Gotta disagree with all the young sprouts who pontificate about OAW welding, but "never done it". Divorced marriage counselors are "experts" too. Learning to control the puddle and the penetration with a torch is critical, and it gives a rookie a better understanding of what's really happening when metals are being fused together. OAW is the way I started out with all the students in the welding classes I taught for several years. Watching the pieces melt and fuse without pouring a huge gob of fresh metal into the gap is a definite learning experience, and learning when, and how fast to add the fill rod to produce a good bead is something that comes in handy later, when a student steps up to TIG welding.
MIG is for lazy people too impatient to experience the full learning curve of becoming a competent welder. Once some skill with a torch is developed, then the MIG system makes some jobs easier and faster. Like any other skill, there are no shortcuts to the process, and OAW is the logical starting point to build on.
Jerry
