Welding Tips and Tricks

I finally got back to TIG last night, after my move north. I got myself some 22-gauge cold-rolled sheet, and I am going back to basics.

This time around, something is different. Last year, I replaced the white aluminum oxide wheels on my 8" grinder with CBN. This stuff is incredible. You can sharpen things like plane irons without constantly cooling them, because the wheels are metal and absorb heat. Also, they never have to be dressed, and they don't throw abrasive dust everywhere.

Anyway, I stuck the electrode almost immediately, and I went to the grinder. I was amazed. It took like 10 seconds to get a perfect new point, and I had much more control.

Wondering if other people have tried CBN. I think it's great. I believe I paid $80 each for quality aluminum oxide wheels, and the CBN only ran about twice as much and should last longer than I do while doing a better job.

I keep blowing through the 22-gauge, but it's a big sheet, so I guess it will afford me a lot of practice. I will soon need a good way to cut it so I can do lap welds and so on, instead of laying flat beads. I tried the angle grinder with a cutoff wheel, but it's really slow. I thought I might get an air nibbler, but I don't have my big compressor with me, and I don't know whether a small compressor will work.

The bench grinder with the CBN wheels sounds like a nice setup, what grit(s) did you buy?

Why are you practicing on such thin sheet?

LtBadd wrote:The bench grinder with the CBN wheels sounds like a nice setup, what grit(s) did you buy?

Why are you practicing on such thin sheet?

I got 600 and 180. CBN works much better than aluminum oxide, so I didn't need 80 or whatever it was that I had before. Another neat thing about the wheels is that they are shaped differently. One has sharp corners and a flat face, and the other has a big radius on each side. Also, with CBN, you can use the sides of the wheels safely. As you probably know, using the side of a ceramic wheel can make it explode.

Another nice thing: you can grind whatever you want. Grinding non-ferrous metal on ceramic wheels causes explosions, but it's safe with CBN. Also, CBN is better for steel than diamond wheels, because diamond dissolves in steel when it gets hot.

Because the wheels can't blow up, guards are optional.

I'm using thin metal because it's cheap and quick to prepare. Maybe it's an error. If so, it's only a $21 error.

I plan to get some throatless electric shears from Harbor Freight.

https://woodturnerswonders.com/collecti ... cbn-wheels

Can you provide a link to the wheels you bought?

Thanks

Welding on that thin material should whip you into shape!

I bought a 180-grit "Mega Square" wheel and a 600-grit "4-in-1" wheel. It's a good idea to confer with people who already use CBN before choosing your grit. You can't just match your ceramic wheels and expect them to perform the same. The link is in my last post.

As for thin material, I am inclined to think the benefit of getting more practice in a hurry is real. If not, I can always go back to 1/8" metal.

Today I got myself some Harbor Freight throatless shears for...I forget how much. I used a coupon. Anyway, under $40. There are frickin' awesome. They cut 22-gauge cold-rolled like paper.

I used my Chinese shears to cut some thin metal tonight, and I set a piece up vertically so I could fool with fillet welds. I think it was smart to go with this thin sheet, because it's very cheap, it's a breeze to cut and clean, and it makes you work fast. I still stink at TIG, but I got a lot of practice (as contrasted with cutting and cleaning), and I improved a lot.

Pictures, or it didn't happen!

I have been using them for my wood turning HSS tools They are great. When I got my first Tig a while back .I decided to use one for Tungsten only.I scrubbed it in warm water and dish soap and good to go. They last forever and well balanced.One word they do not like carbon steel.It will clog up. But it you have to, scrub it good with a nylon brush and soapy water.A couple of grindings on HSS will clean the rest.

Has anyone had experience with both diamond and CBN? I have just bought an 8" bench grinder, the JET 578008, and I am torn between the two abrasives, as I have never tried CBN. I'm also hard-pressed to find any information to compare the two. If anyone has any insight into this subject, I'm very interested to hear about it.

Thanks,

Alex Weeks

I've looked at the CBN wheels too, seems most are 8" and a slower rpm is best??

What grit are you using and where did you buy from?

Cubic Boron Nitride. Mmmm.

I got my wheels from Woodturners Wonders. The speed is up to you. I got mine for sharpening wood tools, so I don't know if the grit choices I made are the best for everyone.

They cut faster than ceramic wheels. I use a 180-grit wheel to do what an 80-grit wheel used to do.

Using diamond may work, but diamond dissolves in steel when it gets warm, so you can't grind everything with it.

Meh. Been sharpening my tungsten on an 8" sanding disk that costs about $1.50. Lasts for months. Fresh 1/8" electrode from flat to sharp in about 15 seconds. Touch up sharpening in less than 5 seconds. Haven't yet seen a need for anything better. Same story for the bench grinder and bench belt sander that I also use on occasion, but the disk sander is my favorite.

I wouldn't buy them just for tungsten, but nearly everyone has a grinder, and CBN is superior for just about everything, so why not use the best if you can afford it?

If you're a guy who only uses his grinder for sharpening lawnmower blades, and you think the cheap wheels that came with your grinder are great, you may not feel that way, but if you do machining or woodworking, CBN is a enormous step up. Like going from an axe to a chainsaw.