How to Weld - TIG Welding

Step 2 Grind the Electrode

Grind the tungsten rod to a point.

Do this, especially if the rod is a brand-new cylinder and doesn't have a pointed or rounded tip yet.

The tip will become rounded due to heat as you weld.

Lincoln recommends a balled tip for AC welding, and a pointed tip for DC welding.

The pointed tip will give a smaller, more directed arc. The arc will tend to dance around, when from a rounded tip.

Comments

[brandon_a_boyer]

Tungsten angle is an important thing to pay attention to, sharper tungstens are less penetrating and produce a wider, more shallow weld than a Tungsten with a more obtuse bevel.

[OVERLOADED]

right again, i had to once tig weld 20 gauge and I used an angle of about 45 deg or less and trimed the tip, this gave me a more focused arc and I got perfect weld size and penetration, the first pic shows the thickness, 2nd shows weld and 3rd shows penetration, sorry for the bad quality of the pics i took these with my microsoft pc cam i tought it was a good cam i payed 70 bucks for it lol or maybe i dont know about focusing?.

[gwark]

I am new to TIG, but I saw a vid on sharpening the tungsten and they had the tip pointing UP, towards the grinder.
now, I am always a little scared of the tip catching on the wheel, and the rod flying out of my hands, but that hasnt happened yet. thank god.

point the rod up, towards the rotating wheel coming towards you.
that way, the rod is ground in the right direction ... something to do with current flow ;)

[pfred2]

You do not want to contaminate the tungsten so you grind wheel away, and don't use a grinding wheel you grind anything else on either. I have a dedicated grinder I just do my tungstens on.

[Lucas011986]

Gwark, no need to be nervous grinding tungsten... just make sure you have water near by... you're more likely to burn your fingers than lose the tungsten... And yes, the method of grinding in the video is wrong, and VERY unsafe. Its pretty hard to tig weld if the tungsten catches on the wheel and spears your hand!

Always point the tungsten up. You can also hold the tungsten horizontal to the wheel to speed up grinding, but you MUST finish in the vertical position. Like you said, horizontal lines on a tungsten with play with the current flow.

[paranoid56]

This is wrong, you should never grind the tip that way. you should always grind with the tip up so you dont contaminate the tip. (just flip it from what hes doing) just thought you should know :D

[memainman4]

Not with tungsten. the sparks actually fly onto your hand and are 'abosorbed' i guess by the skin. poisoning you. you could wear a glove but as im sure everybody knows, wearing a glove while using a bench grinder isnt the smartest thing to do.

[woodpecker]

grinding on the top of the wheel is riskier. sparks fly into your face, and if the material catches - it flies into your face.

[pfred2]

Turn the grinder around so the sparks fly away. I have a dedicated grinder for sharpening my tungstens so they don't get contaminated.

[skaar]

when i'd do points on things, i'd swap out the rest for something slimmer, and the rods would point almost vertical, solves the problems you address i think.

[TBC06]

 agreed as well, use the top of the wheel and have your 1-3 slope for the tip (about 20 degrees on a 1/8 electrode) and only use the stone for tungsten only so it does not pick up contaminants, or better yet use a diamond stone on a tungsten sharpener :)

[w0ot!]

Couldn't one turn the rod horizontally (perpendicular to the wheel)  and spin it against the stone?

[LetsExplodeSomething]

 no then you create a grain in the rod going against the flow of the arc

[CHEVY6998]

Agreed, grind the Tungsten with the point into the wheel to avoid contamination. As with any grinding application always wear full face shield and some form of dust mask . Also remember your grinding wheel (for tungsten) should only be used for Tungsten and nothing else.

[paranoid56]

no no no :D don't use the other side of the wheel, thats just dumb. you need to grind using the same side, but with the point going up. as when you grind, you want to grind the material away from the point, not to it. if you grind the way hes doing, you can introduce unclean material into the tip. just the place you don't want that. Shane