Tig tungsten grinders, what do you use?

[grego]

Mods, please don't move. I am interested in the solutions of the others on this board for the different ways they fabricated a tool to accomplish grinding a point on the tungstens. Not just discussing the store-bought tools.

So how about it? I have seen homemade belt sanders, grinders and so many other homemade solutions to expensive or specialty equipment. I could go and buy a $300 grinder but I don't think that will satisfy me in that special way.
So let's see them!

 

[mjb]

I have a belt grinder and kept a couple of belts just for sharpening tungsten. I would use a drill and sharpen all my tungsten at once.

I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a tungsten grinder. It is much more convenient than changing a belt and using the drill on the grinder.

 

[APEowner]

I just slap a fresh pad on the DA and lock it into SA mode.

 

[srmofo]

Take this for whats its worth as I have about 3-4 hours of seat time on my diversion, but I just throw the tungsten in the drill and have at it on the grinder. I bought a new wheel for it and only use tungsten on it.

I also have 3 grinders....for some damn reason when I need a tool I end up with 3 of them. Dont ask me about drill presses

 

[mike13u]

I use a dedicated 6" bench grinder. Dedicated meaning nothing else is ever grinded on those wheels except tungsten. Even has a warning sticker on it in case someone else is working with me and thinks its a standard grinder.

 

[slow50]

i also use a dedicated wheel on a bench grinder at work and i just spin it with my hands unless its really small ill put it in a drill.

 

[grego]

Darn, I was hoping for more neat pictures. Oh well.

So what kind of wheel do you use on your grinder? The one that came stock on mine already has some serious grooves in it from doing maybe 40 so far.
Also, I heard of contamination with wire brushes and such but does it matter if you grind red, green and gold on the same wheel or belt? Especially once they touch the work piece? Won't that material get on the wheel or belt and cross contaminate like using the same knife or cutting board for chicken and pork.

 

[jeff g]

Hi
i just use a disk grinder in one hand & the tungsten in the other.

 

[srmofo]

Darn, I was hoping for more neat pictures. Oh well.

So what kind of wheel do you use on your grinder? The one that came stock on mine already has some serious grooves in it from doing maybe 40 so far.
Also, I heard of contamination with wire brushes and such but does it matter if you grind red, green and gold on the same wheel or belt? Especially once they touch the work piece? Won't that material get on the wheel or belt and cross contaminate like using the same knife or cutting board for chicken and pork.

I would assume that it would contaminate it, but in my opinion its more like using the same knife to cut 2 different chickens. Either way its still tungsten with a different additive. Those additives have different characteristics, but as far as I know it wont contaminate the weld puddle the same way rust/grime would.

But what do I know, Im certainly not welding anything where different types of tungsten would make or break the project at hand

 

[Gamble]

I bought a bench grinder (ryobi) from home depot for $40ish. I use the left side for tungsten and the right side for anything else. Haven't changed the wheels either.

 

[38D]

I use the same one with my Dynasty 200. I really like it as its easy and fast.

I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a tungsten grinder. It is much more convenient than changing a belt and using the drill on the grinder.

 

[CAOS]

I prefer a 6" diamond wheel on a bench grinder spun with a drill. We do have tungsten grinders at work, but the diamond wheel works the best.

 

[waggie]

i just chuck the tungsten into my cordless drill and have at it on my 2 inch belt sander. I used to use a dedicated sanding belt, but laziness has gotten the better of me and i just sharpen with whatever belt that's on at the moment, as long as it's 80 grit.

works fine so far.

 

[CMT John]

I like to rough grind on a belt sander and use a dedicated bench grinder to get the fine finish you need for a stable arc.

 

[t100]

45 or 60 grit 12" disk sander. belt sander may work but they have much lower surface speed.

most of professional welding shops(i.e. pressure vessels, military contractors) have dedicated tungsten grinders with diamond wheels.

 

[Gary Anderson]

Rough cut, cordless, on bench grinder.

Cordless drill and belt sander to finish, run at full speed.

Your Pal, Gary

 

[BWS]

Look into a Scott Murray knife grinder.Its a rubber drum that expands when spinning.....which grips what is basically a sanding belt.Too lazy to go measure,prolly 8" diam.....3" wide.

The nice part is when its off,the belts just pull right off..........hang a dedicated Tungsten belt up next to machine(simple elect motor/arbor).

The bennys are you can use the setup for other things.......the belts come in different grits.We use ours for knives,Tungstens,and certain wood pcs.For Tungstens,we use a keyless drill motor to spin them.BW

 

[zmotorsports]

I have a dedicated stone on the bench grinder that I used until I dropped some coin on a Weldcraft Triad Tungsten Grinder. Overall I am happy with it, however, I think I did just as good a job on the grinder.

Mike.

 

[Sincitymetalworks]

I have a bench grinder that is only used for this and Is labeled tungsten only!

 

[dr_clyde]

[/QUOTE]

I have this one. It's made by a company called TechSouth. It was about $275 dollars. It's handy for sharpening in the field, or if you don't have access to a grinder otherwise. Really works well, although the cord insulation right around the grinder cracked really fast. My welding dealer warrantied it though.

