Flux Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW): The Complete Guide to Stick Welding Electrodes, Technique & Safety

A maintenance crew gets a call at 2 a.m. — a cracked water main line is spraying under a highway overpass, and the MIG rig in the shop is useless because there is no shielding gas bottle, no windless shop, and no time. The welder pulls out a $12 box of stick electrodes, strikes an arc in the rain, and seals the pipe before sunrise. That scene plays out every day around the world, and it is exactly why flux shielded metal arc welding — stick welding — is still the most widely used arc welding process on the planet.

What Is Flux Shielded Metal Arc Welding — and Why Should You Care?

It’s 2 a.m. A maintenance crew gets the call: a cracked water main is spraying underneath a highway overpass, and the MIG rig sitting back at the shop is useless. There is no shielding gas bottle, no windless building, and absolutely no time to wait for daylight. The welder pops open a $12 box of stick electrodes, strikes an arc in the rain, and seals the pipe before sunrise.

That scene plays out every single day, on every continent — and it is the shortest possible explanation of why flux shielded metal arc welding, better known as stick welding, is still the most widely used arc welding process on the planet.

SMAW in Plain English

Flux shielded metal arc welding, abbreviated SMAW, uses a consumable electrode: a length of steel wire coated in a chemical covering called flux. You clamp one cable to the workpiece, grip the rod in an electrode holder, and strike an electric arc between the rod’s tip and the base metal. The arc melts both the rod and the parent metal into one molten puddle, and that puddle solidifies into the weld.

The “flux shielded” half of the name is where the magic happens. As the arc burns, the flux coating decomposes into a cloud of protective gas and a floating layer of liquid slag that blanket the molten metal. Strip that shield away and atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen would soak straight into the hot steel, wrecking the weld with porosity and embrittlement. The stick electrode therefore carries its own shielding gas, its own slag cover, and its own filler metal in one cheap, pocketable package.

The Simple Circuit That Makes It Work

Underneath the chemistry, SMAW is just a loop. A power source pushes current through a cable to the electrode holder, the arc jumps to the workpiece, and a ground cable carrying a clamp completes the circuit back to the machine. That flowing arc generates temperatures hot enough to melt steel almost instantly, and the operator controls everything — penetration, puddle width, bead shape — with hand speed and arc length.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission welding training material describes SMAW as an outgrowth of a process developed in the early 20th century, and calls it the “most widely used process worldwide,” normally performed manually by skilled welders. The same training module is refreshingly honest about the trade-off: equipment and consumable costs are low and the process is extremely versatile, but productivity is low and fume generation rates are high compared with semi-automatic processes.

Why This Matters to You

Most people landing on this topic are really asking four practical questions. What exactly is the process? How does the flux actually shield the weld? Which electrode should I buy — E6010 or E7018? And is stick welding the right tool for my job, or should I be learning MIG or TIG instead?

Those questions matter commercially, too. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 437,700 welder, cutter, solderer, and brazer jobs in the United States in 2025, with a median annual wage of $53,750 — and stick proficiency remains the single skill most often listed as required on field, structural, and pipe job postings.

There is also a standardization story behind the terminology. The American Welding Society has specified carbon steel stick electrodes under AWS A5.1 since 1940, and the current edition, AWS A5.1/A5.1M:2025, was approved by ANSI on September 30, 2024. When someone says “an E7018 rod,” that number means the exact same thing in a shipyard in Rotterdam, a pipeline in Texas, and a training bay in Tokyo.

By the end of this guide, you will understand how the flux coating works at a chemical level, how to decode the AWS electrode numbering system, how to set your machine’s polarity and amperage, how to strike an arc and read the puddle, which defects to watch for, and what the safety rules actually require. Whether you are a homeowner who wants to repair a trailer, a career switcher evaluating welding school, or an experienced MIG hand adding a second process, the sections that follow are written to get you welding — and passing inspection — faster.

How the Flux Coating Actually Works: The Science Inside a Stick Electrode

When you strike an arc with a stick electrode, the bright flash you see is only half of the action. The true work of protecting that molten puddle falls to the chalk-like coating wrapped around the metal rod. For flux shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), that coating is what allows the process to run in the wind, rain, and dirt where gas-shielded methods would fail. To understand why, we need to look at the science happening in a fraction of a second.

Core Wire vs. Covering: Two Jobs, One Rod

Every SMAW electrode is made up of two parts working in unison. The inner core wire serves two critical functions. First, it conducts the electric current from the electrode holder to the workpiece, creating and sustaining the arc. Second, as it melts, it becomes the filler metal that joins the two pieces of base material together. As noted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AP-42, Chapter 12.19, “the rod core both conducts the electric current to produce the arc and provides filler metal for the joint.”

Wrapped around that core is the flux covering, a carefully blended mixture of minerals, cellulose, oxides, and alloying agents. It contains no shielding gas, no separate bottle, and no external delivery system. Instead, it creates its own protection the moment it meets the intense heat of the arc. This is also highlighted in OSHA’s Welding Fact Sheet, which explains that in SMAW, the “electrode provides both flux and filler material.”

