Spartan wrote:
The reality is that if you're not doing any type of legit code work, you do not need to dedicate grinders/sanders specifically to tungsten. There is zero discernible difference in arc quality from a practical standpoint and really no contamination risk for anything other than super critical parts, and I've ground tungsten on some pretty funky belts/discs/wheels in the past. Your choice to make.
I do have a dedicated grinder for customer work, but it is just part of my philosophy of always using best practices for customer jobs. For anything else, I'd just as soon sharpen that tungsten on the closest grinder to me, regardless of its other uses.
couldn't agree more!
It's nice to have dedicated tools but when it comes to grinding tungsten, especially for the home/garage user it's not essential and really isn't going to make a real difference.
Now if you welding at very low amperage on thin material then it becomes more of an issue
My little 6" disc is covered in yellow pine sap, UHMWPE, with some olive wood, purple heart, maple and black walnut dust thrown in from a recent project, and who knows what else. Maybe grinding some tungsten would have cleaned the disc.
I can't imagine that stuff wouldn't burn off very quickly after striking an arc. Still, the belt grinder was pretty easy and I don't expect to have to grind tungsten that often once I learn not to stick it in the puddle.
My little 6" disc is covered in yellow pine sap, UHMWPE, with some olive wood, purple heart, maple and black walnut dust thrown in from a recent project, and who knows what else. Maybe grinding some tungsten would have cleaned the disc.
I can't imagine that stuff wouldn't burn off very quickly after striking an arc. Still, the belt grinder was pretty easy and I don't expect to have to grind tungsten that often once I learn not to stick it in the puddle.
LOL. Maybe avoid sanders that are covered in pine sap...
And the grinding never stops, even when your tungsten dunks become few and far between. Points still need to be sharpened, and often they need a dressing after only 20-60 mins of arc time. Of course, that completely depends on the amperage you're running at, tungsten size, sharpness of the point, and how picky you are with having a fresh tip on your tungsten (I like a fresh tip). But I imagine you could use the same tip for much longer if you wanted to. But the puddle really does flow better with a fresh tip and the starts are nicer.
Message boards aren't really how he learns and discusses stuff. He's keeping busy pretty well given the pandemic. Very few friends are allowed over, but we've got 5 dogs, two of which are puppies. He even completed his second solidworks course and is designing stuff.
Also Netflix and video games... .
