If ya TIG weld, you know all too well that sharpening your electrode is very important. And you also know that whatever method you use has to be a dedicated one as not to contaminate the tungsten. I was looking for a cheap way to get my points nice without changing wheels or buying one of the high dollar diamond tipped wheels, or even a tungsten grinder. I dont usually buy Harbor freight stuff, unless its not a long time use, but, I found this little grinder today at HF $28.99. It's 6" long and 5" tall. It's very quiet and you dont even need to bolt it down, as it doesnt vibrate off the table. It came with a buff wheel on the left, and an 80 grit stone on the right. The 80 stone works nice for sharpening my tungsten. It leaves the grind marks in one direction to minimize a wandering arc and doesnt take up much room. Here are a couple pics for you guys. A good tip I thought I'd share.
thank you for the tip , i so want a tig welder just confused over what to buy and what not to buy . Jen
I use a dedicated wheel on a grinder for tungsten. I also keep an old beat up cordless drill by the grinder and chuck up the tungsten in the drill so I can spin the tungsten while I'm grinding the point. I end up with a really nice conical tip and consistent grinding marks. Makes for nice tight arcs, at least until I foul the tip in the puddle #mrshakyhands.
I use my belt sander with a dedicated belt for only tungsten. That and a drill and I can sharpen 8 points in a couple of minutes.
Hey 5foot2, I like the idea of putting the tungsten in the drill to spin it while grinding. I never think of those ideas and it helps others like you do. Thanks.
Hey nutbush, thanks for sharing - I have done the same, but didn't think to start a thread about it. Glad ya did. And 5foot2 - using a cordless for turning the electrode is a good idea - it'd want to be pretty slow to keep the 'scratches' running longitudinal, but good idea anyway. Good thread - cheers.
I wanted a tungsten grinder and just about had another Heart attack when I saw the prices. Let me tell you about a tool for $29.95 from Welders Depot that is terrific. It is Itialian and the brand is Stilo, it looks like one of those holders that you put a round soapstone in with a pocket clip but what it does is hold the electrode and when you hold the electrode against the grinding wheel at the angle you want it has a friction mechanisn that allows the electrode to spin. You don't have to worry about spinning it and keep the correct angle. The tool comes with collets for two sizes of electrodes. I did buy a garage sale grinder and a really good stone made for grinding tungsten and the difference in my welding was worth it.
I chuck my tungsten in my cordless drill and use a fresh sanding disc in my air grinder. Works pretty well but I like the idea of a dedicated grinder.....if I can find a place for it.
I have a dedicated green wheel on my grinder just for tungstens and i use a pin chuck to hold them when they get short.
A dedicated grinder belt or stone is a great idea. However once the tungsten is used and gets sharpened the stone is now contaminated, even so it is still better than using a muli purpose sander. I would guess the only way to keep the dedicated sharpener contaminate free would be to clip off a 1/4" of tungsten and re-sharpen each time. I too use the cordless drill to spin it while sharpening. And dirt t, 80 grit will work but I find 120 works better.
This Harbor Freight one I bought is 6"x5" its small! I thought so too, but once I used it and checked the grinding indentions in the tungsten, its not bad, and produces a nice controlled arc. Harv...How can you say the stone is contaminated when the only thing the stone has ever touched is my 2% lanthanated tungsten. The stone and grinder is 100% dedicated to grinding tungsten, so contaminated yes, with tungsten particles.
I have been welding for a long time and never ever heard of this. Are you sure this is true, and not just a wives tail.
Only if you cut your tungsten every time you sharpen it. The reason I resharpen most (others may vary) is that I have accidentally dipped the tungsten in the puddle which causes the material being welded to stick to the tungsten as soon as you grind the tungsten that material has contaminated your grinding wheel.
you don t need a dedicated grinder to sharpen your tungsten. As soon as you dip the tungsten in the puddle, its contaminated. Sharpening it on your grinder contaminants the grinder. the sharpeners you buy just help you get the right angles.
I second that. 1/8" and 3/32" starrett pin wrenches (I use gas lenses with short caps on my torches and tungsten is always short) and proper wheel.
Welding on Ford wishbones like i do, stuff/contamination pops out of the old factory welds and melts onto the tungsten. After this happens it's off to the sander to put a new point back on thus contaminating the sander. As a welder you just have to do your best to keep the tip and material as clean as possible, it's a constant struggle.
I have a dedicated grinder with a flap wheel on one side and a #80 wheel on the other. I clean any metal off the tungston with the flap wheel and grind a new tip with the grind wheel and a cordless drill. I finally got a nice grove in the grind wheel so grinding a tip is easier.
Anything that comes in contact with a grinding wheel or abrasive belt deposits something on it. When sharpening the tungsten some of that contamination will be transferred to the tungsten. Depending on the jobs you are doing, and the level of your skill, that may or may not matter. Some experts will use only stones, claiming that even new abrasive belts contaminate the tungsten. Maybe it's the adhesives used to glue on the abrasive, I don't know. The tungsten should not be dipped into the puddle. When that happens the tungsten should be re-done. That means a lot of trips to the grinder and a lot of wasted tungsten until you learn not to do it.
I am a big fan of using the drill to hold the tungsten. I use the belt sander or the 41/2 grinder at the bench so I don't have to get up and walk
I try to not let anything touch my dedicated grinding wheel except the "uncontaminated" tungsten. Meaning, if I do dip my wick, before sharpening it on my dedicated grinder, I snip off 1/4 inch of the tip. I also sharpen up a dozen or so tungsten rods so I can blow and go. And snip and grind later.
Dora anybody polish their tungsten? I have a dedicated scotch brite wheel that I polish them on after I grind them to a point. I get a more consistent arc with less wandering
I'm with you... I don't claim to know all there is about welding but I've been doing it over 10 years and have never thought that I needed a dedicated grinding wheel for the tungsten.
When I was a weldor in Pratt& Whitney we had dedicated grinding wheels marked for material type SS Titanium etc. you were expected to break off your contaminated tips before grinding and you were still required to grind on only the correct marked wheels.We were also not allowed to grind both ends of a tungsten we had to have the color markings show on the butt ends of the tungsten.In the past few years they have come out with a chemical dip that sharpens tungstens without grinding you get the tungsten hot and dip it into this jar of paste and it comes out just as sharp as if you ground it and no scratches to scatter the arc, You can buy it at any weld supply I have used it and it works well and no need to have a grinder handy just keep the jar in easy reach.
sorry I don't remember the name I used it on my job about 4 years ago I think it was called Chemsharp but not sure.I don't have a tig set up at home yet but last time I went to my supplier I had asked him about it and they sell it.
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