ARC-ZONE Sharpie Hand Held Tungsten Grinder
Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 10:22 pm
I changed the way that I prepare tungsten, lately I have been using my Belt Grinder with a Norton Zirconia belt. This method worked, but I used one $9 belt in one 4 hour welding session. Tungsten is hard!!!!!!
I decided to grind with a hand held tungsten grinder. I purchased a Sharpie from Arc-Zone. (The Sharpie, HTP, and TechSouth are all the same, just a different label, in fact, TechSouth makes the grinding head on the grinder for all three sellers.) This was nearly the lowest cost grinder that Arc-Zone sells, so I thought the quality would go according to the price, but I was pleasantly surprised. The motor has three speeds (can't remember the exact speeds, but it is around 30,000/14,000/3,000) I used the lowest speed to keep the heat down. The motor housing is ergonomic with rubberized sections around the circumference of the motor housing. Switch has a protection lever that prevents the motor from being turned on while adjustments are being made. The design of the grinding head is very nice, just spending a few minutes with the unit and you will understand how to use it. The motor runs smooth and the feel of the bearings is tight.
Since I tried fine grinding wheels, a flap disc on a 4-1/2" angle grinder, then for my final experiment I used my KMG Belt Grinder. The Belt Grinder worked the best, using both slack-belt and contact wheel grinding. All of these worked, but I was after angle repeatability that I could not achieve via the methods stated above. I knew that to narrow the arc I must grind between 25 and 45 degrees (included), this is where the hand held tungsten grinder proved to be a better tool, and the price was fairly low at $349, including the optional 0.040" collet. I also purchased 2 fine diamond grinding wheels for $80.
Something else to think about is there is very little disturbance of my welding position, since with this type of grinding system I can sit at my TIG bench to both weld and grind my tungsten electrodes.
This is what I decided to do, if you need more info let me know.
I decided to grind with a hand held tungsten grinder. I purchased a Sharpie from Arc-Zone. (The Sharpie, HTP, and TechSouth are all the same, just a different label, in fact, TechSouth makes the grinding head on the grinder for all three sellers.) This was nearly the lowest cost grinder that Arc-Zone sells, so I thought the quality would go according to the price, but I was pleasantly surprised. The motor has three speeds (can't remember the exact speeds, but it is around 30,000/14,000/3,000) I used the lowest speed to keep the heat down. The motor housing is ergonomic with rubberized sections around the circumference of the motor housing. Switch has a protection lever that prevents the motor from being turned on while adjustments are being made. The design of the grinding head is very nice, just spending a few minutes with the unit and you will understand how to use it. The motor runs smooth and the feel of the bearings is tight.
Since I tried fine grinding wheels, a flap disc on a 4-1/2" angle grinder, then for my final experiment I used my KMG Belt Grinder. The Belt Grinder worked the best, using both slack-belt and contact wheel grinding. All of these worked, but I was after angle repeatability that I could not achieve via the methods stated above. I knew that to narrow the arc I must grind between 25 and 45 degrees (included), this is where the hand held tungsten grinder proved to be a better tool, and the price was fairly low at $349, including the optional 0.040" collet. I also purchased 2 fine diamond grinding wheels for $80.
Something else to think about is there is very little disturbance of my welding position, since with this type of grinding system I can sit at my TIG bench to both weld and grind my tungsten electrodes.
This is what I decided to do, if you need more info let me know.