I'm a hobbiest (auto resto, garage projects) who has been tooling long enough to see the value in good tools. I go thru spurts with TIG, welding intensely for months then putting it down. So my skills at things like tungsten sharpening can deteriorate. I have a HF 3" grinder and diamond wheels but haven't gotten fantastic results and willing to put some coin into a more dedicated rig that takes some skill out of the equation. Interested to hear from like minded enthusiasts as to what worked for them.
Here's a few for discussion
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-tungs ... 57555.html
https://www.amazon.com/ALUMINUM-Electro ... B07VWQ5553
https://www.tungstenmate.com/product/tungstenmate-gen4/
Tig welding tips, questions, equipment, applications, instructions, techniques, tig welding machines, troubleshooting tig welding process
This is what I bought and use. It’s dead nuts every time.
https://www.arc-zone.com/sharpie-grinder-a-ptgk-sd
https://www.arc-zone.com/sharpie-grinder-a-ptgk-sd
Lol I know I'm trying to thread the needle here between spinning um by hand on my $30 HF bench grinder and spending a few hundo. I think there's some decent stuff between in the links I posted but looking for real world experience.
Here's my setup. Got the bench grinder for 20-30 on sale and the wheel was 10-15 (can't remember the specifics.)
The motor on the grinders not the strongest so it can be stalled out but not the worst thing I found when grinding tungsten. Keeps me from pushing too hard etc.
The wheel is double sided and plenty of diamond area. Think I've been using the same wheel for just about 2 years now and it still grinds great.
And as I mentioned I could make a guide for the tungsten and bolt it on...life just keeps getting in the way of that idea so for now I free hand it.
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The motor on the grinders not the strongest so it can be stalled out but not the worst thing I found when grinding tungsten. Keeps me from pushing too hard etc.
The wheel is double sided and plenty of diamond area. Think I've been using the same wheel for just about 2 years now and it still grinds great.
And as I mentioned I could make a guide for the tungsten and bolt it on...life just keeps getting in the way of that idea so for now I free hand it.
Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
I’ve got a HF 3” grinder with a diamond wheel, sounds like the same setup you have. I use a cordless drill at a slow speed to spin my tungsten, get pretty consistent results. I’ll usually do about 20 electrodes at a time, so after the first couple, the rest are almost all the same.R-mm wrote:Lol I know I'm trying to thread the needle here between spinning um by hand on my $30 HF bench grinder and spending a few hundo. I think there's some decent stuff between in the links I posted but looking for real world experience.
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David
Everlast 210 EXT
Lincoln AC225
Lotos LTP5000D
Oxy-Acetylene
Everlast 210 EXT
Lincoln AC225
Lotos LTP5000D
Oxy-Acetylene
Cooperstown
- Cooperstown
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New Member
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Joined:Sun Aug 30, 2020 1:30 am
I just purchased the Eastwood tungsten grinder, It was 129.00 but on sale for 89.00. It has worked pretty awesome for me and very noticeable while I am welding now. It had good reviews too so I figured I couldn't go wrong.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-tungs ... 57555.html
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-tungs ... 57555.html
I considered the ew but didn’t want to pay for the motor twice so I’m giving the base model Tungstenmate a try. Will post my results. Even if its not gods gift I believe repeatability is where it will let me dial in the rest of my technique.
Jim FLinchbaugh
- Jim FLinchbaugh
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Workhorse
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Joined:Thu Sep 01, 2016 11:56 pm
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Location:Kalispell Montana
I got the Tungstenmate Gen4 off ebay 2 weeks ago, I already had the rotary tool. I like it well enough but the cut off feature doesnt work very well. Rather than the short allen screws they drilled for guides, Holes to big and they are too short. I made new pilots out of inch long brass boltsR-mm wrote:I considered the ew but didn’t want to pay for the motor twice so I’m giving the base model Tungstenmate a try. Will post my results. Even if its not gods gift I believe repeatability is where it will let me dial in the rest of my technique.
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