle the Shielded Metal Arc Welding entry summarizes.

Choosing by Situation, Not by Nickname

• Pick stick when portability and wind tolerance matter: field repair, pipeline tie-ins, structural steel, maintenance in a ditch.
• Pick MIG for indoor speed on clean material: fabrication benches, sheet work, repetitive production.
• Pick TIG when the weld must be precise, cosmetic or code-specified for stainless and aluminum.
• Pick FCAW for heavy thickness where you want higher deposition but still need flux’s penetration on dirty or heavy plate.

One practical rule carries across all four: the process name on your procedure matters. A print that says SMAW wants stick; a print that says GMAW wants wire and gas. Read the name first, then reach for the machine. Fronius’s overview of stick welding makes the same point from the equipment side — the process definition drives the setup.

Why Stick Welding Won’t Die: Benefits, Jobs and Real-World Use

Every few years someone declares stick welding obsolete: MIG is faster, TIG is prettier, nobody wants to chip slag. Yet SMAW still shows up on the biggest jobs in the country — bridges, pipelines, shipyards, pressure vessels — and the workforce numbers back it up. A century of competition from gas-shielded, flux-cored and automated alternatives has not displaced it.

The Cheapest Way to Start Arc Welding

Cost is the first and most stubborn advantage. A stick power source is the least expensive welding machine to buy and to keep running. No wire feeder to tune, no gas cylinder to rent or refill, no flowmeter to calibrate — just machine, holder, ground clamp, a heap of electrodes and a shield.

Maintenance stays cheap for the same reasons: fewer consumables, no liner, no drive rolls, and repair shops service stick machines everywhere because the design has barely changed in decades. For a hobbyist or one-person repair business, that low barrier is often the deciding factor. See our full breakdown of the advantages of stick welding for more.

Portability: One Box, One Hand, No Bottle

The second advantage is portability, and in the field it beats everything else. A stick rig is a power source, a stinger and a box of rods — no gas cylinder to strap to a cart. That matters when the work is 80 feet up a tower, at the bottom of a trench, or on a barge with no room to stage gear.

That portability extends to power: most small stick machines run on ordinary 120V or 240V input, so a welder can work off a generator, a shop circuit or a jobsite panel. On a remote pipeline spread or a rural repair call, that flexibility is the job.

It Welds Dirty Metal That MIG Won’t Touch

Here is the practical truth that separates stick from every gas-shielded process: SMAW does not care much about the condition of the steel. Mill scale, light rust, paint residue, oil film — the flux coating makes its own shielding gas and slag blanket, so the arc stays protected even on far-from-pristine metal. Contaminants that stick welds through can cause porosity, lack of fusion and scrapped parts in a MIG weld.

Stick also welds in every position with the right electrode: an all-position E6013 or E7018 handles overhead and vertical-up as easily as flat. Our all position welding rod guide covers which rods to pick and how each behaves out of position.

The Jobs: Where SMAW Still Dominates

Stick’s core territory is field and heavy work, where portability, wind tolerance and metal condition beat deposition rate:

• Pipeline construction: root passes and tie-ins in open air, where wind defeats gas shielding.
• Structural steel erection: beams, columns and connections welded in place on the jobsite.
• Shipbuilding and marine work: hulls, tanks and fittings in tight compartments.
• Pressure vessel and boiler work: code-welded joints under ASME inspection.
• Maintenance and heavy equipment repair: fixing broken iron where the machine comes to the work.

On all of these, SMAW stays dominant or indispensable: a gas-shielded rig cannot do a pipeline tie-in in a crosswind, and no MIG gun fits where a stick holder does. For marine context, our AJ Marine welding overview walks through how marine standards and practices apply.

The Workforce Reality

The employment picture explains why stick skills stay relevant. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics groups welders, cutters, solderers and brazers among the largest production occupations in the country, with roughly half a million workers employed nationwide and steady replacement demand as veterans retire or move on.

Because most of that work is field and structural, employers screen for stick capability first, and a resume listing SMAW alongside FCAW and GMAW covers the widest range of jobs. Certifications under AWS D1.1 or ASME Section IX are often written around SMAW procedures.

None of this makes stick welding right for everything. For sheet aluminum work, precision parts or high-speed production, other processes win. But for the messy, windy, awkward, load-bearing work that holds the built world together, SMAW remains the process the job calls by name — SMAW on the print, MMA in the contract, stick on the crew. The name changes; the work does not.

Safety, Certification and Common Mistakes Under the SMAW Name

Whether the print in front of you says SMAW, MMA or simply “stick,” the hazards travel with the process, not the label. The arc does not care what the foreman calls it. That is why an authoritative stick welding guide always covers safety first, then qualification, then technique: get those three right and the beads follow.

