Oxyacetylene and stick welding

[Anonymous No.700534]

Is there any advantage to or modern application of oxyacetylene welding? Or is it simply obsolete?
Also, is there any advantage in industry to stick arc welding over flux-cored arc welding? I am being taught stick welding in a trade program and my teacher couldn't really answer this question clearly, sort of insinuating that it is rarely used nowadays. Wind resistance for outdoor work is the only advantage I can think of, and even then, flux-cored welding gets around this issue as well. Even as a hobbyist or for artistic applications, I have a hard time understanding what the strengths of these two methods would be in comparison with the other methods.

[Anonymous No.700537]

>>700534
doesn't require electricity so good in rural applications i suppose

[Anonymous No.700539]

>>700537

ah, of course! fixing broken machinery and stuff on the job. Then again, you can arc weld with a car battery if you really want to which would make wind less of an issue. You'd have to be pretty desperate though

[Anonymous No.700540]

>>700534
As far as flux cored vs. arc welding in the field:
Flux cored is probably superior but the leads can only be so long, or if a spool gun is used, you still have a machine that may break down. Arc welding leads can be super long. I've been on jobs where the welder was out on a trailer while the iron workers were welding decking on the roof. Plus, besides a spring in the electrode holder, there's no moving parts. Much more durable.

[Anonymous No.700541]

>>700540
ETA: the only welding I have ever seen in construction, which are pretty high paying welding jobs, we're stick welding.

[Anonymous No.700543]

>>700534
>Is there any advantage to or modern application of oxyacetylene welding? Or is it simply obsolete?

It's obsolete. GTAW (TIG) welding did this all the way back in WWII.

OxyAcetylene brazing, however is very useful.

>>Also, is there any advantage in industry to stick arc welding over flux-cored arc welding?

Stick goes anywhere. Wire goes anywhere to which you're willing to lug a wire feed unit.

Stick is more economical short term.
Wire is more economical long term.

>>I am being taught stick welding in a trade program and my teacher couldn't really answer this question clearly, sort of insinuating that it is rarely used nowadays.

HA HA HA HA HA. HA HA HA. HA HA. Ha ha ha. Ha. Ha. Ahem.

Yeah, no, stick is the king and queen of welding. The skills you learn with stick are directly transferable to all other processes. You will use it virtually everywhere you go.

>>I have a hard time understanding what the strengths of these two methods would be in comparison with the other methods.

SMAW (stick)
Pros: Extremely versatile. Equipment is inexpensive. Extremely portable.
Cons: Deposition rates are lower than wire. Higher waste than other processes.

GMAW (hard wire):
Pros: Lower waste than SMAW. Welds have little or no slag. Very low and very high heat inputs possible. Very low and very high deposition rates possible. Vastly reduced waste compared to SMAW.
Cons: Equipment is much less portable than SMAW. Requites bottled shielding gas. Length of welding cable is very limited. Limited ability to deal with contaminants on/in the metal.

FCAW (flux core):
Pros: Lower waste than SMAW. Extremely high deposition rates possible. Extremely high heat inputs possible. Very wide range of metal alloys available.
Cons: Equipment much less portable than SMAW. May require shielding gas. Length of cable very limited. Unsuitable for thin metal.

[Anonymous No.700559]

Oxyacetylene is far more versatile than other forms of welding.

TiG, Resistance, etc may do individual forms better, but you can cut, weld, solder, braze and do all kinds of controlled heating jobs with Oxyacetylene.

[Anonymous No.700578]

>>700534
>Is there any advantage to or modern application of oxyacetylene welding?

two advantages
the main one is portability, I have a tiny tank rig, 15ft of hose, it all fits in a 5 gallon bucket and gives me 30 min. weighs 25lbs total. I can throw it in the truck and take it anywhere.

2nd advantage, I can CUT.

plus overall versatility, heat, braze, weld & cut.

learn all of the welding techniques you can anon,
oxy / acetylene
stick
Mig / wire
Tig

even the weird shit like spin welding


I found Tig to be very much like oxy / acetylene in that you had a heat source in one hand and filler rod in the other.

[Anonymous No.700595]

>>700534
>>700578
oxy is considered to be all that a general tradesman needs. plumbers, builders. also its portability and reliability makes it preferable.

TIG is essential for fine welds in SS/Al. dont know how you could regulate oxy well enough to pass a perfusion test.

so the speciality is really dependant on what you want to use it for. TIG would be the professional welder, oxy would be the welding is a part of my job but everything could also be done with crimp fittings and brackets.

[Anonymous No.700605]

>>700595
Huh, are you in the US? I've been in construction for 20 years now, and I have never seen anyone weld with oxy/acetylene. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I've never seen it. On most jobs, the plumbers and fitters use acetylene to braze and solder. All welding is done with stick welders or scratch start TIG. This includes general construction as well as pipe welding. I learned to oxy/acetylene weld in trade school, but that's the only place I've really seen it used.

[Anonymous No.700640]

If you want to do it the easy way: flux core wire
If you want it to stick: stick weld it

[Anonymous No.700646]

oxy for cutting and brazing i guess
stick we always used for thicker metals and stuff like cast iron.
but yea they all have uses

[Anonymous No.700667]

>>700605
sometimes build sites dont have electricity yet. its also cheaper and more reliable than running 50 alternators and a 4kW tig system.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie50210a018?journalCode=iechad

now I'm not going to say one is better than the other but TIG is clearly the only choice for welding ever. but a gas axe is versatile, cheap and reliable in harsh environments which makes it great for semi-structural welds where the weld and the material is but tons over rated for what it will be needed.

pretty much no one in australia welds TIG because they've never had access to one. decent industrial grade TIG setups run in multiples of 10k$ about the only field I know of that uses them is pressure cylinders and boat hulls.

