One of the most common questions we get at Arc-Zone.com is

Which tungsten electrode should I use ?

or even more specifically

What is the best Tungsten for precision TIG welding with AC (alternating current) on Aluminum using an inverter based machine?

A lot of folks in the industry have some very strong opinions on this subject, some based on fact, some based on ego and greed and some– just not having the experience. . .

For sure the answer is NOT Pure tungsten (color code: Green)!  Even though many say you should use pure, and back in the day specifications called out Pure tungsten for AC TIG welding.   But that’s old skool; I never use pure, and I would not recommend even trying it!

We have several industrial customers who purchase tungsten electrodes from us in quantity–  and they have spent a lot of time and money testing different materials.  From precision orbital TIG welding of high-purity stainless steel tubing, to manual TIG welding of yacht towers or special interest auto intake/turbo manifolds and other aluminum fabricated parts where the finished product is the “money.”  In other words, these master fabricators know what they’re talking about when it comes to TIG Welding and tungsten electrodes and hands down, they prefer our ArcTime(TM) Hybrid tungsten electrodes.

Based on my 20+ years in the welding industry, I would say it comes down to two things – the tungsten brand name (who makes it), and the material blend or formula (how it’s manufactured).

Tungsten Brand Name:
Arc-Zone.com sells all the leading brands of high-quality tungsten electrodes: ArcTime, Amplify, CK Worldwide, Multi-Strike, Sylvania, and Weldcraft.  With these trusted brands, you are assured that the material is top-quality and manufactured to the highest specifications and with adherence to International ISO 6848 and AWS A5.12 standards.

Tungsten Blend or Formula:
If you look at our sales from users around the world, ArcTime™ Hybrid (color code: Sky Blue) is the most popular and the 2% Ceriated (color code: Orange) and Lanthanated (color code: Dark Blue) are the second most popular, especially for precision fabricators. Again that is based on our sales and conversations with fabricators and leading power supply manufactures – (Weldcraft will be adding 2% Lanthanated to their product line shortly, and they currently offer a Rare Earth material, which is a generic material designed to compete with ArcTime™, Trimix, and Multistrike).

For the record, we sell Multi-Strike, and we sold Trimix for many years, but those materials are very expensive, and our customers told us the performance did not justify the extra cost.

Also important and often overlooked is the quality of the tungsten material. Like it or not the vast majority of the tungsten electrodes are made in China. The raw material for the most part has always come from there, as they have some of the largest tungsten mines. That said there are many high-quality manufacturers, just as there are poor quality manufacturers. Your best option is to buy a material that has a trusted brand name, from a supplier that offers only carefully selected and tested products from known manufacturers.

Free Tungsten Samples  / Free Pizza:
A local “New York style” pizza joint comes by the shop and offers us free pizza, since we often have pizza on Fridays–to celebrate exceeding our customer experience goals–we ordered one of those free pizzas.  It was terrible.  We threw it out!

Recently they stopped by again, and when our receptionist said “No thank you,” the stooge they hired to pass out the free pizza flyers was floored.

“You guys don’t want a free pizza?  I don’t get it, you don’t eat?” he said.

She told him their pizza was not worth the phone call.

I know that may sound harsh, but it’s true and you know what I am talking about…. you get what you pay for.  We have some “competitors” that offer free tungsten samples.

When we get calls from people asking us for samples we refer them to those free sample guys.  And if they are serious fabricators they try those free samples then call us back and place an order. . .

So, no, we don’t offer free tungsten samples, but what we do offer is the best Brand Name tungsten welding electrodes on the planet, backed by our unsurpassed technical support, and every order ships with material safety data sheets, user guides, how to’s, material specifications with mill runs and lot numbers, a bag of our signature M&M’s, plus the industry’s only unconditional MONEY BACK GUARANTEE and a NO-HASSLE return policy.

One of the joys of working on the internet is that corrections can be made quickly.  You know what I’m talkin’ about:  typos, wrong part numbers, confusing images….

Print, however, is different.  An operations manual, for example, printed hundreds of thousands of times over– with an error–  could potentially cause confusion, and none of us are immune– not even the most respected manufacturers.

We recently ran across just such a case, when a manufacturing engineer contacted us via this very blog, in response to an article we’d posted about the installation of the ceramic electrode insulator/gas distributor on the Thermal Dynamics 3A Plasma Arc Welding Torch.