The Four Key Functions of Flux

When the arc reaches temperatures upwards of 5,500 °C, the covering rapidly breaks down and performs the following tasks to create a sound weld:

• Producing shielding gas by vaporization. Heat causes compounds within the covering, such as cellulose, to decompose and release a protective atmosphere of gases around the arc and molten puddle. This displaces oxygen, nitrogen, and moisture in the air that would otherwise contaminate the weld metal. The EPA confirms that the electrode covering “provides stability to the arc and protects the molten metal by creating shielding gases by vaporization of the cover.”
• Stabilizing the arc. Certain minerals in the flux help to ionize the path between the electrode and the workpiece. This results in a smoother, more consistent arc that is easier to control, which is especially important for out-of-position work where stability can be difficult to maintain.
• Forming a protective slag blanket. Not all of the covering vaporizes. A large portion melts and floats to the top of the weld pool, where it cools into a solid, glass-like slag. This layer insulates the molten metal from the atmosphere as it solidifies, slows its cooling rate, and helps shape the final bead. It must be chipped and brushed away after welding.
• Adding deoxidizers and alloying elements. The covering also acts as a metallurgy toolbox. It contains deoxidizers that remove trapped gases and oxides, as well as alloying elements that can strengthen the weld, improve toughness, or match the base metal. These additions are what allow electrodes of the same core wire to produce drastically different mechanical properties, a concept further outlined in the American Welding Society (AWS) Welding Handbook.

A Delicate Tradeoff

This self-contained protection comes at a cost: fumes. As the covering vaporizes and breaks down, it releases airborne particles and gases. The OSHA Technical Manual notes that SMAW ranks second in fume production, behind flux-cored arc welding. The EPA also lists hazardous metals documented in welding fume, including manganese, nickel, chromium, cobalt, and lead, under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Proper ventilation and respiratory protection are not optional, but a necessity when using stick electrodes.

In essence, the flux coating is the heart of the SMAW process. It shields, stabilizes, refines, and insulates all at once, trading the convenience of an external gas cylinder for unmatched portability and performance in the harshest conditions. It is that clever bit of chemistry that allows a welder to strike an arc almost anywhere and still lay down a sound, protected weld.

Decoding Stick Electrodes: AWS A5.1 Classification and the E6010 vs E7018 Choice

If stick welding has a brain, the electrode is it. The machine just makes an arc; the rod decides how deep you burn, how clean the puddle runs, how strong the finished weld is, and whether you’ll be grinding porosity out at 9 p.m. Learning to read the code stamped on the electrode box is the single highest-value skill a beginner can build, and it takes about five minutes to learn.

How to Read the AWS Electrode Code

In the United States, carbon steel covered electrodes are classified under the American Welding Society’s specification AWS A5.1/A5.1M, which prescribes requirements for chemical composition, mechanical properties, weld metal soundness, usability testing, and moisture testing of low-hydrogen coverings. The designation itself is a shorthand recipe. Take E7018 as the worked example, following the way NRC training material breaks it down:

• E — it’s a stick (arc welding) electrode.
• 70 — the weld metal’s nominal tensile strength is 70,000 psi (70 ksi).
• 1 — usable in all positions: flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead.
• 8 — a low-hydrogen (basic) iron-powder covering with added deoxidizers.

Now compare E6010: 60,000 psi tensile strength, all-position capable, with a “1” in the last digit meaning a high-cellulose, deep-penetrating covering. Same grammar, very different rod. As a general rule, the first two digits tell you strength, the third digit tells you position (1 = all positions, 2 = flat and horizontal only), and the last digit tells you the covering chemistry and current characteristics.

The Four Covering Families

Cellulose coverings (E6010, E6011) are loaded with organic material that vaporizes in the arc, producing a forceful gas stream that digs deep into the joint. They give fast-freezing puddles ideal for out-of-position and vertical-down work, but the arc is violent and spattery, and the covering offers no slag protection worth relying on.

Rutile coverings (E6013, E7014) are titanium-dioxide based, giving a soft, stable, forgiving arc with easy restarts and a attractive bead under a light slag. If you’re teaching yourself, this is where you start.

Basic or low-hydrogen coverings (E7018) use calcium fluoride and calcium carbonate. They produce tough, crack-resistant weld metal with excellent mechanical properties — which is why structural and pressure codes demand them — but they’re hygroscopic: the covering absorbs moisture from the air, and that moisture becomes hydrogen in the puddle.

Iron-powder coverings (E7014, E7024, and iron-powder-loaded E7018 variants) put actual metal powder in the coating so a portion of the deposited metal comes from the covering itself. Deposition rates jump substantially, but the extra drag limits usable positions.

Sizes, Storage and Rebaking

Stick electrodes come diameters from about 1/16 in to 5/32 in for common field work. Rule of thumb: thinner material gets thinner rods, and out-of-position welding wants the smaller end of the range so gravity doesn’t fight the puddle. Structural root passes on 3/8 in plate typically start around 1/8 in E7018 at roughly 90–130 amps, though your machine, position, and joint geometry all nudge that number.

