Good grit size to grind tungsten?

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What would be a good size grit to grind tungsten with. Both of my wheels are messy on my bench grinder but i have a ton a different belt sizes for my belt sander. I got alot of 120. Will this be fine. I also know the tip of grinding tungsten straight with the surface too.ThanksShane
Reply:A 100-120 worn out sanding belt or a 100 grit flapwheel sanding disk on a small hand grinder. A disk sander is best to get a point with nice flat sides.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:flat sides???? please elaborate, I have never heard that flat sides were to be used,, only conical round shapes ...??thx..
Reply:why not just get a new wheel?  I find it very hard to sharpen with our belt sander and even harder with a disk sander.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Weldbead:Some guys use a bench grinder, which puts a slight arc in the taper; instead of straight like a pencil.9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:i have a post here showing a 4" grinder fitted with a diamond masonry wheel..it works very fast but i am somhow getting some brown soot  around my beads so am gonna try something else  - bought a small aluminum oxide wheel that chucks in a drill (2000 rpm...goes very slow) and yesterday it seemed to weld ok..not sure  whats causing brown soot buit tryingto eliminate  one thing at a time...shopping for a bench grinder..tempted to remove  the bench grinders guard so i can stand behind it to let the thoriated dust blow away not towards me...
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbead [b] <not sure  whats causing brown soot buit tryingto eliminate  one thing at a time...
Reply:i see, so an 8" wheel would give you a straighter  side than a 6" wheel...
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbeadi see, so an 8" wheel would give you a straighter  side than a 6" wheel...
Reply:i  ground some tungsten today on a 60 grit wheel at 3600 rpm. i was able (one or two out of ten pieces ) to burn the tip- it got red hot and had a dark disoloration  when it cooled. i was chucking  it in a drill and rotating it slowly(25 rpm?)  as i held the angle against the 3600 rpm wheel. is a lower speed preferable r was i just holding it  in one spot too long? the  grind  appeared smoth and even to my eye-forgot to foto it.. 60 too coarse?
Reply:If I let my tungsten get hot enough to glow when I'm sharpening it, I'll burn my fingers. And I did it frequently.  So I've learned to let it off the wheel for a few seconds, 2 or 3 times during sharpening. If I do get it to discolor, I give it about 5 seconds to cool, then polish the taper with one last spin. I don't think the discoloration matters on the straight part of the tungsten, but it's been a long time since I've done that.I've never tried the drill trick, since the arc comes straight off the 'flat' (truncated end), I think it's close enough. That also goes for the 60 grit wheel, I think. If the wheel is too coarse, the arc won't stabilize straight off the tungsten. I don't know what grit is on my home wheel, there's a cover over it and it's the original 'fine' wheel that came with the grinder. I've used the 10" bench ginders in class with 'ok enough' results, when the dedicated tungsten grinder was out of service. I'm sure they're pretty coarse. FWIW: I'm a hobby weldor, just finished TIG 101, I start TIG 102 in January and I'm not welding on the Space Shuttle. 9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250