Welding Tips and Tricks

i been using the bench grinder to sharpen the tungsten I would like to get a hand held sharpener been looking around a few on ebay saw one I think HTP makes it anybody have recommendations?

If you want to spend the money you can't beat a sharpie with filter.

I use the model from Tech South, works very well, no complaints at all!

http://www.techsouthinc.com/grinders/adj.html

I have the HTP adjustable version. It's the only one I've ever used so my opinion may not be worth much. It's magnitudes better than a grinding wheel.

all three seem to have all the same features. I like the adjustable grind angle feature what are the main differences between the three? is one better quality then the other? all seem kinda close in price with the sharpie first then the tech south then the htp

Enough hours on the Tech South to need diamond wheel replacement. No problems so far. The HTP looks identical to me and the folks at USAWeld are excellent to deal with.

I have tried everything but spending hundreds on a purpose built tungsten grinder, and I finally found something very inexpensive, easy to use, and perfect as a dedicated tungsten grinder. Believe it or not, I hound it at Harbor Freight. HF makes a saw blade sharpener with a 4 inch diamond wheel, cast aluminum mounting base, and thick plastic shroud. I tossed all the saw blade sharpening components and simply bolted the base with adjustable angle motor/shroud assembly to my welding table. The motor is beefy, extremely quiet, spins true, and sharpens my tungsten very quickly at any angle I desire using the shroud as a rest. I have been using this set up for the past 6 months with absolutely no problems or reasons to look for yet another sharpening method. HF sells this grinder for $54.00 before all the typical discount coupons. Replacement blades are $10.00, yet I do not yet see signs of wear on the original blade. The HF item number is 96687.

Still lovin this lil guy:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18347

Re: tungsten sharpener
Postby Rick_H » Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:56 pm

I use the model from Tech South, works very well, no complaints at all!

http://www.techsouthinc.com/grinders/adj.html

I've had that grinder for years with zero problems.
craig

motox wrote:Re: tungsten sharpener
Postby Rick_H » Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:56 pm

I use the model from Tech South, works very well, no complaints at all!

http://www.techsouthinc.com/grinders/adj.html

I've had that grinder for years with zero problems.
craig

Craig, I really don't know why I resisted so long. I immediately saw less contamination in my sanitary welds, and while I am pretty good on a grinder the repeatably angle is very nice, allowed me to dial in some angles and do.some testing.

rick
i do mostly alum and mild steel.
its a great tool and if you are making
a lot of tacks. its easy to dress up
the tungsten without have to move
to a grinder. plus if I'm having a bad
"vision day," well again easy to dress
the tungsten...lol
craig

Thanks guys I do like the price of the HF blade sharpener but I think I am going to go with the tech south I like the hand held size and the consistent angle of the grind

The unit l got from is a Tech South. So.eti.es HTP runs a special where they include a spare wheel.

I've made a few sharpeners, dremel based, little grinder. All were kind of OK, kind of not.

Eventually I found a drill sharpening stone. This is a diamond wheel, well actually CBN. The diamonds are on the back for a few mm as well. The wheel is so smooth that you can touch it with no skin lost. The alignment turned out to be perfect, no shims or eccentric washers. I use the 45 deg face against the rest to get the basic shape (yes I know), and then clean up using the front or back flat. Despite the very fine diamond grit the grinder is able to remove enormous amounts of Tungsten.

The Makita bench grinder has tons of power, and after 9 months daily use the wheel has no observable wear.

The wheel came from here, which isn't going to help anyone, but the type will be available.

http://tradetools.co.nz/products/2020250 is the spare part.

http://www.gsc-tw.com/products_03.php?id=7 Is the machine.

A few more potential suppliers.


http://www.knighton-tools.co.uk/acatalo ... HMENT.html Might check how fine it is.
http://www.cutwel.co.uk/Grinding-Wheel- ... fram-Steel
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Gr...1 ... SwT6pVqLPH

That wheel looks good. Need to check that out. Thanks.

i pulled a triger on the diamond ground piranha 11 refurbished machine was much cheaper then a new one I will post when I receive it

All this nice sharpening gear!