The critical maintenance task is storage. Low-hydrogen rods bake in moisture like biscuits. Once a factory-sealed package is opened, the clock starts. The AWS specification’s annex lays out typical storage and drying conditions — generally holding E7018 in a heated rod oven at around 250–500°F (120–260°C), never in a humid rod bucket, and never rebaking rods whose holding time has expired. Many field welders keep opened rods in the original resealable foil or a portable quiver with desiccant. A rod that’s gone “whitish” on the surface and starts spattering badly has drunk enough water to be a cracking risk on any restrained joint.

The short version of the E6010 vs E7018 debate: E6010 burns hot and dirty where nothing else will, E7018 builds strong, tough, code-compliant welds once the fit-up and prep are clean. Most real jobs need both — and reading the box tells you which one you’re holding before you strike the arc.

Gear and Setup: Choosing a Stick Welder, Polarity, Amperage and Settings

Before you strike your first arc for a repair job, the right gear can be the difference between a solid weld and hours of frustration. For those working with flux shielded metal arc welding, setup plays just as much of a role as technique. From your power source to your ground clamp, each piece needs to match the job at hand.

Choosing the Right Stick Welder: Transformer vs Inverter

The heart of your setup is the machine itself. For decades, transformer welders were the standard. These heavy units rely on copper windings to step down line voltage, making them extremely durable for shop use. The tradeoff, however, is weight. A basic transformer rig can be bulky, making it hard to haul out to a remote job site.

In recent years, inverter-based DC stick welders have taken over a large chunk of the market. Instead of large windings, they use solid-state electronics to convert power. This allows for a much smaller frame, lighter cables, and often more precise control over the arc.

When shopping for either type, pay close attention to the duty cycle. This is the amount of time a machine can run at a set amperage within a 10 minute period before it needs to cool down. A 60 percent duty cycle at 90 amps means you can weld for 6 minutes, then rest for 4. Going over this can overheat the unit.

Cables, Holders, and Clean Prep

Even the best welder falls short with undersized leads. Your electrode holder and work clamp need cables thick enough to carry the amperage without excessive voltage drop. For most light to mid-range work, 6 to 4 AWG leads will cover common settings, but higher amperage calls for heavier cable. Keep your connections tight, free of corrosion, and never coil leads tightly while welding, as this can trap heat.

Before striking an arc, clean-base-metal prep is non-negotiable. Remove paint, heavy rust, oil, or mill scale from your weld zone. While flux shielded metal arc welding can tolerate some surface impurities far better than bare-wire gas processes, excess contaminants will still lead to porosity and slag issues. A quick grind or wire brush goes a long way.

Polarity, Open-Circuit Voltage, and Arc Voltage

Polarity determines where the current flows, and it directly affects penetration and arc stability. The three options you will run into are:

• DCEP (Direct Current Electrode Positive): Also called “reverse polarity”. This is the most common for SMAW. It drives more heat into the base metal, giving deeper penetration and a smoother arc for many electrodes.
• DCEN (Direct Current Electrode Negative): Also called “straight polarity”. More heat stays at the electrode, leading to faster melt-off but shallower penetration. This can be useful for thin materials with certain electrodes.
• AC (Alternating Current): Great for jobs where arc blow is an issue. Some electrodes, like many rutile types, run well on AC, but overall arc stability can be less consistent than DC.

Two terms you will see on your machine are open-circuit voltage (OCV) and arc voltage. OCV is the voltage present at the terminals before you strike an arc, usually between 50 and 80 volts. Once the arc is struck, that drops to arc voltage, typically 17 to 30 volts depending on arc length. While welding voltages are generally considered safe, anomalous conditions can arise that produce a shock hazard (NRC Module 2, Arc Welding Safety). For this reason, safe work practices laid out by OSHA 1910.252 and AWS Z49.1 Safety in Welding, Cutting and Allied Processes should always be followed to control electrical and fume risks.

Amperage Selection and Final Settings

The most reliable rule of thumb for amperage is based on electrode diameter. Too low, and your electrode will stick. Too high, and you will burn through or create excess spatter. A general starting range is as follows:

These ranges will vary slightly by electrode type, position, and material thickness. For your first passes, start in the middle of the range, run a test bead on scrap, and adjust from there.

With your machine tuned, leads secured, metal cleaned, and polarity set, you are ready to focus on striking and controlling your arc with confidence.

Technique and Step-by-Step: Striking the Arc, Travel Speed and Weld Positions

Here is the truth nobody tells you when you buy your first stick welder: the machine is the easy part. A $200 buzz box will melt steel. The hard part lives in your hands. Unlike MIG, where you pull a trigger and the machine feeds wire at a set rate, flux shielded metal arc welding is genuinely manual. The electrode is consumed as you weld, the arc length changes every second, and the puddle gives you feedback faster than your brain can consciously process it. That is why this section reads like a lesson plan rather than a spec sheet.

