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Guest
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:35 am
I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?


perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.
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Goose
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:27 am
Guest
On Apr 20, 4:35 pm, lethaldri...@gmail.com wrote:
Quote:
I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Hi there.

Remember to grind away from the point when grinding the tungsten.

Maybe you are using a wrong type of tungsten for the material. What
type of material are you welding?
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Guest
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:54 pm
yes i am grinding away from the point.

but maybe the grinding stone contaminated my tungsten with a few steel/
aluminum bits since my grinder is also used for grinding different
metal pieces.

my collet and collet holder seem to have steel bits on it too.

i am using thoriated on steel.
pure tungsten on aluminum.




On Apr 22, 3:27 am, Goose <mringga...@gmail.com> wrote:
Quote:
On Apr 20, 4:35 pm, lethaldri...@gmail.com wrote:

I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Hi there.

Remember to grind away from the point when grinding the tungsten.

Maybe you are using a wrong type of tungsten for the material. What
type of material are you welding?
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mandelbrot5@gmail.com
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:00 pm
Guest
On Apr 21, 5:54 pm, lethaldri...@gmail.com wrote:
Quote:
yes i am grinding away from the point.

but maybe the grinding stone contaminated my tungsten with a few steel/
aluminum bits since my grinder is also used for grinding different
metal pieces.

my collet and collet holder seem to have steel bits on it too.

i am using thoriated on steel.
pure tungsten on aluminum.

On Apr 22, 3:27 am, Goose <mringga...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Apr 20, 4:35 pm, lethaldri...@gmail.com wrote:

I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Hi there.

Remember to grind away from the point when grinding the tungsten.

Maybe you are using a wrong type of tungsten for the material. What
type of material are you welding?

If you are grinding your tungsten because you keep dipping it in the
weld pool, you need to grind off whatever was exposed from your
collet. The tungsten is hot enough to 'absorb' metal into it's
crystal structure and you need to grind it all off or it will melt/
vaporize and ruin your point.

Another thing to keep in mind, your work must be absolutely clean. If
there is any oil, water, scale or 'barf' in what you are trying to
weld, its going to pop and make a mess of your weld, tungsten and
torch. If this happens, grind out the entire part of the weld that
got contaminated, grind your tungsten down and start over. With
steel, Stainless you should grind tell you see no holes, in al you
grind tell you see no black or sparks. You shouldn't see anything
near what you are welding that isn't bright clean metal.

The cardinal rule with TIG is NEVER let your Tungsten touch your weld
pool or your rod.

Tig is the most complex and difficult manual welding process to get
down, so don't get discouraged. Just keep laying down bead and you'll
get better.
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Guest
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:31 pm
thanks for the advice.

i thought i could get away without using a grinding stone dedicated to
tungsten electrodes only.

i guess you just can't.


again, thanks.




On Apr 22, 4:04 pm, "toolman946 via CraftKB.com" <u40139@uwe> wrote:
Quote:
lethaldri...@gmail.com wrote:
but maybe the grinding stone contaminated my tungsten with a few steel/
aluminum bits since my grinder is also used for grinding different
metal pieces.

Nothing... I repeat... NOTHING... should be ground with the stone or disk
used to grind the tungsten except the tungsten. It sounds like you're
contaminating your tungsten every time you touch it to your grinder. Replace
the disk with a fresh one and use it only for sharpening tungsten.

Bench grinders these days are cheaper than a Missouri farmer. You can buy one
for less money than a 10 pack of tungsten electrodes. It will save you money,
sharpen your electrodes more accurately and efficiently and will improve your
tig welding experience overall.

Three key words to remember when tig welding... CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN.

Cheers

--
Message posted via CraftKB.comhttp://www.craftkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/welding/200804/1
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Maxwell
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:38 am
Guest
<lethaldriver@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1c7f88df-5da7-44f8-9b39-4ec76c99f9ed@p39g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
Quote:
yes i am grinding away from the point.

but maybe the grinding stone contaminated my tungsten with a few steel/
aluminum bits since my grinder is also used for grinding different
metal pieces.

my collet and collet holder seem to have steel bits on it too.

What do you mean by steel bits? Has your collet and collet body become
contaminated from contact with the weld puddle?
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Maxwell
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:38 am
Guest
<lethaldriver@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:6eaf9706-9e90-48fd-9a31-8752aa43df99@i36g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Quote:
thanks for the advice.

i thought i could get away without using a grinding stone dedicated to
tungsten electrodes only.

i guess you just can't.


I've never found this to be true.
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Ignoramus4930
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:08 am
Guest
What I do for tungsten electrodes is very simple. I use the same
bench grinder that I use for everything else.

However, I grind the tungsten electrodes on the side of the wheel as
opposed to the face of the wheel where I grind everything else.

Obviously, these small electrodes, held in hand, do not put any
meaningful pressure on the wheels.

I have a Baldor 500 diamond grinder for sale (115v). With pedestal.

i
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