"Online welding school - thread" requested.

[dunde]

Exactly, you can MIG (actually MAG) almost as thick as you want, especially if you're spray arc welding instead of short arc, but after doing both, I think MIG/MAG is best suited for thinner sheet metal. (But then again, I have never mastered the spray arc) It’s not for nothing that stick welding is still the most common in the shipbuilding industry. ;-)

I have never tried that (it wasn't available when I learned), how does it compare with gas?

I don't think you really know what you're talking about. You usually string up when working with thick plate. That can be done with both mixed gas and solid wire or with flux-cored wire and CO2. If you know how, you can even bottom and then place the workpiece in position and run a dimension, for example a15, without issues.

How else do you think they weld commercially in thick plate? With stick... ?

Welding machines use both submerged arc and wire + gas.

Someone mentioned 10mm with mig/mag. You can actually run as thick as you want, 100mm is commonly used.

 

[Snailman]

I have gas welding, stick welding, and MIG welding; if I'm welding thinner sheet metal like 1mm, it's easier with the MIG, as the stick welding is quite hopeless for that... if it's fairly thick metal, then it will have to be stick welding mostly because the MIG was quite cheap (weak) and the stick welding has the capacity.

The gas welding is the most troublesome since it tends to get a bit hot, causing tension in the metal, and it bends...

 

[lars_stefan_axelsson]

How do you think they weld commercially on thick plate? With a stick... ?

Yes, the last time I was at a shipyard, that's exactly what they did for the most part, i.e., welded with a stick. According to the experts, it took longer to set up the machines than to do the welding by hand, so no money was saved that way. It was only under quite specific circumstances that machines were used because they were (are?) quite limited. (Unlike the car industry, no robots were used, which are more advanced.) If you measure in meters of welding, it was, of course, a bit different.

It has been several decades since I was last at a shipyard, so there has likely been some development. They've, for instance, closed them down... ;-)

And if you read my post, there's nothing in it that actually contradicts what you're saying. I have welded MAG up to 10mm with short arc and multiple passes, so I am well aware that it works perfectly fine. But it's still not the equipment I would choose, especially since heavier constructions are often welded on site (outdoors), and then the electric welder is considerably more convenient.

 

[imported_Benno]

http://www.svets.se/2.a9399510651ebd2b0800043316.html
Here is something that should be of interest for both beginners and others regarding welding.