Before the Arc: Joint Prep, Fit-Up and Tacking

Good welds are decided before you strike anything. Grind mill scale, rust, paint, oil and moisture back to bright metal at least an inch either side of the joint. A 6010 will chew through light contamination better than most, but flux can only do so much with a greasy joint. Cut your bevels so the root opening and land let the arc reach the bottom of the joint, then tack each end and, on longer seams, tack the middle so the gap does not close as the weld shrinks. Tacks are welds, so they get the same cleaning and the same amperage.

Body Position and Arc Length

Never weld contorted. If you cannot run the entire joint in one comfortable, braced position, cut the job into shorter passes and reposition. Brace your wrist or forearm against something solid so the only thing moving is your shoulder and elbow.

Then comes the golden rule: arc length roughly equals the electrode diameter. A 1/8-inch rod runs at about a 1/8-inch arc. Stretch it to a quarter inch and you lose shielding coverage, slag floats into the puddle, and you get porosity. The fix sounds simplistic because it works: turn the amperage up slightly and shorten the arc. A tight, crackling arc is what you want to hear, not a soft hiss.

Starting the Arc: Scratch, Tap and the First Three Seconds

Two methods work. Scratching is exactly what it sounds like, like striking a match across the plate, and it is the easiest way to learn because the motion is forgiving. Tapping is a quick straight-down contact-and-lift, which is cleaner in tight joints and overhead where a scratch start can wander. Whichever you use, the moment the arc catches, freeze for a half second so the puddle establishes, then start moving. If the rod sticks, twist it free immediately or open the holder to break the short circuit, then file the stuck tip before restarting.

Work Angle, Drag Angle and Travel Speed

Two angles govern the bead. The work angle is the rod’s relationship to the plate surface (perpendicular in a groove, roughly 45 degrees in a fillet). The travel angle is the tilt along the direction of travel; most welders drag the rod 5 to 15 degrees back from vertical, which pushes the slag behind the puddle where you can see it. Pushing works with some rutile rods, but dragging is the beginner default.

Travel speed is judged by puddle width, not by the clock. Aim for a puddle about three to four times the electrode diameter wide, with its leading edge just biting into the base metal. Too slow and the bead piles up and overheats; too fast and you get a thin, ropey bead with lack of fusion on the toes. For a sense of pace, National Nuclear Laboratory data documented an E6010 running at 170 amps and about 12 volts traveling roughly 5.5 inches per minute, a useful benchmark for how fast “fast” really is on a root pass. (NRC training material)

On multi-pass work, drag straight in a stringer bead for most steel and weave only when the joint is wide enough that a stringer would leave a cold center. Keep weaves narrow, no wider than about 2.5 times the electrode diameter, and pause briefly at the toes so the puddle wets out instead of climbing the sidewall. Chip and wire-brush the slag between every single pass. Chasing slag later is miserable; preventing it takes ten seconds.

Welding Positions: 1F Through 6G

The AWS A5.1 classification ties directly into positions: the third digit tells you where a rod can be used, with 1 meaning all positions. (AWS A5.1/A5.1M specification) Positions themselves fall into two families:

• Fillets (F): 1F flat, 2F horizontal, 3F vertical, 4F overhead.
• Grooves (G): 1G flat, 2G horizontal, 3G vertical, 4G overhead. Pipe adds 5G (fixed horizontal pipe, welding all the way around) and 6G (pipe inclined 45 degrees), the toughest common test and the one most employers ask to see.

Vertical deserves special respect. Vertical-up with a low-hydrogen rod gives deeper penetration and stronger joints on heavy plate; vertical-down with a cellulose rod like a 6010 is faster and standard for thin pipe roots and sheet. Gravity works against you overhead, so shorten the arc further and run slightly cooler, because molten metal does not care about your schedule.

The NRC’s training material frames SMAW as a process you practice into competence rather than study into competence, and it is right. Run the same joint twenty times, and by the twentieth your hand will hold arc length without asking you.

Where Flux Shielded Metal Arc Welding Wins: Applications, Industries and Real Benefits

Every welding process has a home turf. MIG is fastest in a clean fabrication shop. TIG is the show-off process for aerospace and food-grade stainless. But stick welding turns up wherever the conditions are ugly, the schedule is tight, and the work has to hold. That is not nostalgia talking; it is the daily reality on job sites from highway departments to shipyards. OSHA lists SMAW alongside GTAW, GMAW, FCAW and thermal cutting as one of the main welding processes you will encounter in construction work, which tells you how deeply the process is embedded in the field OSHA welding fact sheet.

Structural Steel, Bridges and Buildings

Walk under any highway overpass and you are looking at stick welds. Structural steel work uses SMAW heavily because the joints are often big, the steel is rarely pristine, and the welder is working on a beam three stories up with a generator humming behind them. Bridge repair is an even better example: traffic is moving overhead, the steel is weathered and coated, and shutting the site down for a gas bottle delivery is not an option. The electrode goes where the welder goes.

