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tungsten contamination

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:47 am
by themadreefer
recently started tig welding about a month ago. been having problems with my tungstens becoming contaminated every time i lay a bead down. sounds and looks i am mig welding. using a lincoln precision 225 machine with straight argon.
mostly been welding chrome moly and mild steel. pretty sure my metal prep is in par, as i used a flapper wheel, scotch brite. i wipe metal, tungsten, and filler rod with acetone prior to welding. tried different tungstens, different argon flow, ground positions.not sure what i am doing wrong here. it seems to me that it appears to be some form of contamination.
one thing i have noticed is my arcs just do not look right.
thanks

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:42 pm
by WILD BILL
Are you grinding on a dedicated grinder?

I also found when I started that I was grinding the angle all wrong. It does make a difference.

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:22 am
by themadreefer
yes, dedicated grinder with a 100 grit stone. one side for steel, the other side for aluminum

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 8:13 pm
by rickbreezy
What makes a grinder "dedicated"?

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:24 pm
by Rugar
rickbreezy wrote:What makes a grinder "dedicated"?
Using it for grinding tungsten only. If used for grinding other materials, the other material will embed itself into the grinding stone, and then embed itself into the tungsten from the stone the next time you grind tungsten.

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:34 pm
by kermdawg
Is it kinda sputtering or spitting with alot of black soot? If its somethin like that then you either have to low gas flow or bad gas.

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:26 pm
by jason.hwnd
Any chance at a hole(s) in the gas line?

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:14 am
by themadreefer
no black soot. thought an indication of lack of gas, was inside of nozzle turning yellow, which i experienced earlier along.
one thing i do notice, every time i tack weld, i have a ring of what appears to be rust color around every tack.

Re: tungsten contamination

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:22 pm
by jason.hwnd
photos mate, lets see 'em.