Is this a gimmick?
- posted
18 years ago
Is this a gimmick?
Ya know, I am a bit skeptical about all this stuff, I went and found a brand new CKTurbo-Sharp III tungsten grinder with all the goodies that sell for like $600.00+usc and frankly, I can do a better job on a bench grinder with a dedicated wheel and vacuum line, I thought this would be a magic wand and well, I guess the adage if you want it done right, do it the old tried and true way. This thing maked my tungsten's look like spear-heads and I'm pretty sure I'm using it right, I re-read the directions called CH for help and I was on the bubble.... In short the CK is in my tool chest awaiting someone to buy or trade it (It only sharpened five tungsten's) I would not sell it to a friend but someone who insisted on having one. I guess there is no shortcut for doing it right really. It looks cool but so does snake oil.. Heck, I still use "Pam kitchen spray on painted chassis parts so mig farts don't stick and burn, I learned that trick from an Ex-inmate who did a welding program in Statesville Penn. in Joliet, one of my favorite tricks... The tungsten's remain out nemesis, at least you can see the process on the grinder however.
All the best,
Rob
Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL.
"RDF" wrote in news:j-2dnVAT5s-i snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:
I bought a cheap 6" grinder from Harbor Freight, and use the wheels that came with it. I have an old Sears battery-powered, variable-speed, 1/4" drill that I chuck the tungstens in. The drill can turn really, really slow (maybe 1 rev/sec). I hold the tungensten in the fingers of my left hand, braced against the grinder rest, and adjust the position of the drill with my right, to get the desired angle. Watching the sparks tells me where I'm contacting the tungsten to the wheel. I can grind tungstens quickly and accurately with this setup. It does take a little practice to keep sweeping the tungsten across the face of the wheels, with the drill attached, to prevent grooving the wheels. But, that's true with any hand grind process. Anyway it works very well for me, and was cheap. I haven't had work this with really short tungstens yet.
I agree 100%. Most tig grinders are crap, especially for 1/16 or .040 diameter electrodes that need very pointed included angles. As you described the geometry is off because they fail to support the electrode at the tip. The only grinder I tried so far that works well for these types of grinds is a the Sharpshooter.
The glassblower in my old chemistry dept. used to use sodium nitrite to clean and sharpen tungsten wires before sealing them into glass to make feedthroughs. I found a MSDS at
Well, back to lurking. :-)
-- Regards, Carl Ijames carl.ijames at verizon.net
Somehow, I just don't feel comfortable with anything that will dissolve Tungsten. It might decide to dissolve bits of me, too!
I d>> Ya know, I am a bit skeptical about all this stuff, I went and found a
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.