I use the side of the grinding wheel to sharpen tungsten's. Nothing else ever touches the sides of the grinding wheels and you dont have to take up space with another grinder.
ive never heard of anyone having to use a separate grinder or sander for grinding there tungsten. like others said before even if you do the metal thats contaminated the tip in the first place would end up on your grinder, also, i do know at work when we had an actual grinder for them, they ground the tips from front(pointy end) to the back. any microscopic particle of metal that you say would get on the tip would atomize the moment you struck an arch. dont be crazy. pretty soon yall will be wiping your ass with a fresh roll of toilet paper each swipe, and using a fresh spoon for every scoop of ice cream!
My chief pilot is a boilermaker by trade and i showed him this post and he said he understands everyones reasons for sharpening the way they do,,,but told me its not that important for mild steel ,,aluminium and stainless (which is what most of us are welding) he said its more important for 4130(cromoly),magnesium & dissimilar metals etc etc he welds like a robot upside down inside out and any metal you throw at him ,although he did say the drill idea was agood one as long as it was going really slow,,,,,,i do ok stuff sharpening on any random linisher or grinding wheel,,no slag inclusions etc etc but i do prefer oxy with a henrob tip for bodywork,,,,,,
Per the posts in this discussion, shops doing high quality welds are careful about tungsten contamination. Just laying the torch down with the tungsten contacting the bench is unacceptable. A contaminated tungsten is supposed to be broken off before grinding. Not only does that eliminate all the contaminated tungsten, it avoids the problem you mentioned of contaminating the grinding stone. If contamination simply burned away it wouldn't be necessary to regrind the tungsten. What you can get away with and what is done in shops doing high quality welds isn't the same thing. Many like to grind with the tip leading against the grinding wheel. Tungsten occasionally shatters when being ground. When that happens it's possible for a piece of tungsten to grab the wheel and be stabbed into your hand. Although not commonplace, it has happened. Yes, if you are sloppy, unsteady, indifferent, or just not very good at it, you can go through a lot of tungsten keeping it clean. Just because it doesn't matte to you doesn't mean it doesn't matter. There are jobs where one would be fired for doing as you suggest.
That little grinder in the first post ..... With two stones in place it would have 6 grinding faces. Progressively working your tungsten across those faces minimizes the contamination of the stones. However you are fooling yourself into thinking its contamination free unless you break the end past the contamination and sharpen only fresh tungsten on the wheel..
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/ Here's a great web site for info., has been helpful to me over the years--
I thought the grinding/sharpening on the tungsten was supposed to be lineal ie: front to back. Everybody in this post is using a cordless drill wich obviously makes radial lines. Have I been misinformed? Pat
The drill is used against a spinning grinding wheel the grind marks are still linear going the length of the tungsten.There is no difference than you turning the tungsten as you grind and its a bit better in your not holding a hot sharp tungsten in your fingers,There are a lot of differrent tools used to hold a tungsten while grinding like pin vises etc. they all do the same thing just give you a little better grip in the tungsten and keep your hands/fingers safer from the grinding operation.
As usual there is a lot of "tribal Knowledge" that gets passed along, much of which is just plain wrong, and some of which "works OK for Me, so it must be right" mentality. Since many folks are "basic" welders and aren't doing certified work, the methods they use are "Good Enough" for them. Others are just too lazy or think because they don't know of a problem, it just doesn't matter (and for making little brackets and such, it probably doesn't matter). But I can tell you that many of these methods would get you fired from an Aerospace quality job. If you want to know more about the Right way to treat your tungsten's, read this. http://www.ncpwb.org/technicalresources/NCPWB-TR-How_to_Prepare_Electrodes.pdf
The subject of tungsten sharpening is very subjective, what works for some other's rebuke. Spend some time in a jet engine rebuild shop and you will learn their way. Spend time in a boiler shop and you will learn another way. I go with the dedicated wheel opinion with clipping of the tip if you think you have contaminated your electrode. I have tried the cordless drill technique and like it but still gravitate towards my pin vise to hold my electrode's while grinding/sanding my own opinion of a point . (tig welding since 1979 here)
So how does a contaminated tungsten affect the actual weld? Ive been doing the neaderthal way of sharpening on a grinding wheel. What exactly am I missing here?
If you were welding aluminum, you would know if your tungsten is contaminated. You can get by with a small degree if you are welding carbon steel. Not saying its recommended but it is not as critical. Aluminum is really critical.
probably because its an AC current and not a DC current. electrons are going back and forth between the two, as apposed to the electrons moving from the material to the torch. i guess i havent ever needed aluminum to be so perfect, ive welded it just fine with so called "contaminated" tips. i also have done it with a pointed tip instead of a rounded tip that they ask for, for fine work. eventually it rounds off tho. it all comes down to what works best for the application. if youre building a ship for nasa im sure it might matter. if youre building a fucking hotrod to cruize around town and chase some fuckin tail, you think it really matters? just weld that damn thing up and go hollar at some girls and drink beer. sheesh.
That tungsten sharpening paste that was mentioned sounds interesting. Anyone else have any experience with it ? Here is one I found on line: http://weldingdirect.com/chemtunpoinp.html Don
Here is a great little tool for sharpening your tungsten. I am stuck at work today with my high pressure welding crew on a boiler tube repair and I came across the thread again at an opportune time. We keep these right beside us as we are welding, nice diamond wheel, variable speed, sharpens tungsten in seconds to a nice profile. Wish I had one at home, it would save running to the grinder. regards, Rhys.
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