1. Home
  2. ⏣ General Metalworking
  3. Tungsten Grinding

Tungsten Grinding

I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode? OR is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/ aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Reply to
lethaldriver
Loading thread data ...

Yes, you should use a special grinder (or at least the wheel) for grinding the tungstens.

A trick I use is to hold the torch such that the cup shields my eyes from the brightest part of the arc, usually right at the tip of the electrode. Then, the arc lights up the work and I can usually see the puddle quite nicely. I usually do sort of micro-welding and get right up there with my nose inches from the arc.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Possibly way off base here... Are you doing relatively low amperage with a cheep auto-dark? Only time I have seen what you are describing was from this. My solution was to switch its sensitivity from low to high. Solved the flashes, but sometimes the overhead lights (metal halide) set it off when I'm not actually welding.

Reply to
William Bagwell

well, i do prefer watching the arc and the puddle since i have a eye protection anyway. but the flashes are just too bright even when wearing dark lenses.

maybe the there's some steel bits on my tungsten which then got vaporized and lit.... i dunno if that's what happens when steel vaporizes.

i guess i'll just have to try to use a "clean" and dedicated grinding stone for my tungsten electrodes then see if that still happens.

Reply to
lethaldriver

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.