Skinny tungsten sharpening?

[Keith_J]

I'm not made of gold but I did buy a Dynasty 200DX because of features, therefore I cannot justify a $700 tungsten sharpener. I had been using a regular aluminum oxide grinding stone, dressed to remove iron with moderate success. But in combination with seeing a friend's grinder accident and the issue of thoriated tungsten dust potentially impacting my co-worker's health (he has MS), I had to find a better way.

I had a bright idea. Dremel. Yeah, that pseudo-tool much maligned by purists but personally a valuable tool. They make a diamond grit wheel, minus would be the vents (holes) but it is worth a try. Well, for the $25 wallet-ectomy, I tried it on 0.040" 2% thoriated, outside to avoid the (minor) radiation issue. Wow! Smooth, fine finish and FAST. No pressure is needed to grind a fine point, even using the "down-hill" (pointed away from travel) to avoid hitting the vent holes. The grind marks are all proper and much finer than a bonded wheel.

As an added bonus, it came in a nice little blister container which will keep it contaminant free!

It isn't as easy as a purpose-built tungsten sharpener but it is fast. No concerns about contamination anymore.

[Tritium]

There are acceptable substitutes for thoriated tungsten.

Thurmond

[Helios]

See if you can search up SundownIII's thread on this topic. He has a good system using diamond-encrusted cabbing (stone grinding) wheels available on ebay. Having used his system, I can tell you it's simple, it's cheap and it works great.

[chewinggum]

Why are you using thoriated on that inverter?
CG

[Keith_J]

Why are you using thoriated on that inverter?
CG

Because it came with one 3/32" (haven't used) and I have nearly used up the single 0.040" that came with it. The LWS only had 2% thoriated in that diameter.

The inverter cannot tell the difference between 2% Th or Ce. The fear of alpha particle emission from Th is what shifted the use to Ce.

[pro mod steve]

I use a 3" 3M roloc disk on a 1/4" angle grinder. Started this way due to funds not able to buy a grinder. Haven't had a problem so I never changed. On larger diameter tungsten I start with 60 grit and finish with 120 grit.

[popspipes]

I'm not made of gold but I did buy a Dynasty 200DX because of features, therefore I cannot justify a $700 tungsten sharpener. I had been using a regular aluminum oxide grinding stone, dressed to remove iron with moderate success. But in combination with seeing a friend's grinder accident and the issue of thoriated tungsten dust potentially impacting my co-worker's health (he has MS), I had to find a better way.

I had a bright idea. Dremel. Yeah, that pseudo-tool much maligned by purists but personally a valuable tool. They make a diamond grit wheel, minus would be the vents (holes) but it is worth a try. Well, for the $25 wallet-ectomy, I tried it on 0.040" 2% thoriated, outside to avoid the (minor) radiation issue. Wow! Smooth, fine finish and FAST. No pressure is needed to grind a fine point, even using the "down-hill" (pointed away from travel) to avoid hitting the vent holes. The grind marks are all proper and much finer than a bonded wheel.

As an added bonus, it came in a nice little blister container which will keep it contaminant free!

It isn't as easy as a purpose-built tungsten sharpener but it is fast. No concerns about contamination anymore.

I use a a 4" diamond wheel (a friend gave me some almost worn out ones), I made an arbor for it and mounted it on the bench grinder, it works beautifully and no dust either. I sharpen tungsten 5 to 20 times a day and there is no sign of wear on the wheel and it cuts quickly. The grit is about 320, works well on small tungsten, (.040).

I also have the dremel with the diamond wheels from HF, they work well too but I needed a stand to hold the dremel, so I went the other route.

I also have the Dynasty 200 dx, 245 hours on it and love the machine!