I've mentioned that I recently got into arc welding with the Lincoln 210 MP. I'm the sorta guy who likes to be prepared, so I picked up some spare consumables at the LWS. I prefer to use the Local Welding Supply, if I can. I have an account there (even though I always pay cash) and the salesman usually gives me a pretty good break on prices. Now that I know most of the guys there, I usually walk in with, "This is what I can get it online for, can you get close to that?" Even if it is a few dollars more, it is worth it to me to shop locally.Here is a picture of several things, including the fishing tackle trays I use, for now, for TIG and MIG consumables. I'm going to do something different than this on the welding cart I am designing, but you'll have to wait to see what that is.When I learned to TIG, at Contour AutoCraft in England, They had a jelly jar full of sharpened tungstens, so we didn't have to stop and sharpen one, if we messed it up. I like the idea of keeping several, sharpened tungstens on hand, now that I finally have a TIG welder. I assume they used a glass container to prevent contamination of the tungstens. I was not enthused about the idea of a glass container in my own shop. I don't seem to have a very good track record of keeping glass from being broken in the shop.You can see below, in the bottom right of the picture, that I started with a cutoff bottom of an isopropyl alcohol container. Well, that is fine for while, but totally unacceptable in this studio as a long-term solution.My requirements for a tungsten holder:- made of a non-breakable material- will not contaminate the tungstens- Able to hold any length of tungsten, as you grind it shorter and shorter.- Able to easily identify which type of tungsten is in the holder.This means it cannot be steel or aluminum. I considered copper, but wasn't sure if that could cause issues with contamination of the tungstens. I've been stumped about what to use for the last couple of weeks. Then, today at Home Depot, I figured out what would work.PVC pipe. These are the two tungsten racks I came up with. Not the prettiest material, but easy to work with and easy to glue together. I've gone for an unconventional use of PVC glue here--butt joints. Certainly not recommended for pipes carrying water, but I think it will be more than strong enough for this purpose.I think this meets my requirements. I've certainly never heard of tungsten contamination by PVC. I cut a larger (1.25", 30mm) PVC pipe in half to use as the base and thinner (3/4", 19MM) PVC pipe for the vertical tubes. I cut the tops of the pipes at a 45-degree angle (not sure what that is, in metric ). I coped the bottom of each pipe, with my oscillating spindle sander, to match the diameter of the base. I made the tallest pipe to hold new tungstens (7", 175mm) and the shortest pipe to hold the shortest tungsten I could imagine being effective in a TIG torch. For reference, the tungstens in the middle pipe were cut in half (3.5", 90mm). Now, I just need to do something about identifying which type of tungsten is in the rack.This is an awkward picture, because they are still upside-down, at a weird angle, on the wires I used to hang them while painting them. Here is my solution to "which tungsten is this?" I simply painted the racks the same color as the end of the tungstens are painted. Now I can tell, at a glance, across the studio, how I am doing on any given tungsten. KDubKevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:One knock with a tool, long part, etc, and all those nice sharp tungsten will be all over the shop. Small tackle type box for me. They are plenty long enough for full tungstens, plenty of shorter slots for short ones, Aluminum shape grinds vs steel tip grinds, etc. And a lid that snaps shut. Costs a whole dollar.RyanMiller Multimatic 200 tig/spool gun/wireless remoteMillermatic 350P, Bernard/XR Python gunsMiller Dynasty 350, Coolmate 3.5 & wireless remoteCK WF1 TIG wire feederMiller Spectrum 375 XtremeOptrel e684Miller Digital EliteMiller Weld-Mask
Reply:I use the plastic, sleeve type containers that larger drill bits and reamers are packed in. I find it hard to believe that a certain type of metal tube will contaminate tungsten.
Reply:I have small stubs stuck in a block of styrofoam in a metal tray. Works good.
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utting your tungsten in steel or aluminum WILL NOT contaminate it. Where do you people get this stuff? I work with orbital tig equipment and I've seen many a weld get finished with a tungsten clobbered with filler wire and not only finish the weld but pass x-ray. Yes you do need a clean prepped for what your welding tungsten but tungsten contaminationis way overrated.
Reply:Originally Posted by Mick120What I buy them in does me.
Reply:Spectacles case (but then I cut mine down to 2-3" long)Lincoln Weldanpower 250 d10 Pro200 amp Hayter 'mighty midget'DIY suitcase feeder/spool gun controllerMiller HF-251Hitachi 300-gp2 AC/DC tigHypertherm PMX30 AirHarrison 600 universal millBoxford 500 VSL lathe12kw Rotary phase converter
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et me note that I wasn't criticizing your tungsten holder, it looks cool and functional. It just amazes me people think that tungsten is so easily contaminated. Other than clobbering it with filler wire your good to go basically. Way over thought
Reply:Thanks. It feels like all you ever hear in welding circles is "don't contaminate you tungsten."As I think more about it, they might be speaking more about "when it is hot." I suspect the likelihood of getting enough of a foreign metal in the tungstens, when they are at room temperature, is pretty much 'zero.'Anyway, thanks for the kind words and thanks to all for the alternate solutions to holding tungstens.I'm still learning (refreshing) my TIG skills and I suspect I'm going to need to have a few, sharpened tungstens handy for a while.KDub.Kevin / Machine_Punk from The Aerodrome Studio - Lincoln PowerMIG 210 MP - Meco N Midget w/custom welding station - Vintage Victor 100Current Projects: The Aerodrome Studio
Reply:When I am doing a production Tig job I use a #20 torch with a stubby gas lens and a mid length tail cap, I cut new tungstens in half and keep 8-10 tungstens sharpened in a wood block with 2 rows of 10 1/8" holes drilled in it. This allows me to swap out a bad tungsten without removing my gloves and be able to get back to burning very quickly.Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by Machine_PunkThanks. It feels like all you ever hear in welding circles is "don't contaminate you tungsten."As I think more about it, they might be speaking more about "when it is hot." I suspect the likelihood of getting enough of a foreign metal in the tungstens, when they are at room temperature, is pretty much 'zero.'Anyway, thanks for the kind words and thanks to all for the alternate solutions to holding tungstens.I'm still learning (refreshing) my TIG skills and I suspect I'm going to need to have a few, sharpened tungstens handy for a while.KDub.
Reply:Here is what I use: http://www.rmiorder.com/product/SE/TIG-1/Tig-CaddieMine was ordered a number of years ago and is gray. It works great and sits on top of my 330abp. One side has thoriated and the other has pure and 2% lanthanated. The short sections of tungsten go in the little tray across from the torch. Extra tungsten is in original packages, including the GE wood boxes with cardboard or paper sleves. Extra parts go in the clear fishing boxes and in the same drawer as the tungsten.Miller 330abpMiller 211 inverter, M150 spool gunMiller 135Miller 375 Extreme plasmaCNC plasma table (build in progress)Femi 120abs portable band sawMany other toolsToo little garage spaceNot enough money
