Contamination of tungsten during preparation

admin

Looking at buying a green silicon carbide grinding wheel to sharpen 2% thoriated tungsten on my pedestal grinder. Is there another abrasive that I should use to prep my pure tungsten instead of cross contaminating my designated green silicon carbide wheel that will work better? Also thinking about getting another wheel for polishing the tungsten probably 1200 grit does anyone use one?
Reply:You are thinking to hard. Cross contamination of tungsten electrodes  is pretty hard to accomplish.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:yeah, unless you're doing highly critical stuff it really won't be much of an issue.. if the tungsten does get a little cross contamination it pretty much burns off in the first second or so with no adverse effects.. you may see the tungsten sparkle a little at your first arc, really not going to effect much unless it's critical or code stuff...miller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:surface finish is also not too critical, as long as all the scratches run toward the tip things are fine, a polished tungsten isnt necessary. A lot of guys use a sanding disk on an air grinder to sharpen them. In reality, tip shape is a lot more important than most of the other things to consider when sharpening.
Reply:I like using a blue zirconia belt on my 4x36 upright belt sander.  80-120 grit is just about right.I can swap belts much faster than grinding wheels, if I cared that much about contamination, but a belt doesn't build up stuff like a wheel does anyway.  I just keep the belt cleaned with a rubber stick, and grind away.  Keep the grinding marks running parallel to the length of the tungsten, and how shiny the tip is should not matter.
Reply:I was just wondering since everywhere I know of has a designated wheel for just tungsten. Thanks
Reply:A dedicated wheel is used for tungsten only and not to use that wheel for grinding metal.  Dedicate one wheel for all tungsten and you'll be good to go.Enough stuff to build and repair wrinkled up race cars or bring a classic back to life...