I used to think the whole 'grind your tungsten' thing was overblown until I saw the difference myself

Been TIG welding for about 2 years, mostly on smaller pressure vessels. I always just used a bench grinder with a regular wheel to sharpen my tungsten, figured it was good enough. Then a buddy of mine who works at a fab shop over in Gary let me watch him set up his weld on a 3/8 inch carbon steel plate with a properly ground point on a diamond wheel. The arc was SO much more stable, like night and day. I tried it myself on a test piece and my weld puddle actually behaved instead of wandering around. Now I've got a dedicated diamond wheel at home and I won't go back. Has anyone else had that moment where a small change like that made a huge difference in your weld quality?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_henderson10d ago

Wait, you were using a regular bench grinder wheel on your tungsten this whole time too? I did the exact same thing for like a year and a half, thought I was getting by fine until I borrowed a buddies diamond wheel setup at a local meetup. The difference is insane, like you said the arc just locks in and stays put instead of dancing around like it's got a mind of its own. I actually ended up cracking my first tungsten tip because I was used to such a crappy grind that I was compensating with too much gas or something. Now I sharpen mine on a little diamond wheel I mounted to a bench grinder and I'll never go back to a regular stone. It's one of those little things that makes you wonder why you didn't switch sooner.

finley_walker5710d ago

Yeah @charles_henderson I've gotta ask, did you notice a difference in how long your tungsten lasted after switching too? Mine seems to hold its point way longer now even with higher amperage.