What do you think about stick welding?
Where does it stand in the automotive world?
Is it suitable for exhaust, body work, manifolds and whatnot?

 

I like it, easy to get a really good strong weld. I've used it for brackets and frame stuff but have never tried it on any exhaust yet and would probably never used it for body work(too dirty)

 

i have a buddy who swears by the stick welder! he uses it to stiffen up domestics that are gonna be hopping on hydros!

 

Use the right tool for the job. Stick welding has a lot of uses, and it's not just for structural work. I've seen excellent work done on off-road rigs, like custom bumpers, winch mounts, etc etc all with stick.

setting up the machine properly and preheating can be even more important with stick compared to wire-fed processes. on a really good stick weld the slag should just curl up and fall right off for most types of electrodes.

it takes a really steady hand and real knowledge of what is going on inside the weld.

 

Stick welding is good for thick material. The welder itself is cheap, and you don't have to worry about shielding gas. It's good, but setting it up for doing really thin material would be a bit tricky. You could do it as long as you have some scrap to practice on and use a rod meant for all directions of welding. MIG is far easier though. And TIG would be awesome for tubing.