Welding Tips and Tricks

I would like to have this unit but have no interest in paying new price as I am a hobby welder cannot justify. Anyone on here have one they may want to sell for far less than the $340 new price? PM me if so thanks. I am thinking I am not getting the most out of my welds by breaking the tungsten and then pedestal sharpening and am always looking to perfect my welding.

I'ved used pedestal, bench, angle grinder, successfully, but as everyone will tell you, don't break the tungsten, it will splinter.

Next best thing would be drill and bench grinder/ belt sander. Fast and produces a sharp tip.

Been using the drill and pedestal grinder for 25 yrs and wonder what I may be missing by not having the deep grind marks causing a wondering arc.

bruce991 wrote:I would like to have this unit but have no interest in paying new price as I am a hobby welder cannot justify. Anyone on here have one they may want to sell for far less than the $340 new price? PM me if so thanks. I am thinking I am not getting the most out of my welds by breaking the tungsten and then pedestal sharpening and am always looking to perfect my welding.

This is such a funny post...

Yeah, I get that you don't want to spend the money to buy one, but those sharpeners don't fall off the turnip truck very often...good luck...

I mean, I'm not trying to bust your chops, but expecting someone to sell you a Sharpie DX for "far less than the $340 new price" is pretty wishful thinking...

OTOH, maybe they'll throw in a Miller Dynasty 280 DX for free also.

bruce991 wrote:I would like to have this unit but have no interest in paying new price as I am a hobby welder cannot justify. Anyone on here have one they may want to sell for far less than the $340 new price? PM me if so thanks. I am thinking I am not getting the most out of my welds by breaking the tungsten and then pedestal sharpening and am always looking to perfect my welding.

Never break a tungsten. Got that, "NEVER". Change that grinding wheel to a finer grit.. 80 or for a near polish got to a 120. If you want to further improve the grind finish hold the turngsten so that you are grinding with the rotation of the wheel not agaist it. You can start against it to remove material faster but then finish it going with the rotation.

The Sharpies have always been on my wish list but keep getting bumped to the bottom of the list. I can buy a lot of tungstens and sharpen them in my spare time on my bench grinder for what they get for a Dremel tool with a fancy attachment.

With respect to all, I spent the $300 on a Sharpie. I will say this: its fast, dead consistent, and super easy and convenient. Whether at the bench or in the field, 120v plug and its right there. Saves lots of time and the hassle of swapping tungstens.

I have a sil carbide wheel but I just get tired of the dust and grooves.

+1
Alot of putting down of Sharpies out there. I use my bench grinder for sharpening drill bits and blades, try doing that with grooves in the wheel.
Get a diamond wheel or a linisher? That sounds like a dedicated tool. I already got one. It's called a sharpie.
Costs a lot of money? That's true of everything. Good tools cost money. When we can't afford it we go to the bamboo box store and make do with a piece of junk until we can afford to bone up and afterwards wish we boned up a long time ago.
For good clean fresh oats we have to pay a fair price. Oats that have already passed through the horse comes cheaper.

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I have one, and will not sell it. I am a hobbyist, yet it is well worth the investment, because it produces very reproducible tips. It also cuts nicely --- breaking the tungsten sounds primitive (just cut it with a 4-1/2" angle grinder and cutting disc, while avoiding contamination). However, if I were to buy again, I would not choose the adjustable angle version (like mine); instead would get the fixed angle head. I used a bench grinder before, slowly turning the tungsten in a drill, and that does the job OK, but the Sharpie is lots more convenient and consistent.

This is a good product, its users are not disappointed, and those that spend the money on it, have thought it through. Why would they give it away for pennies? I don't think that's likely, but good luck to you finding a bargain.

Never said the Sharpie wasn't a good product. It certainly has it's place and does it's job well. I've come close to buying one on several occasions but I just can't bring myself to doing it.

The dressing tool for my grinder came with the grinder and they are not expensive. I use a pin vise to hold my tungstens but sometimes I use the drill motor method. If you're grinding grooves in your wheel why don't you just move it back and forth and avoid that alltogether. If you are having problems with consistency all you need to do is make a simple guide and mount it to your grinder.

sschefer wrote:Never said the Sharpie wasn't a good product. It certainly has it's place and does it's job well. I've come close to buying one on several occasions but I just can't bring myself to doing it.

The dressing tool for my grinder came with the grinder and they are not expensive. I use a pin vise to hold my tungstens but sometimes I use the drill motor method. If you're grinding grooves in your wheel why don't you just move it back and forth and avoid that alltogether. If you are having problems with consistency all you need to do is make a simple guide and mount it to your grinder.

The grooves occur because you really can’t run the tungsten to the very edge of the wheel. I have and know how to dress my wheels, thanks. That’s where all the dust comes from.

cj737 wrote:

sschefer wrote:Never said the Sharpie wasn't a good product. It certainly has it's place and does it's job well. I've come close to buying one on several occasions but I just can't bring myself to doing it.

The dressing tool for my grinder came with the grinder and they are not expensive. I use a pin vise to hold my tungstens but sometimes I use the drill motor method. If you're grinding grooves in your wheel why don't you just move it back and forth and avoid that alltogether. If you are having problems with consistency all you need to do is make a simple guide and mount it to your grinder.

The grooves occur because you really can’t run the tungsten to the very edge of the wheel. I have and know how to dress my wheels, thanks. That’s where all the dust comes from.

Stick you shopvac under next to your wheel when you dress it. That works really well at keeping the dust down.

What’s everyone opinion on the cordless sharpie that uses a Milwaukee M12 battery?

https://www.arc-zone.com/cordless-sharp ... -ptgk-dxcl

Or use a Sharpie [emoji16]
Most of my work is on site anyway so my choices are an angle grinder or the sharpie, it's a no brainer.

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Sorry......double post

Check out the TruePoint Tungsten Holder, very consistent results. A lot of pipeline/plant welders use this because it uses no power, and you always have a grinder close. It is small and fits in your pocket, important when you are 70 feet up inside a heater box and need to sharpen.