[hotwelder3 No.700680]

oxy accetelene is great for welding really thin material, if you arc on thin material it can just burn the material away, Its a lost art though , not many people still know how.

[Anonymous No.700692]

>>700534
>Is there any advantage to or modern application of oxyacetylene welding? Or is it simply obsolete?
I don't imagine it's very common but like any of the other 10+ welding technologies there is a time and place for it.
If you're doing small jobs in hard-to-reach places, like doing braze or weld work up a tower, you can carry small oxy+acetyl tanks on your back.
You can be welding up a metal gate out in the bush without bringing a welder and generator.

[Anonymous No.700697]

>>700680
well yeah, welding is welding is welding. barring the few things they can't do. the general handyman or builder can do pretty much anything with any kind of welding equipment.

for the handyman anything is going to do really. it's only when you absolutely must engineer something that you'll need a specific type of welding equipment.

[Anonymous No.700790]

>>700534
>my teacher couldn't really answer this question clearly

doesn't sound like a good teacher

[Anonymous No.700811]

>>700790

Well, I mean, he told us all how important stick welding is for learning, but he kind of implied that most shops are now using mig or flux core because it's faster. That it would be rare for me to run into it on a Canadian job site. He's not a bad teacher, just pretty vague and distracted sometimes, which leads to a lot of answers that arent too straight. The kind of guy that trails off into a story related to a question without actually answering the question

[Anonymous No.700812]

>>700534
Welding without gloves
> noteven once

[Anonymous No.700823]

>>700534
>Is there any advantage to or modern application of oxyacetylene welding? Or is it simply obsolete?
it's not used in any major application I'm aware of. oxy-acetylene cutting is used in scrapping.

different heavy industries tend to have a particular style of welding they use: for manufacturing it tends to be mig, for oilfield, ship and bridge welding it tends to be stick. Tig is only used on smaller-sized welding because its so slow to do.

IMO (I am an old/USAfag who never welded for a living):
if you want to weld for a living, you either need to be prepared to move around the country to a job, or you need a BIG local industry that uses lots of welders,,,, and you will probably mostly only use one type, and it probably isn't going to be oxy-acetylene. BUT. they are going to want you to know how to weld and cut passably well with oxy-acetylene if you must,,,,, so don't ignore learning it.

[Anonymous No.700865]

>>700667
That makes sense. Here all the welding trades like iron workers and such have the big miller generator/welders on their trucks. They always have an oxy/acetylene rig set up for cutting, though. Pic related, there is always one of these around on every job I go to. It's cool that they use different techniques in different parts of the world.

[Anonymous No.701019]

>>700534
The biggest advantage of Oxy over other forms is versatility. Acetylene isn't the only gas that can be used. Different metals and different industries will need different gasses. Propane, natural gas, butane, hydrogen... hell in a pinch even diesel fuel can be used. An oxy rig can go just about anywhere, it is self contained (doesn't need a generator or outside power), and can, to a point, do almost anything any other method can do. That's why it's still a valuable skill to have.

There's still one industry that relies heavily on oxy welding. Great money if you can get all the paperwork in order. Underwater Salvage and Repair. They mostly use Hydrogen as the fuel gas iirc.

I live near Tampa, and there's a HUGE demand for underwater welders, mostly because of the price and wait time for drydock space.

[Anonymous No.701060]

>>700812

kek

I didn't even notice that

[Anonymous No.702068]

More and more shops are going to wirefeed because of the production and the learning curve is not big. It's getting to the point where they give you a "journeyman wire process ticket" for completing 1st year welding here because more and more companies are pushing for wire feed. As for Oxy welding/brazing, the only time I have ever really seen it being used was to put on / repair diamond cutters on drill bits. Stick welding is used in a lot of places here. Mostly pressure shops and out in the field. It is easy to get specific rods for the steel / alloy you are using and can be used pretty much anywhere.

[Anonymous No.702487]

I use my oxy/acetylene setup to weld occasionally, but that's because I don't have anything else at the moment.
I welded a crack in an aftermarket header not long ago, I mainly use the setup for heating seized bolts on cars and have cut up an entire car with it as well.

[Anonymous No.702496]

>>700812

Overhead with just goggles
>who does this guy think he is?

[Anonymous No.702503]

>>701019
I moved 5 hours north to Duluth to do this.
Cold water sucks.

[Ellie No.702728]

>>701019
>I live near Tampa, and there's a HUGE demand for underwater welders, mostly because of the price and wait time for drydock space.

Do you know how much these guys make? I understood that the pay for this wasn't great, compared to the cost of commercial diving school.

Thanks!

[Anonymous No.702730]

>>700539
ever try welding with a car battery? its barely a step above duct tape, but can work in a pinch.

[Anonymous No.702733]

>>700534
its mostly used on cast stuff, because you need to set up a torch to pre-heat that fucker anyway.

i've seen limited applications in areas surrounded by bystanders as well where i'd be impractical to set up a UV curtain, but for the most pat oxyfuel is used purely for cutting.

[Anonymous No.702751]

>>702730
>car battery? its barely a step above duct tape
However, two or three in series (24 - 36 volts) can do wonders.