Grinding tungsten

[Rai]

What type of grinded angle works best when using small tungsten like 1/16 or .040 for welding mild steel? How does angle affect arc and control. I'm using a dynasty 200. Just trying to learn what affect angles have. Thanks.

[Tailshaft56]

Just grind whatever angles you want and try them. Nothing beats firsthand expirience

[Sundown]

I like a 20º for MS& SS and 30º for aluminum, but thats just me ... like Dennis said, try different tapers and use what works for you. :)

[81Malibu]

grind whatever kind of taper you like but always remember to grind length-ways, NOT horizontal.

[burninbriar]

This might help you out some.
http://www.arc-zone.com/pdf/GrindingTungsten.pdf

[ross]

Try horizontal once, just so you know what it does. :)

[fredo]

How do you know what taper you have ?

Fredo

[Sundown]

How do you know what taper you have ?

Fredo

Get a cheap plastic protractor for about a buck at a office supplies store, it will give you a good idea of where you are at. Attached is a picture of the setup I used when I was using my grinder, just grind and check the point for either the 20º or the 30º side depending on the taper you need. Easy to make, just 20ga a protractor to mark the degrees and a pair of stright tin cutters.

[shadetreewelder]

Here's a good starting point for grinding tungstens. Grind longitudinally (with the long axis). The flat is so you don't melt off the tip and have it end up in your weld puddle.

Experiment from there. Grinding one horizontally would be a good experiment and stated above.

Remember post flow should be 1 second for every 10 amps of welding current used. 100 amps, 10 seconds.

[Rai]

I asked this question cause I was having trouble welding some tubing I was working on. The tubing was mild steel and was about .049 thick. I tried using a 1/16 tungsten and a .040 and the problem I had was some burn through and ark wander. My tungsten were at about 30 degrees taper with a flat tip. I tried again grinding them to the same angle but with no flat on the tip and I seem to have good arc control now and no more burn through. So far the tip has not burned off. I am using a dynasty200 with a ceriated tungsten and was only working with about 40 amps. Does this make sence guys cause every where I read it says grind a flat?

[shadetreewelder]

... I tried again grinding them to the same angle but with no flat on the tip and I seem to have good arc control now and no more burn through. So far the tip has not burned off. I am using a dynasty200 with a ceriated tungsten and was only working with about 40 amps. Does this make sence guys cause every where I read it says grind a flat?
You are not pushing enough amp to melt the tip, then again if the weld aren't being x-rayed it probably doesn't matter.

[tallwelder]

This is one of the mysterious areas of tig welding. All seasoned tig welders (that make their living with tig) grind tungsten differently and dont care to use any one elses tungsten! Some say to grind length wise with the tungsten but many of the "high end" diamond wheel tungsten grinders are set up to grind across the tungsten!? If the grit of the grinding wheel is fine enough to give a polished appearance on the point I cannot tell any benefits from grinding it either way.
Over the years I have worked with, talked with etc. hundreds of professional tig welders (8 hours every day with tig only!) none have ever ground a flat on their tungsten, all would set a tungsten with anything but a very fine point aside and put in a sharp one! (this is for dc welding). This is aircraft parts, many are x-rayed.
At the end of a shift You could go to any machine in the shop and the tungsten in the torch will be sharp...very sharp after many hours of use!
Experiment and do it the way You enjoy! No book can help You. Carl

[joebass]

I don't put a flat on for DC welding. I use about a .020 flat on AC.

[Buzz Job]

I do a lot of 049 and 035 tubing and prefer the .040 tungsten with a #4-5 nozzle and 8-10 cfh on a 9 series air cooled torch.
proper fit is real critical on this thinner stuff, gaps make it more difficult to controll blow out.
The above seem more important to me than tip angle as I routinely crack off the tip and weld with a near flat tip (not ground)
040 will build its own tip fairly fast.
one other thing I do with this setup is extend the tungsten further from the nozzle arround a 1/4" so this heats the tip quick to reduce wander.
On a cluster weld in a tight corner I might extend the tungsten arround 1/2" but shield the area with copper sheet.
tungsten larger than 040 I use a sharp tip 15-30 deg. on D/C
Hope this might be of some help?