The Four Hazards OSHA Flags for Arc Welding

OSHA’s welding, cutting and brazing guidance groups the risks of arc welding operations into four categories that every stick welder should be able to recite from memory:

• Electric shock. The single most dangerous risk, and it escalates sharply in confined spaces, damp locations, on metal scaffolding, or when you change electrodes with sweaty hands on an open-circuit machine.
• Fire and explosion. Sparks and slag travel far, so cutting and welding near solvents, oils, paper or old structural members demands a hot-work permit, fire watch and cleared combustibles. OSHA’s hazards and solutions page walks through the controls.
• Radiant energy. The arc emits intense ultraviolet and infrared radiation. unprotected eyes get photokeratitis, commonly called arc eye or flash burn, and unprotected skin burns like a sunburn in minutes.
• Toxic fumes and gases. Flux coating, base metal, coatings and contaminants all vaporize into the breathing zone.

For that last category, OSHA published a dedicated fact sheet, Controlling Hazardous Fume and Gases during Welding, which lays out the hierarchy of controls in plain language: general ventilation, local exhaust at the arc, and respiratory protection when engineering controls are not enough.

What Is Actually in Welding Fumes

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards lists “welding fumes” as a workplace chemical hazard, with a critical caveat: composition depends on the base metal, any coating on it, and the electrode chemistry. Mild steel rod produces mostly iron oxides; galvanized steel adds zinc oxide, which causes metal fume fever; and stainless steel SMAW work can generate fumes containing hexavalent chromium and nickel compounds. In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified welding fumes as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), a decision summarized in The Lancet Oncology review of the IARC Monographs evaluation. The practical takeaway is unglamorous but non-negotiable: position your head outside the plume, use fume extraction, and keep a respirator in your bag.

PPE: The Minimum You Wear Every Time

Personal protective equipment is where most beginner shortcuts happen. The baseline kit for stick work, consistent with CCOHS welding PPE guidance, includes:

• A welding helmet with a lens shade matched to your amperage (typically shade 10 to 13 for SMAW), plus safety glasses worn underneath for chipping and grinding.
• Flame-resistant leathers: jacket or cape and sleeves, never a synthetic hoodie with the sleeves rolled up.
• Gloves rated for the process. Stick runs hot and produces coarse spatter, so heavier welders’ gloves beat thin TIG gloves here.
• Hearing protection and, when ventilation is poor, respiratory protection.

Certification: AWS D1.1 and ASME Section IX

Naming matters as much on paper as it does on the floor. The Aluminium Welding Course: What You Learn, Costs & Careers resource walks through training pathways generally, but the two documents that govern welder qualification in the US are AWS D1.1 for structural steel and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX for pressure work. AWS also runs its own Certified Welder program, where operators perform a practical test on a qualified procedure and renew by continuing to weld under that designation. Read the WPS header before you strike an arc: it tells you whether you are working under the SMAW or MMA name family, the electrode classification, the position and the required current.

Nine Beginner Mistakes Under the SMAW Name

Most failed tests and rejected beads trace back to the same short list:

1. Wrong rod for the position or the metal. Our All Position Welding Rod Guide: Types, Uses & Tips covers which classifications actually handle overhead and vertical.
2. Wrong polarity. A 6010 on DCEN will look and behave nothing like the same rod on DCEP.
3. Arc too long. Anything past roughly one electrode diameter and the shielding collapses.
4. Wrong amperage, usually too cold, which causes undercut-free but fused-poorly puddles and hard starting.
5. Travel speed off: too fast starves the joint, too slow piles it up.
6. Poor joint prep — mill scale, oil, rust or a too-narrow gap.
7. Skipping preheat on thick or high-carbon and alloy steels; see Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety for how sensitive these materials are.
8. Letting electrodes get wet, which destroys arc stability and raises hydrogen risk.
9. Failing to chip and wire-brush slag between passes, trapping it in the weld.

Get those habits right under whichever name your shop uses, and the certification test becomes a formality rather than a hurdle.

Getting Started Under Any Name: A Practical Roadmap and Conclusion

After going through every alias for this process, the most important thing to remember is a simple one: the formal, stick welding name is Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW). However, you’ll just as often see it referred to as Manual Metal Arc welding (MMA/MMAW), or flux-shielded arc welding depending on where you are. Knowing all of these names is what will allow you to properly read blueprints, job postings, and welding codes. With that in mind, here is a practical roadmap to get you started the right way.

Step 1: Decide Your Goal

Before buying any equipment, take some time to figure out exactly what you’ll be welding. If you’re strictly looking for hobby repairs around the garage, your setup can be much more affordable. However, if you’re aiming towards structural or code work, you’ll need to plan for certifications and stricter procedure requirements. Either way, having a concrete goal will save you time and money from the start.