Allen wrote:

The article about Plasma Arc Welding Tips from June 2007 shows a particular way to install the insulator sleeves part # 9-2240 for a Thermal PAW 3A torch. This is opposite to what my Thermal factory manual says. The manual says the collar goes towards the tip and your article says the collar goes to the torch cap. I’m confused now.

I emailed a response that included a direct link to the manufacturer’s data sheet on the 3A PAW torch which correctly shows the direction of the installation of the part.

Imagine my surprise when Allen wrote back to tell me he had called the manufacturer himself and a service tech confirmed that the manual was incorrect!

Now I’m not saying we’re always right, but I am saying it is always a good idea to double check, and ask questions.  When you’re talking about Plasma Arc Welding, there are so many variables, and the last thing you want is for you an incorrectly installed part to cause a $500 torch failure.

At Arc-Zone.com we carry a complete line of performance proven no-OEM plasma arc welding torches and replacement parts for the Thermal Dynamics(R) torches, manufactured to exacting specifications to meet your production needs.

So give us call if you’re in need of plasma arc welding torch replacement parts, accessory kits, and be sure to ask about our blanket purchase order program.  We’ll make sure you not only have your parts installed correctly, we’ll make sure you have the parts you need when you need them.

The other day when I was asking Joe Welder which TIG torches I should recommend when writing about the Nascar welders, and he could not stop talking about these two specific ones: the Modular and Micro TIG torches.  I was confused.  “So what’s so special about them?” I asked, naïve as I was.  In response I received what was, quite possibly, the longest answer in the history of welding and now feel like I know just about as much as anyone could ever know about these two torches.

The Micro TIG torch? It’s just like what its name implies; it’s tiny.  And that makes it perfect for any job where you need to get into a tight space.  It’s even capable of welding inside of a 5/8” diameter pipe.  It also has three interchangeable heads to choose from (45º, 90º and 180º angles) which make it almost impossible to find a job that this torch cannot do.

The Modular TIG torch?  Joe Welder’s FAVORITE.

He calls it “the most versatile torch on the market”.  Why?  Because you can choose from so many different torch heads at different angles and different amperages that it’s just about mind-boggling.  And you can also choose between air-cooled (WP-150) and water-cooled (WP-225) set-ups.

Kenneth from Pennsylvania asks Joe:

Do you have Weldcraft TIG Torch parts to fit a Miller DB20 water cooled TIG torch? Specifically a gas lens, collet and nozzle for .040? through .125″ diameter tungsten electrodes?

This question brings up a couple of points. First off, did you know that Miller and Weldcraft are related? Both are owned by the Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Currently all Miller TIG torches are sold as Weldcraft, taking advantage of the brand recognition of Weldcraft, a leader in the industry. Some earlier Miller torches were made by another company, but to quality standards.

Which leads me to point number two.

Most TIG torches parts are interchangeable. There are some exceptions, and certainly with some of the cheaper non-name brands you’ll find that the materials are not as good and the tolerances are, well, not tolerable…. But with quality brand names like CK, Diamondback, Lincoln, etc the parts should interchange.

Mark in Vermont asks:

I am running a Miller syncrowave 250 DX. Frequently welding cast aluminum, it pops and sizzles. I have always been looking for better cleaning techniques or a different tungsten to help get a stronger and prettier weld. There is always alot of black around the weld, and most times holes just “appear” in the weld. Any suggestions or tips to help?

That’s an interesting question — You can try a couple of things and see if it helps.

1. Use a gas lens collet body – this will improve the shield gas coverage, and allow you to run higher amperage while lowering the electrode and front-end parts operating temperature.

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David from Peoria (Arizona!) wrote in and asked:

….about “spray arc transfer MIG.” I tried it with my Miller 8VS and Syncrowave 200 (on CC mode). It sounded like TIG, but I ruined a tip & nozzle. Is this type recommended “at home,” or do you need a bigger multi-processor power source, and what are the advantages?

I quickly replied:
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I got a call today from Eric the maintenance foreman for the American Airlines Engine Repair Shop in Ft. Worth Texas. “Do you have the Monster nozzle in stock?” he asked.

When I said yes, he practically erupted with joy. “Man we have been looking all over for these things. They’re like gold around here.”

