??? Least expensive tungston grinder that works good.

[Doug Doty]

Title says it all. I know some of you guys refer to having tungston grinders. Give me the low down, as I am wanting to purchase one and value the contributors on this site.

[katiebo]

Below is a link to the review that I wrote on the Diamond Ground Piranha II. I have also used and still own a Sharpie Deluxe. The DG unit is really hard to beat for performance.

http://www.millermotorsports.com/mboard/showthread.php?t=6584&highlight=piranha

[Sundown]

Bench grinder with a dedicated green wheel (Silicone Carbide) and a SiloTig. Cost is about $30 for the green wheel, $30 for the SiloTig off ebay, and whatever you want to pay for a bench grinder. The SiloTig takes a bit of practice and a light touch to get the hang of but is fast and can get you a proint as good as nearly anything else. I had a sharpie Delux and found it to be of good quality and fast to use for about $300, the PII would be my first choice at about $700 if I had the money to spend, since I don't the SiloTig will have to do.

[BigDTig]

I would do a search on this board. We have given fairly good treatment to the subject on a handfull of occasions.

The cheapest, and also remarkably effective, is a regular aluminum oxide (gray/white) wheel and a small bench grinder. You can upgrade to a diamond wheel for a smoother finish, but there are a couple of "old pros" here that do simply amazing work with nothing more than this setup.

I would warn against the green wheels. There's more detail in this thread: http://www.millermotorsports.com/mboard/showthread.php?t=4714&highlight=tungsten+grinder Basically, you will contaminate the tungsten and you will find aluminum welding difficult. My experience is DC applications will be fine.

I finally broke down and bought a sharpie this year. My biggest challenge was keeping my dedicated tungsten wheels *clean*. Not from other use, but from dust and debris from other nearby grinders and shop work. The sharpie is nice because I keep it in its case where it stays clean, and for $300, it's the only "entry level" dedicated tungsten grinder. Everything else is $1k and up...

[Doug Doty]

I done some more searching and reading after my initial post and got what I was after. Thanks for the replies. I think I will just go get a cheap bench grinder, an aluminum oxide wheel and make a fixture with a drill bushing.

[CarmenElectrode]

Can't go wrong with Sundown's suggestion for saving money!!

But, sometimes its not about the money ;) it's about having a cool tool on your bench :-)

We just put up a Tungsten Grinder Selector Guide on our site, that is a chart that specs out all the grinders (at least the ones we carry) and what they offer in terms of finish, diameter of tungsten, etc. (Piranha 2 for example from Diamond Ground doesn't go up to 1/8" diameter)
http://www.arc-zone.com/catalog/web_store.cgi?page=tungmain.htm

Hope that helps!

[Teeps]

I've been using a bench grinder and a cordless drill, I must say, when you have many newbie factors to sort out, I think something like a sharpie might be worthwhile even more so to those learning the process for the first time. One less variable mixing up the results, this allows you to focus on other parts of the process.

Sure those with a ton of experience could probably sharpen their tungesten with a piece of bark, and rag and a sidwalk :D , since they know exactly what the result should look like. :D
For those of us that don't, it would be nice not to have to be concerned with this item as a variable, but then again, maybe you still need to know what you are doing with a sharpie to get the right results??

[Laiky]

search on diamond lapidary wheels.

[Doug Doty]

Thanks Carmen,

[CarmenElectrode]

operator error... and a missing L

http://www.arc-zone.com/catalog/web_store.cgi?page=tungmain.html

:-)

and BTW McGyver could totally grind some tungsten with nothing but a paperclip and a stick of gum!