I am still using an inverted belt sander. 120 grit belts, I chuck the tungsten into a drill and away I go. It's not exactly the sort of setup that I'd want to show off to shed visitors but it does a pretty decent job, at least decent enough that I'm yet to get motivated to spend more on another method.

And yes, I do more than my fair share of sharpening! (Dip, dip, dip...)




Kym

Polobbie wrote:I have tried everything but spending hundreds on a purpose built tungsten grinder, and I finally found something very inexpensive, easy to use, and perfect as a dedicated tungsten grinder. Believe it or not, I hound it at Harbor Freight. HF makes a saw blade sharpener with a 4 inch diamond wheel, cast aluminum mounting base, and thick plastic shroud. I tossed all the saw blade sharpening components and simply bolted the base with adjustable angle motor/shroud assembly to my welding table. The motor is beefy, extremely quiet, spins true, and sharpens my tungsten very quickly at any angle I desire using the shroud as a rest. I have been using this set up for the past 6 months with absolutely no problems or reasons to look for yet another sharpening method. HF sells this grinder for $54.00 before all the typical discount coupons. Replacement blades are $10.00, yet I do not yet see signs of wear on the original blade. The HF item number is 96687.

Can you post a photo or three of you setup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ive got a hand held sharpie from arc zone. Hate it! its not that doesnt function right it works great i just like to change the angle of my grind alot to suit different welding situations, ie blunter tip when welding heavy sections or needle sharp for thin materials. it takes too long to change the angles and if you have a little material on it from dipping it doesnt fit in the guides. so now i only use it for field work and got a cheap bench grinder at a garage sale and a diamond wheel. love it! just chuck the tungsten in a drill an i can grind how ever i want.

Once thing Ill add is if you do tend to dip a lot and get a ball or booger on the end you'll want to break or cut that off first. If not you are just transferring that contamination to the sharpening wheel or stone. Plus as noted it will not fit through the guide hole with a booger and blob on the end.

If you dip a bunch the belt sander and drill method works extremely well, hell I even used a 4-1/2" angle grinding many times in the field...but same thing here, if it isn't a new belt you are just putting that contamination right to the tungsten.

I bought mine when I started really doing a lot of sanitary work, I rarely ever dip..

motox wrote:Re: tungsten sharpener
Postby Rick_H » Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:56 pm

I use the model from Tech South, works very well, no complaints at all!

http://www.techsouthinc.com/grinders/adj.html

I've had that grinder for years with zero problems.
craig

I see everything on the website except a price.

I don't think techsouth sell direct. My LWS stocks techsouth but there are few online sellers that I have found. From what I can see the Techsouth PowerPoint, ArcZone Sharpie and HTP tungsten grinder (and maybe more) are the same device. Available in fixed or adjustable angle models. Perhaps Techsouth is the manufacturer and private labels for online sellers?

maker of things wrote:I don't think techsouth sell direct. My LWS stocks techsouth but there are few online sellers that I have found. From what I can see the Techsouth PowerPoint, ArcZone Sharpie and HTP tungsten grinder (and maybe more) are the same device. Available in fixed or adjustable angle models. Perhaps Techsouth is the manufacturer and private labels for online sellers?

I believe that is the case....

John Chamorro wrote:

motox wrote:Re: tungsten sharpener
Postby Rick_H » Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:56 pm

I use the model from Tech South, works very well, no complaints at all!

http://www.techsouthinc.com/grinders/adj.html

I've had that grinder for years with zero problems.
craig

I see everything on the website except a price.

Shoot an email they'll send a quote over, or give them a call always found them helpful on the phone. Arczone also has a great rep for service.

I have a spare 110v non adjustable I would sell.