He told me they used to get a similar part but the quality was inconsistent, and the availability was too. He said, “We have a job to do, and we use these nozzles to TIG weld our Titanium and other special alloys that need repair.”

He went on to say that as the nozzles became scarce, they started making them in-house from a variety of materials — Phenolic, Ceramic and then settled on a CNC machined aluminum part that was ceramic coated. “The quality was great, but they take time to make and are expensive,” he said.

The Arc-Zone.com Monster nozzle will be a great replacement for them… and they can get on with the business they are in, welding specialized aerospace materials– not tools.

This is true of a lot of the quality purge gas accessories we sell at Arc-Zone. As a master fabricator you know you can build your own trail shield, or auxiliary gas welding nozzle…. but when you’re looking for consistency, and want to focus on your core business, it’s nice to have a supplier that can offer tools so you can Weld Like A Pro™.

I got a call from Fabio who is building an off-road rock climbing truck chassis (pictured right). He needed someone to help him set up his new TIG welder, so he called Arc-Zone.com.

Fabio had just moved back to Italy though he and his wife had spent the past couple of years living on Maui. He started the truck project there, bought some equipment and soon became frustrated with the lack of available products, and tech support. He had a brand new Miller Dyanasty 200 and needed all the goods it takes to properly weld a high-performance off-road truck. Considering the number of welding equipment manufacturers in Italy, I was surprised that Fabio was unable to find the info or qualified people to help him get what he needed.

Since that first call Fabio has placed several orders and we have them delivered to his local post office. And since I promised my wife Gina that I would take her to Italy one day, I hope I’ll be able to see Fabio TIG welding in person, and take a ride in his new off-road truck!

Lisa in Alameda emailed Arc-Zone.com with the following question:

I have a Miller Dialarc welder with a Weldcraft water cooled torch. I have been hooked up to city water and it’s worked fine for years. But I am moving my business to Klamath Falls, Oregon and my shop will get below freezing at night so I’ll need a self contained unit to cool my torch. Could you send me more information on just the cooling system/cool kit without the torch kit included as I have that….

Since Lisa already has the water-cooled torch, getting her set up with a water cooler should be pretty simple; all she’ll need is the cooler itself.

The water cooler that comes with the Cool Kit is our Tig-er cooler. It retails for about $500 plus shipping. It is a nice little cooler that runs 2 gallons. It’s solid and compact and would be a great addition to a small weld shop.

Lisa may need a water hose, and AW-431 fittings. She’ll also need the coolant which you can get from us, or from your local welding supply shop.

I’ve said it before but I love this industry and feel blessed that I’m able to meet so many interesting people and learn about what they are doing with metal fabrication.

I got a call from a Greg — he was in need of some technical info — specifically why his TIG hoses popped, and what he can do to keep it from happening. The power cable burst just outside of the handle. “I repaired it with some tubing, heat shrink etcetera, and it just popped again and started leaking,” he said.

His local supplier’s suggestion was to buy a whole new torch package — which he did– but that did not solve the problem. I talked him through the details of his TIG set up, specifically his connections to and from the power supply and the water cooler. I concluded that his coolant pump needed to be replaced.

We always have PROCON® pumps on hand and all the mounting hardware to connect directly to the welding industries most popular water coolers (from manufacturers like Bernard, Dynaflux and ITW). We also offer a nice refurbished coolant pump. It is much simpler, efficient and cost effective than trying to repair a pump yourself. Buy a refurbished pump, with all the fittings and mounting hardware and when you return your old pump core, we give you a 25.00 core credit!

Greg was relieved that we found the problem and I said we can ship your pump to you and you’ll have it tomorrow. “I need it today I got a job to do,” he said, then added, “and I want to come up and check you guys out!”

Turns out Greg is Greg Deering President of Deering Banjo Company located in Spring Valley, California about 40 miles from us.

We had a nice visit comparing notes about our early days as a start up company and how, due to the web we have connected with so many interesting people!

Deering Banjos “The Great American Banjo Company” is the premier manufacturer of banjos. These finely crafted instruments are played by some the best musicians worldwide. Obviously there is a lot of woodwork involved and apparently some of the brasswork is TIG welded! Check out the factory here:

[flashvideo filename="http://www.joewelder.com/VIDS/deeringfactorytour.flv" /]