Pipe, Pressure Vessels and Refinery Work

Pipe welding is where stick has always been king, especially for root passes and out-of-position work on carbon steel. Refinery turnarounds, pipeline tie-ins, and pressure vessel fabrication all lean on SMAW because the process tolerates the mill scale, rust and damp conditions that show up on real pipe. NIOSH-reviewed field data specifically studied SMAW stick welding on carbon steel pipe performed by journeyman pipefitters as an activity for fume exposure control, precisely because it is so common in that trade NIOSH/OSHA LEV review.

Shipbuilding, Heavy Equipment and Field Repair

Shipyards, mining equipment rebuilds, agricultural equipment repair, and municipal water and sewer maintenance are all stick territory. A welder repairing a cracked excavator boom in a muddy yard, or a crew fixing a pressurized water main under an overpass at 2 a.m., needs a process that does not care about wind, dirt, or the absence of a shop. Cast iron repair also falls here: nickel-based stick electrodes remain the standard practical route for brazing-welding cracked castings, something MIG and TIG handle far less gracefully.

The Real Benefits, Plainly Stated

Why does stick keep winning these jobs? The reasons are practical rather than romantic:

• Lowest barrier to entry. SMAW has the lowest equipment cost of any arc process. A decent machine, a stinger, a ground clamp and a box of rods will have you welding. No gas cylinders, no wire drive system, no torch to rebuild.
• Genuine portability. A compact inverter stick rig can run off a small generator and be carried up a ladder. Try that with a MIG setup and two bottles.
• Contamination tolerance. The flux coating helps burn through light rust, mill scale and moisture in ways gas-shielded wire processes simply cannot match.
• One process, huge range. With the right electrode selection, the same machine handles thin sheet with a small 6010 and heavy plate with a 7018 or a hardfacing rod.
• No shielding gas outdoors. Wind is the enemy of MIG and flux-cored gas-shielded work. Stick does not care.

That versatility is also why AWS electrode specifications such as AWS A5.1 for carbon steel electrodes keep expanding rather than shrinking; the covering chemistries keep improving, which keeps the process competitive.

The Career Angle

There is money behind all this demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that as of May 2025, welders employed by specialty trade contractors earned a median annual wage of $59,440, compared with $56,080 in repair and maintenance and $51,210 in manufacturing BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. The same source projects roughly 40,300 welder openings each year on average from 2025 to 2035, driven mostly by retirements and workers leaving the occupation. Field-capable stick welders are a large part of what those openings are for, because construction, pipeline and maintenance work cannot be offshored.

The bottom line: stick welding wins wherever conditions are imperfect and the stakes are real. It is the process you learn first, keep sharp forever, and quietly rely on when everything else fails.

SMAW vs MIG vs TIG vs Flux-Cored: An Honest Process Comparison

Every welder eventually asks: if stick welding is so versatile, why does anyone use anything else? The honest answer is that no single arc process dominates every category. GMAW (MIG), GTAW (TIG), and FCAW (flux-cored) each solve specific problems better than SMAW, while stick wins decisively in other situations. Knowing where each process shines lets you pick the right tool instead of forcing one process to do every job badly.

How the Four Processes Shield the Weld

The fundamental difference is how each process protects the molten puddle from atmospheric contamination, and that one design choice cascades into every other tradeoff.

SMAW uses a consumable electrode with a flux covering that vaporizes in the arc heat, producing shielding gas and a protective slag layer simultaneously. No external gas bottle is required.

GMAW (MIG) feeds consumable bare wire through a welding gun while a separate cylinder delivers shielding gas, typically argon or an argon-CO2 mix, around the arc.

GTAW (TIG) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode that only creates the arc. Filler metal is added separately by hand, and pure argon shields the puddle in most cases. This gives maximum control but demands two-handed coordination.

FCAW puts the flux core inside the wire itself. Self-shielded wires produce their own atmosphere from the core; dual-shield wires combine that core with an external gas bottle. Either way, the shielding chemistry lives in the wire.

As NRC training material notes, SMAW’s advantages are low equipment and consumable cost and extreme versatility, weighed against lower productivity and higher fume generation compared to some alternatives.

Where Each Process Wins

SMAW vs GMAW: MIG deposits metal faster, wastes almost no consumable (no stub end left behind), and is easier for beginners because the machine feeds wire automatically. But MIG needs a shielding gas bottle, which makes it awkward in wind or remote field locations. Stick equipment costs less, tolerates wind and rougher base metal, and needs no cylinder. Production fabrication in a controlled shop: MIG usually wins. Working outdoors, under a truck, or in a pipe trench: stick wins.

SMAW vs GTAW: TIG produces the cleanest, most beautiful welds of any arc process, with precise heat control ideal for thin material, stainless, aluminum, and root passes on pipe. But TIG is slow, expensive to set up, extremely demanding of operator skill, and sensitive to drafts that disrupt the gas envelope. Thin stainless tube in a clean shop where appearance matters: TIG. Structural strength in the field where speed matters: stick.

