What is the difference between MIG wire, TIG wire, and electrodes?
MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding, also known as GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Weld), is always done with spooled wire, usually 0.035″ or 0.045″ rarely 0.062″. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding, also known as GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Weld), is usually done with 36″ straight lengths of bare wire. Automatic TIG machines may use spooled wire but 36″ lengths of wire are only used for TIG. Electrodes, commonly called “stick welding”, are typically 14″ lengths of wire, coated with a gray flux over all but the last 1-1/2 to 2″.