Honestly, unless you are doing welding in the field, or don't have a bench grinder, it's kinda expensive. Put a green silicon carbide wheel on your bench grinder, and wear a couple grooves in it and use it only for tungsten. Much cheaper.

 

[spv]

The fact Sharpie charge $85 more for the 220 volt version stopped my purchase dead in it's tracks.

 

[ibuiltmine]

Just a safety reminder.... Some of the tungsten you use has a radioactive metal in them. The dust is pretty unhealthy and that's why the big shop sharpeners have a dust collection apparatus on them to safely keep the radioactive dust from getting into your lungs. The metal is called Thorium (as in 2% Thoriated Tungsten) and its perfectly safe enclosed int eh tungsten, but when ground up the particles can get into your lungs. Then you have a microscopic piece of radioactive material in your lung doing who knows what to it. Worse off, a grinder blows that dust onto your pant leg and you track it into the house and expose your family.

Knowledge is Safety and Safety First!

 

[WILD-BILL]

I bought the Diamond wheels from HF.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-large-diamond-grinding-wheel-set-32397.html

I use the lagest one and chuck it up in my lathe to spin it while I have the tungsten in the drill to spin that while sharpening.

It works great.

 

[phy6]

I just rub mine on the concrete outside until it's sharp enough to poke my finger real good.

 

[bad_idea]

Sitting here in my armchair, I would recommend you get a professional to sharpen tungsten for you.
















Sorry, couldn't stop myself.

 

[Gamble]

I got this and LOVE it for tungsten
http://www.harborfreight.com/multipurpose-sharpener-99823.html

 

[Mechtech]

Just a safety reminder.... Some of the tungsten you use has a radioactive metal in them. The dust is pretty unhealthy and that's why the big shop sharpeners have a dust collection apparatus on them to safely keep the radioactive dust from getting into your lungs. The metal is called Thorium (as in 2% Thoriated Tungsten) and its perfectly safe enclosed int eh tungsten, but when ground up the particles can get into your lungs. Then you have a microscopic piece of radioactive material in your lung doing who knows what to it. Worse off, a grinder blows that dust onto your pant leg and you track it into the house and expose your family.

Knowledge is Safety and Safety First!

Unless you're grinding A LOT of thoriated tungsten (and then eating the dust) there is no heath hazard associated with it. We use 1/2 inch dia thoriated tungsten tips in our arc melter and they get cleaned after every use. ESH&A did a site survey and found that both the air born and particulate were well below OSHA requirements. (actually they could barely pick up any trace of the thorium). And this was while reshaping the tip, which usually takes an hour or more of grinding. The main health hazard with Thoriated Tungsten is in making it not using it.

 

[WILD-BILL]

I got this and LOVE it for tungsten
http://www.harborfreight.com/multipurpose-sharpener-99823.html

I'm failing to understand how you use that for Tungsten.

Don't suppose you have a vid showing it in action?

 

[Gamble]

I'm failing to understand how you use that for Tungsten.

Don't suppose you have a vid showing it in action?

I can't take credit for the idea, but it all started on this thread, video from the person that gave me the idea in post #15
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=154271

I left mine all assembled and didn't put any accessories on it as seen in the pic. It's a spinning diamond wheel inside basically.

 

[WILD-BILL]

I can't take credit for the idea, but it all started on this thread, video from the person that gave me the idea in post #15
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=154271

I left mine all assembled and didn't put any accessories on it as seen in the pic. It's a spinning diamond wheel inside basically.

Thanks. Now that I see that it's really no different then what I'm doing now only I use my lathe to hold and spin the diamond wheel instead of having a dedicated motor for it.

Either way good tip.

 

[Gamble]

For people like me without a lathe and limited space it's awesome.

 

[grego]

I like the little sharpener. I saw in the welding web thread video something I don't understand, why did he break off a portion of the tungsten and not just cut it in half? It seems like he has waisted that portion instead of cutting it in half and having two tungstens. My mentor told me the first thing I do with my tungstens is to cut them in half, ecspecially since I am starting out so I have double the prepared tips. I haven't had any problems with the shorter ones.

 

[WILD-BILL]

IIRC, the only ones that don't snap clean are the 2% lanthanated (blue).

Those you do need to cut.

All the others, at least that I've tried, snap clean and will give you 2 usable pieces.

 

[Jim Stabe]

I bought a HF saw blade sharpener http://www.harborfreight.com/120-volt-circular-saw-blade-sharpener-96687.html but it was a PITA to use so I took the motor and diamond wheel and mounted it to a board. It is compact and works really well

 

[Jason Lister]

I use the techsouth adjustable grinder... Seems great to me.

 

[ibuiltmine]

Unless you're grinding A LOT of thoriated tungsten (and then eating the dust) there is no heath hazard associated with it. We use 1/2 inch dia thoriated tungsten tips in our arc melter and they get cleaned after every use. ESH&A did a site survey and found that both the air born and particulate were well below OSHA requirements. (actually they could barely pick up any trace of the thorium). And this was while reshaping the tip, which usually takes an hour or more of grinding. The main health hazard with Thoriated Tungsten is in making it not using it.

Thats awesome man! thanks for the follow up. That kind of stuff always wierded me out to the point I use the chem dip sharpener on my thoriated stuff now. But now....maybe the chem dip **** is worse on that then grinding it. because its vaporising the tungsten?