Step 2: Get The Right Equipment

• Your Machine: For hobby work, a modern inverter stick machine within the 20–160A range is more than enough. For heavier, structural work, look into machines in the 250A+ range.
• Your Rods: Start off with a small assortment. E6013 rutile electrodes are the most forgiving for learning, E6011 is fantastic for dirty, rusty, or out-of-position steel, and E7018 low-hydrogen rods are ideal for stronger, structural passes once your technique is more consistent. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of positional rods in the future, take a look at our guide on all position welding rod selections.

Step 3: Learn Your Settings And Technique

When it comes to amperage, a solid starting point for SMAW is roughly one ampere per 0.001 inch of electrode diameter. For example, a 1/8-inch E6013 or E7018 will typically fall between 90–130 amps, however, you’ll always need to fine-tune based off of your machine and welding position. Beginners tend to learn the fastest on E6013, then progress to E6010 and E7018 as their arc control improves. Most importantly, focus just as much on your arc length, travel speed, and electrode angle as you do your amperage.

Step 4: Prioritize Safety, Training, and Procedure

Safety is non-negotiable. From day one, you should be utilizing proper PPE for the hazards that come along with this process. The CCOHS welding PPE guidelines are a great reference to ensure you’re covered from head to toe.

Additionally, if you ever plan to weld for work or towards code acceptance, you will need to learn how to read a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS). Reading a WPS correctly, including its process designation such as SMAW or MMA and the exact electrode, is essential, as welding to the wrong process or electrode will invalidate the qualified procedure entirely. For more in depth training, consider looking into a community college or an AWS-recognized course to get you on the path towards qualification.

Key Takeaways To Walk Away With

• One process, countless names: No matter if it’s called stick, rod welding, MMA/MMAW, flux-shielded arc welding, or SMAW, it’s all the same proven process.
• Start simple: Learn on E6013 first, master arc control, and work your way up to more specific rods once you’re consistent.
• The details matter: Always pay attention to your amperage, duty cycle, and joint preparation. These small details will make the biggest difference in your beads.
• Names matter for your career: Knowing every name for this process will make you a far better reader of prints, codes, certifications, and job postings going forward.

At the end of the day, the gear will only take you so far. The real skill comes from practice. Take your time, stay safe, and before you know it, no matter what name is written on the job, you’ll know exactly how to get the job done.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the official name for stick welding?

The formal technical name is Shielded Metal Arc Welding, abbreviated SMAW. It is also officially recognized as manual metal arc welding (MMA or MMAW) and flux-shielded arc welding. “Stick welding” is the informal shop term used worldwide.

Is stick welding the same as arc welding?

Arc welding is the broad family of welding processes that use an electric arc to melt metal, and SMAW is one process inside that family. Other arc welding processes include GMAW (MIG), GTAW (TIG), FCAW and SAW. So all stick welding is arc welding, but not all arc welding is stick welding.

What does SMAW stand for?

SMAW stands for Shielded Metal Arc Welding. The “shielded” part refers to the gas and slag produced by the electrode’s flux coating, which protects the molten weld pool from oxygen and nitrogen in the air.

What is MMA welding?

MMA stands for manual metal arc welding, which is the same process as SMAW. MMA is the terminology more common in the UK, Europe and Australia, while SMAW is standard in the United States under AWS documents.

Why is it called flux-shielded arc welding?

That older name describes the defining feature of the process: the flux coating on the electrode generates a shielding gas and a protective slag layer around the arc and weld pool. The name appears in legacy standards and textbooks.

What do electrode numbers like E6013 and E7018 mean?

In the AWS classification system, E means electrode and the first two digits give the minimum tensile strength in thousands of psi — so E7018 has a 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength. The third digit indicates welding positions (1 = all positions), and the final digit identifies the coating type and compatible current.

Is stick welding called something different in the UK or Europe?

Yes. In the UK, Australia and most of Europe the process is called manual metal arc welding (MMA or MMAW), and in Germany the trade term E-hand welding is common. The underlying process, consumables and technique are identical to US SMAW.

Which name should I use on a resume or job application?

Use the formal name for the document and the informal name in conversation: list “Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW / MMA)” on a resume, since applicant tracking systems and international employers search both acronyms. Mirror whatever term the job posting uses.

Is stick welding still widely used today?

Yes. SMAW remains the go-to process for field work — pipelines, structural steel, shipyards, tank and pressure vessel work and maintenance repair — because the equipment is affordable, portable and tolerant of wind and contaminated metal.

What’s the difference between stick welding and flux-cored welding?

Stick welding uses a solid flux-coated rod consumed by hand, while flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) feeds a tubular wire filled with flux through a gun. Both use flux for shielding, but FCAW offers higher deposition rates and semi-automatic feeding, while SMAW needs no wire feeder and is easier to set up in the field.