SMAW vs FCAW: Flux-cored wire offers deposition rates approaching or exceeding stick welding with semi-automatic feeding, which is why shipbuilding, heavy structural steel, and thick-plate work rely on it. FCAW tolerates some wind and handles dirty metal better than MIG, though usually not as well as stick. Thick structural plate on a tight schedule: FCAW often beats stick. Portability and setup simplicity: stick wins again.

The Fume Production Ranking

OSHA’s welding fact sheet orders arc welding processes by decreasing fume production: FCAW generates the most fumes, followed by SMAW, then GMAW, with GTAW producing the least. This ranking matters for ventilation planning. A shop running flux-cored wire all day needs serious fume extraction; a shop running TIG on stainless still needs attention to hexavalent chromium, but the volume of fume is far lower. Stick welding sits second, which is why proper ventilation and respiratory protection remain central to SMAW safety.

A Simple Decision Framework

• Beginner on a tight budget: start with stick. Cheapest machine, most forgiving of dirty metal, and it teaches arc fundamentals that transfer to every other process.
• Home hobbyist building furniture or art: MIG is easier to learn and cleaner for thin steel, but keep one stick machine for outdoor projects.
• Pipe welder or structural ironworker: stick is non-negotiable for field certification tests and out-of-position work.
• Production fabricator running dozens of identical joints daily: MIG or FCAW beats stick on speed and cost per foot of weld.
• Working on aluminum: TIG is almost always the right answer, though aluminum-capable stick electrodes exist for field repairs.

The bottom line: SMAW remains the most widely used arc welding process worldwide because it covers the widest range of real-world conditions with the least equipment. But knowing when to pick up a MIG gun, fire up the TIG torch, or spool up flux-cored wire is what separates a competent welder from a truly skilled one.

Common Stick Welding Mistakes, Defects and How to Fix Them

Every welder has stared at a finished bead and known, before the slag even cooled, that something went wrong. Stick welding is forgiving in the field but unforgiving in the details: the arc hides the puddle under slag, the electrode changes as it burns, and small technique errors turn into visible defects. The good news is that nearly every common problem has a recognizable cause and a concrete fix.

It helps to remember that defects are not just a personal technique problem. AWS A5.1 requires usability tests and weld metal soundness testing, such as groove weld test assemblies, before an electrode can even be classified. If a consumable can fail a specification-level soundness test, your puddle certainly can under the wrong conditions.

The Defects You Will Actually Meet

• Porosity (gas holes). Usually caused by a long arc that lets atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen into the puddle, or by oil, rust, paint, and moisture on the base metal. Fix: tighten the arc to roughly the electrode diameter, clean the joint thoroughly, and keep the puddle shielded.
• Slag inclusions. Trapped slag buried under the next pass. Fix: brush or chisel the previous bead completely, watch your travel angle so the arc pushes slag behind the puddle, and slow down enough to let the liquid metal sweep the slag out.
• Lack of fusion. The bead sits on the metal without bonding. Fix: increase amperage, slow your travel speed, and use a slight weave or work angle that drives heat into the joint root.
• Undercut. A groove melted into the base metal beside the bead, usually from too much current or too fast a travel speed. Fix: lower the amperage a touch, slow down, and let the weld metal fill the crater edge.
• Excessive spatter. Often a sign of arc blow, wrong polarity, damp electrodes, or current that is too low for the rod. Fix: check polarity first, then dry your electrodes, then adjust amperage.
• Cold lap (overlap). Weld metal rolling over unmelted base metal. Fix: more heat, slower travel, and better work angle at the toes of the weld.
• Arc blow. The arc wandering sideways as magnetic fields build in the workpiece. Fix: reverse polarity, reposition the ground clamp, use an AC machine, or add a brass grounding shim.
• Electrode sticking. The rod freezes to the part on arc start. Fix: strike quickly like a match, keep the arc length tight once started, and confirm amperage is not too low.
• Burn-through on thin material. Fix: drop to a smaller diameter electrode, reduce amperage, increase travel speed, and use a series of short stitches rather than one continuous bead.

Cracking: The Defect That Deserves Extra Respect

Hydrogen-induced cracking is the one to take seriously. It happens when moisture picks up hydrogen, the hydrogen migrates into the cooling weld, and a high-restraint joint supplies the stress. The AWS A5.1 specification addresses this directly through moisture testing and optional diffusible hydrogen limits for low-hydrogen coverings. Practically, that means a wet 7018 in a cracked pipe is a chemistry problem, not a hand-skill problem: rebake the electrodes, control storage, and on critical joints use a low-hydrogen covering instead of a cellulose or rutile rod.

NRC training material lists relatively high defect rates as a genuine limitation of the SMAW process. That is not a slight against stick welding; it is an honest acknowledgment that the process demands a skilled operator and disciplined prep. And because EPA notes that fume composition varies with electrode type and workpiece composition, the consumable you pick changes both your weld quality and your exposure. Choosing a low-hydrogen rod for a structural joint solves two problems at once.