[fun4now]

i have had a sharpy on my to get list for a long time. i think haveing it properly sharpend in less time and the same every time would be a big advantage. the replacement wheels for it are like $20 (or they were when i first looked) and are 2 sided. true they wont outlast a 6" wheel on a dedicated grinder but haveing aconsistant tungsten grind has got to help, especily diuring the lerning stage when there is a lot of grinding to do and takeing out one vareable of the many that can cause problems would be nice.
at the moment i am using a belt sander and a small diomond disk from HF. but i am always broke so i dont have much choice. if i had a job and a stedy income i would get a sharpy. its a good price and will alow constant points. there is too much info about how to sharpen the tungsten for it not to be of some importance to get it right or atleast close, and i know mine are neather right or close most of the time.:(

[boldfabrication]

So whats the proper grind for an electrode that will be used in a inverter machine and welding at about 200 amps on ac? I dont have any trouble (maybe I just dont know better) with dc welding, just head to the belt sander and sharpen. I guess I just need to order some presharpend tungsten and try them out.
Has anyone seen a difference in performance with a dedicated tungsten grinder or is it just to make the tungsten more consistant. What I do now works but I want to know if there is something better?

Thanks,
stu

[fun4now]

in DC usage you would sharpin the tungsten to a point, in ac you would sharpen it to a point then put a small flat insted of the point. the higher the amps the less sharp or tappered the sharpening and a larger flat. i'll see if i can dig up a post from HALK that coverd the sharpening proceadures fort he Dyn200's tungsten. but if memory serves me corectly it was sharpen to a 20% taper (with a .020 flat spot for AC) on a 3/32" tungsten for up to 80-100 amps from there up you would go to a 30-35% taper with a .030 flat spot. i'll dig up a diagram and the post for you soon. you want to gring with the tungsten not acrost it as the cross groves can cause arc wander so always grind in line with the tungsten.
hope this helps

[fun4now]

here it is:
I would stick to (2) tungsten sizes from what you are telling me. ALWAYS USE 1.5% OR 2% LANTHANATED TUNGSTEN WITH THIS MACHINE. I promise it will save you a multitude of headaches!


Actually you can get by easily with only 3/32” diameter tungsten. Diamond ground can send you some samples with a 20 degree taper and a .020” flat. This should do everything from 30 amps up to 120 amps and maybe higher. For the 120 amps to max on the Dynasty 200DX the same 3/32” tungsten will work. Use a 35 degree taper and a .030” flat. This thicker taper and wider flat will handle the current better. The 1/16” will only help your arc stability “somewhat” in the 10-25 amp range. I don’t think it will make much difference to you when first learning, but is nice to have a back up.



Let me tell about current capacity with lanthanated tungsten and the Dynasty inverters. I recently sold my D200DX to a friend and am keeping my 300DX Dynasty. I mainly use 3/32” 2% lanthanated tungsten. I weld aluminum, stainless, and titanium. I occasionally work with mild steel, but not often. Anyway, I use this tungsten for everything from 30 amps to 300 amps. I even run a 75% helium/25%argon mix on aluminum at 300 amps and the tungsten does not melt down. I do use the 35 degree taper and a .030” end flat for everything over 120 amps. I have the Diamond Ground Piranha II tungsten sharpener which makes it easy to adjust taper and end flat in a flash! You can also do it with a bench grinder by hand and eye. I did it for many years that way. A plain jane aluminum oxide wheel works wonders. Do dedicate a wheel to tungsten only. Don’t grind other material on this wheel as the contamination will play havoc on your welds!



For starters on AC with aluminum use 110HZ, 72 EN balance, no pulse, and approximately 1 amp per .001” of material thickness. For example 1/8” =.125 inches or 125 amps.



I hope this helps. By the way 3/32” 2% lanthanated does 99% of my work. I use the 1/16” diameter for the thin stuff as in 22 gauge for your work. I have used .010” thoriated for very specialized work such a .0040” hastealloy ribbon. Unless you get into something very special 1/16” and 3/32” will do all you will ever need to do. Let me know if I missed something.



hope this is of some help, he is a far better TIG welder than i.:D

[boldfabrication]

Well thats good to know as thats what Ive been doing just a bit more flat for the higher amperage. I do need to get a dedicated grind and I think Ill be ok. If the extra cash comes along that I dont know what to do with Ill get one of the sharpies.

Thanks fun4now it really helped out.

[fun4now]

just passing on good info that was given to me, glad it could help.:)
i gotta shoot HAWK an e-mail and see how he's doing i have not herd from him in a long time.:(