02-14-2016, 12:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-14-2016, 12:17 AM by Roadracer_Al.)
One of the big hurdles I had to get over when learning to TIG weld was the tendency to dip the tip in the puddle then just forge ahead with a contaminated tungsten (in my defense, I was young and impatient when I learned, and developed a LOT of bad habits).
I have finally broken that habit and one tool in particular has helped with that -- I made a 2-sided "pencil holder" for tungstens. One side is "CLEAN" the other side is "DIRTY". I use a cordless drill at the belt sander with a fine-grit belt to point BOTH ENDS of all my tungstens, yes the whole box all at once... this assumes you only keep one flavor of tungsten in your shop. That way there's very little down time for switching to a clean tungsten. When the "DIRTY" side is full, it's time to go spend some quality time at the belt sander.
I've experimented with the "scratch direction" on the tips - I've read on the internet that it could make a difference. IMHO, it doesn't. It might make a difference when grinding a tungsten with very coarse abrasive, but IMHO, the arc is more stable and tight if a fine abrasive is used and a good clean finish applied. I also find that a light polish/cleaning on the shank seems to help arc stability, too.
Also, I'd studiously avoid sharpening your tungstens on your bench grinder -- it'll quickly wear a groove in the wheel and you'll have to waste an enormous amount of the wheel when dressing it for regular grinding tasks.
And, BTW, a 2% Thoriated tungsten *will* weld aluminum, and it's superior to pure tungsten on thin sheet stock -- it keeps a nice tight puddle -- but it's NFG for plate or heavy castings, it just breaks down. I'd be curious to try some Lanthinated, but I have a lot of Thoriated on hand.
Here's my last fun tungsten trivia: those of us who are of a "certain age" and had drafting lessons at school may recall a pencil-ish device called a "lead holder". Turns out that when your tungsten gets down to about 1" and is too short to hold in a torch, putting a point on the electrode and slipping it into your antique, obsolete lead holder makes a really nice scribe for doing layout tasks, and they stay sharp a really really long time.
I have finally broken that habit and one tool in particular has helped with that -- I made a 2-sided "pencil holder" for tungstens. One side is "CLEAN" the other side is "DIRTY". I use a cordless drill at the belt sander with a fine-grit belt to point BOTH ENDS of all my tungstens, yes the whole box all at once... this assumes you only keep one flavor of tungsten in your shop. That way there's very little down time for switching to a clean tungsten. When the "DIRTY" side is full, it's time to go spend some quality time at the belt sander.
I've experimented with the "scratch direction" on the tips - I've read on the internet that it could make a difference. IMHO, it doesn't. It might make a difference when grinding a tungsten with very coarse abrasive, but IMHO, the arc is more stable and tight if a fine abrasive is used and a good clean finish applied. I also find that a light polish/cleaning on the shank seems to help arc stability, too.
Also, I'd studiously avoid sharpening your tungstens on your bench grinder -- it'll quickly wear a groove in the wheel and you'll have to waste an enormous amount of the wheel when dressing it for regular grinding tasks.
And, BTW, a 2% Thoriated tungsten *will* weld aluminum, and it's superior to pure tungsten on thin sheet stock -- it keeps a nice tight puddle -- but it's NFG for plate or heavy castings, it just breaks down. I'd be curious to try some Lanthinated, but I have a lot of Thoriated on hand.
Here's my last fun tungsten trivia: those of us who are of a "certain age" and had drafting lessons at school may recall a pencil-ish device called a "lead holder". Turns out that when your tungsten gets down to about 1" and is too short to hold in a torch, putting a point on the electrode and slipping it into your antique, obsolete lead holder makes a really nice scribe for doing layout tasks, and they stay sharp a really really long time.