Treat every defect as feedback. Porosity points at your arc length and your cleaning. Slag points at your patience between passes. Cracking points at your storage practices and consumable choice. Fix the pattern, and the bead follows.

Safety and Health: Fumes, PPE, Ventilation and What OSHA Actually Requires

Stick welding looks simple from a distance: a bright light, a little smoke, a welder hunched over a joint. Up close, SMAW throws four serious hazards at you at once — intense radiation, an energized circuit, molten metal, and a plume of fume that you are breathing. The interesting part is that almost every one of them is manageable with cheap, boring, well-understood controls. Let’s walk through them the way an inspector or safety officer would.

Arc Radiation and Eye Protection

The arc produces ultraviolet and infrared radiation strong enough to burn skin (“arc burn,” which feels like a nasty sunburn within hours) and to damage cornea tissue. That’s arc flash — the gritty, tearing eye pain welders feel after unprotected exposure. Your helmet filter lens must be dark enough for the amperage you’re running (a #10 shade is a common general-purpose starting point), and your shade has to cover not just your own work but nearby workers who might catch a reflection. OSHA requires screens or curtains to protect nearby personnel from arc flash, and OSHA 1910.252 specifically calls for screening that shields other workers in the area.

Electrical Shock, Burns and Fire

Stick machines run at open-circuit voltages high enough to hurt you before the arc even strikes, and damp field conditions make it worse — exactly the rain-soaked pipe scenario from our opening story. Keep dry gloves, dry sleeves, intact insulation, and a properly grounded machine. Beyond shock, expect spatter and hot slag: FR-rated leathers, no cuffs that catch sparks, and fire prevention that OSHA treats as non-negotiable. Under 1910.252, hot work requires removing or protecting combustible materials, and a fire watch when combustibles can’t be cleared. That same standard requires covering nearby workers from radiation and — importantly for welders — requires that fluxes, coatings and filler metals be included in your employer’s Hazard Communication program. You have a right to know what’s in the consumable you’re burning.

What’s Actually in the Fume

SMAW fume isn’t “just smoke.” It’s a mix of metal oxides from the base metal, the core wire and the coating, plus gases from the flux. Two components drive most of the regulatory attention:

• Manganese — present in carbon steel fume and in electrode coatings. The NIOSH recommended exposure limit is 1.0 mg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA, with a total particulate REL of 5 mg/m³. The ACGIH TLV for manganese is far stricter at 0.2 mg/m³ — a gap worth knowing about if your exposure assessment uses a different benchmark than your respirator program.
• Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI) — generated mainly when welding stainless or chromium-bearing alloys. OSHA’s PEL for Cr(VI) is 5 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA under 29 CFR 1910.1026, an aggressive number that catches a lot of shops off guard.

Ventilation: The Hierarchy That Actually Works

The first choice is always engineering control, not a mask. General dilution ventilation (fans, open doors, shop airflow) is the weakest tool; local exhaust ventilation (LEV) — a fume extractor arm positioned near the arc — is dramatically better, and the data proves it. A construction field study of SMAW workers found median Cr(VI) exposure of 6.65 µg/m³ without LEV versus 1.25 µg/m³ with LEV, a statistically significant difference (P = 0.03). In other words, one good extractor arm took exposure from above OSHA’s 5 µg/m³ PEL to comfortably below it.

Respirators are the last line, not the first. They require a written program, fit testing, medical evaluation and training under OSHA’s respiratory protection standard. And confined spaces — tanks, vaults, deep trenches — change the calculus entirely: fume accumulates fast, inert gas and oxygen displacement are silent killers, and permit-required confined space entry needs atmospheric monitoring before anyone strikes an arc.

One honest caveat: this section is informational. It is not a substitute for hands-on safety training, a qualified hazard assessment, or the site-specific compliance requirements your employer and local jurisdiction impose. Standards get revised, exposure limits get tightened, and only the current official texts — starting with OSHA’s welding standard 1910.252 — count.

Learning Flux Shielded Arc Welding: Training, Certification, Costs and Career Path

Reading this far means you want a roadmap into stick welding or are weighing it as a career. Modest training in SMAW opens a wide range of jobs. Here is the path from first bead to paid work.

How People Actually Learn Stick Welding

Three routes lead in, and most welders mix at least two of them.

• Community college and technical programs. A typical certificate takes six to eighteen months and covers SMAW, GMAW, oxy-fuel cutting, print reading and safety, at far lower cost than a private welding school. Look for AWS SENSE (Schools Excelling through National Standards of Education) accreditation.
• Union apprenticeships. Programs run through the United Association (pipefitters and plumbers) and the Boilermakers, among others, pay you while you train, with classroom time and escalating wages. Placement is competitive and often travel-based, but the earnings ceiling is high.
• Self-teaching with practice plates. Budget machines from YesWelder, Vulcan and Esab’s Rebel line have made stick welding at home affordable, and a box of 6013 or 7018 electrodes plus scrap plate costs less than a night out. Without an experienced eye, bad habits form fast: long arcs, wrong angles, sloppy tie-ins.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the typical entry-level education for welders is a high school diploma or equivalent, with moderate-term on-the-job training. Employers rarely demand a certificate; they demand proof you can weld, and that proof comes as test coupons.

