I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

wrote:
I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Yes, you should use a special grinder (or at least the wheel) for
grinding the tungstens.

A trick I use is to hold the torch such that the cup shields my eyes
from the brightest part of the arc, usually right at the tip of the
electrode. Then, the arc lights up the work and I can usually see the
puddle quite nicely. I usually do sort of micro-welding and get right
up there with my nose inches from the arc.

Jon

On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:15:35 -0500, Jon Elson wrote:



wrote:
I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Yes, you should use a special grinder (or at least the wheel) for
grinding the tungstens.

A trick I use is to hold the torch such that the cup shields my eyes
from the brightest part of the arc, usually right at the tip of the
electrode. Then, the arc lights up the work and I can usually see the
puddle quite nicely. I usually do sort of micro-welding and get right
up there with my nose inches from the arc.

Jon


A very cheap 6" grinder from Harbor Freight etc etc is probably the
way the OP wants to go. Set on top of the welder, with the cord
plugged into the 110vt output plug, its very handy and wont be used
for anything else. And the wheels are "good enough"

A grinder (old Souix) lives on the top of my big Airco Squarewave 300
for just such a reason. I still use it far far too much...damnit.

I buy and sell welders on occasion, and build carts and table tops to
put on nearly all of them, and make sure there is a place for a small
cabinet for consumables, and a place for a grinder everytime. Shrug,
works for me..your mileage may vary.

Oh..if you put it on the metal top of the welding machine..a piece of
carpet under the grinder, fuzzy side down, keeps the entire machine
from vibrating from the grinder

Gunner, who just got a Lincoln Squarewave 300 this weekend. And all
the factory schematics and receipts for all new boards. And the pedal.
No torch though...sigh



"[L]iberals are afraid to state what they truly believe in, for to do so
would result in even less votes than they currently receive. Their
methodology is to lie about their real agenda in the hopes of regaining
power, at which point they will do whatever they damn well please. The
problem is they have concealed and obfuscated for so long that, as a group,
they themselves are no longer sure of their goals. They are a collection of
wild-eyed splinter groups, all holding a grab-bag of dreams and wishes. Some
want a Socialist, secular-humanist state, others the repeal of the Second
Amendment. Some want same sex/different species marriage, others want voting
rights for trees, fish, coal and bugs. Some want cradle to grave care and
complete subservience to the government nanny state, others want a culture
that walks in lockstep and speaks only with intonations of political
correctness. I view the American liberals in much the same way I view the
competing factions of Islamic
fundamentalists. The latter hate each other to the core, and only join
forces to attack the US or Israel. The former hate themselves to the core,
and only join forces to attack George Bush and conservatives." --Ron Marr

On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:41:41 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

Possibly way off base here... Are you doing relatively low amperage with
a cheep auto-dark? Only time I have seen what you are describing was
from this. My solution was to switch its sensitivity from low to high.
Solved the flashes, but sometimes the overhead lights (metal halide) set
it off when I'm not actually welding.
--
William

well, i do prefer watching the arc and the puddle since i have a eye
protection anyway. but the flashes are just too bright even when
wearing dark lenses.

maybe the there's some steel bits on my tungsten which then got
vaporized and lit.... i dunno if that's what happens when steel
vaporizes.

i guess i'll just have to try to use a "clean" and dedicated grinding
stone for my tungsten electrodes then see if that still happens.







On Apr 22, 1:15 am, Jon Elson wrote:
wrote:
I don't have a bench grinder but i do have an angle grinder to sharpen
thoriated tungsten electrodes.

I'm having problems with the arc it seems to create bright pulsing
flashes making it very difficult for me to see the arc and weld
puddle.

is this caused by a contaminated tungsten electrode?
OR
is that what happens when the tungsten electrode is contaminated with
other metal bits from the grinding stone?

perhaps my angle grinder isn't clean enough and contains some steel/
aluminum bits which contaminated the electrode.

Yes, you should use a special grinder (or at least the wheel) for
grinding the tungstens.

A trick I use is to hold the torch such that the cup shields my eyes
from the brightest part of the arc, usually right at the tip of the
electrode. Then, the arc lights up the work and I can usually see the
puddle quite nicely. I usually do sort of micro-welding and get right
up there with my nose inches from the arc.

Jon