Why Test Plates and 6G Coupons Are the Real Currency

Structural shops typically run a 3G plate (vertical) and a 4G plate (overhead), then bend and visually inspect the results. Pipe work goes further: the 6G position, a 45-degree fixed pipe, is the industry benchmark because you must weld all positions on a curve without repositioning the joint. Passing a 6G coupon in SMAW with E7018 is a portable credential that travels across industries and borders.

Before you test, know which code governs the work. Structural steel is largely covered by AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code, covering joint design, preheat, filler requirements and inspection, while pipe and pressure vessel work pulls in ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX. The electrode specification has also moved: AWS A5.1/A5.1M:2025 is now the current carbon steel SMAW specification, revised from the 2012 edition, so confirm which edition a job invokes before buying consumables.

Pay and Career Reality Check

The money is real but uneven. Per BLS data from May 2025, the top 10% of welders earned more than $77,530, while the lowest 10% earned less than $39,240. The gap is rarely talent alone: location, industry, certification and willingness to work out of position matter more. 63% of welders were employed in manufacturing, with 8% in specialty trade contractors and 4% self-employed. Underwater welding, shipyards and shutdown travel jobs top the pay scale: skill plus inconvenience.

Ten Do’s for the Aspiring Stick Welder

1. Get one formal class before welding alone; an hour of expert correction saves months of bad habits.
2. Start with E6013 for forgiving flat practice, then move to E6010 and E7018 once comfortable.
3. Test in the positions your target industry uses, not just flat.
4. Run a 6G pipe coupon even if you never touch pipe; no drill teaches more per hour.
5. Bake, store and handle low-hydrogen electrodes exactly as the manufacturer specifies.
6. Read welding symbols and blueprints before you read job postings.
7. Grind a coupon to code appearance standards; ugly welds get rejected, not repaired.
8. Get comfortable overhead early; it filters out the competition.
9. Track your hours and test results; certification records are your resume.
10. Treat safety training as a career asset; employers notice.

Conclusion: The Skill That Is Always on Call

Remember the opening story: a cracked water main, rain falling, no gas bottle, no shop, no time. That welder solved it with a stick machine and hands trained over years of practice. That is what you are buying when you learn flux shielded metal arc welding, and why it remains, in NRC training material’s phrasing, the most widely used arc welding process worldwide. Start with a practice plate this week, a mentor this month, a test date within the year. The arc does not care who you are, only whether you can hold it steady.

This article is informational and not a substitute for hands-on training or site-specific compliance review. Always follow your employer’s procedures and the applicable safety standards, such as OSHA 1910.252 and OSHA’s welding safety guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ‘flux shielded metal arc welding’ mean?

It means shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), commonly called stick welding. The ‘flux shielded’ part refers to the chemical coating on the electrode, which melts to create shielding gas and a slag blanket that protects the molten weld pool from oxygen and nitrogen in the air.

What is the difference between flux shielded SMAW and flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)?

In SMAW the flux is a covering on a solid stick electrode, and the electrode is consumed. In FCAW the flux is placed inside a hollow tubular wire that is continuously fed from a spool. OSHA ranks FCAW as producing more fume than SMAW.

Which stick electrode should a beginner start with?

Most instructors start beginners on E6013 or E7018 for flat-position practice because they run smoothly with forgiving arc characteristics, then move to E6010 for deep penetration and out-of-position work. Always confirm the electrode matches the base metal and the job’s code requirements.

What does E7018 stand for?

E means electrode, 70 means the weld metal has a minimum tensile strength of 70,000 psi (70 ksi), 1 means it can be used in all welding positions, and 8 indicates a low-hydrogen covering that requires careful storage and drying.

Can you stick weld outdoors or in the wind?

Yes — that is one of SMAW’s biggest advantages. The flux covering generates its own shielding gas locally, so stick welding tolerates drafts far better than MIG or TIG, which rely on an external stream of shielding gas.

Is stick welding dangerous?

It carries real hazards: ultraviolet arc radiation, electric shock, burns, fire, and inhalation of welding fume containing manganese, and sometimes chromium or nickel. OSHA requires adequate ventilation, protective equipment, and hazard communication, and PPE plus local exhaust ventilation dramatically reduce exposure.

How much does stick welding equipment cost compared to MIG?

Stick welding has the lowest equipment and consumable entry cost of the common arc processes — a basic inverter stick machine, holder, ground clamp and boxes of electrodes are all that’s needed, with no gas cylinder, regulator or wire feeder to buy or refill.

How much do welders earn, and is stick welding a good skill to learn?

The BLS median wage for welders, cutters, solderers and brazers was $53,750 per year in May 2025, with about 40,300 openings projected annually through 2035. Stick welding is the most broadly transferable arc skill and is usually the first process taught in welding programs.