If you’re like me, you enjoy learning about all kinds of things especially as it relates to welding and metal fabrication.  I recently stumbled across this column over at Salon.com, Blogging the Periodic Table.  It’s a fascinating look at each of the elements in the periodic table–  and each one has a story.  You can read all about Thorium. Though this column doesn’t include information on welding, there some interesting and fun facts sprinkled throughout.

Now if you’ve been TIG welding for a while, you’re all too familiar with the RED tungsten electrodes.  This thoriated blend of tungsten electrode is popular because it is a good general purpose electrode (good for all metals and all machines) has excellent arc behavior and lasts long….  because of the nature of thorium, however, there are some health concerns due to vapors and grinding dust. At Arc-Zone we recommend you only use it if you are contractually required to, especially as there are better alternatives out there.

For more detailed information on health and safety concerns regarding the use of thoriated tungsten electrodes, check out the AWS Safety and Health Fact Sheet: Thoriated Tungsten Electrodes.

We almost always recommend our ArcTime Hybrid Tungsten… it is truly a state-of-the-art improvement over the old thoriated electrodes with excellent ignition properties, low burn off rate and it lasts a long time! I’ll let our spokes model tell you more about it:

To explore other options, check out Arc-Zone.com’s Guide to Selecting Tungsten Electrodes.

ArcTime™ Brand Hybrid, One Tungsten Blend For All Materials

State-of-the-Art, Non-Radioactive Tungsten Electrode Formula: For all metals, compatible with all welding machines.

Fabricators from around the world are using ArcTime™ Hybrid tungsten electrodes to improve weld-quality, lower tungsten inventory costs and minimize weld defects.  What started as “cult  product” with a few specialty manufacturers of yatch towers, aerospace parts, mountain bikes and race cars has grown into our most poular tungsten electrode product.

Professional fabricators choose ArcTime™ because of its excellent ignition properties, low burn off rate and tip longevity.  In other words, this stuff lasts!

As an added bonus, ArcTime™ hybrid tungsten electrodes work well with all power sources and all metals from mild steel to titanium. The material is clearly differentiated by it’s Sky Blue™ color code.

The NEW ArcTime™ offers all that, at a price even a hobbyist or small weld shop can afford.

We are so certain that you will benefit from the new ArcTime™ Hybrid, we are offering a Unconditional Money Back Guarantee backed by our industry-leading No-Hassle Return Policy.

“You’ll notice a difference just by striking the first arc– no finer electrode exists anywhere,” says Jim Watson, president and founder of Arc-Zone.com, Inc.

ArcTime™ Hybrid Performance Tungsten Electrodes™ pass Arc-Zone.com’s 5-Point Inspection Program and are delivered complete with Arc-Zone’s popular Guide to Tungsten (pdf), and Material Safety Data Sheet (pdf) .

See What Customers Are Saying:

Amazing TUNGSTEN. I never have to switch it out when I weld something new and the arc always strikes perfectly. I am on this for the rest of my welding days!!

Date Added: 05/14/2009 by Roger Wilcox

Some of the best large tungsten I have ever used. I am a definite believer from now on. And they set me up with a Net account in a couple of minutes. A wonderful experience.

Date Added: 05/25/2009 by Duncan Moore

We started using the ArcTime after we had some major quality issues with our tungsten supply. One of the challenges of being a government entity is the material is supplied for a variety of reasons, and most times quality is not one of them! We were using the 1.5% and 2% Lanthanated material, and it varied in performance and each supplier had a box with a different label on it which did not sit well with our welding shop instructor. We tested the ArcTime material and were very pleased with the look of the material, the supporting documentation and most importantly the performance. We do maintenance welds on Aluminum ship hulls – the ArcTime hybrid tungsten out performs all other materials, and saves us a lot of headaches. Now we can focus on welding!

HT2 Hull Technician Pacific Fleet (sent via email)

Date Added: 06/25/2008 by Arc-Zone Admin

Check out what our very own Roxy Fuel has to say about ArcTime™:

Try it for yourself, then tell us what YOU think!

Three Models to Choose From:

The Sharpie™ DXV “Deluxe Vacuum” model adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application and includes built-in dust collection for dust-free electrode preparation.

Customer Review:

Got this vacuum grinder with the pro kit. Great deal. We have a welder here who is pregnant and the vacuum system really helps with dust collection. Thanks for the candy and the free poster.

Date Added: 05/14/2009 by Roger Wilcox

The Sharpie™ DX “Deluxe” adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application.

Customer Review:

Got this grinder and it worked great even on 1/8 tungsten. Good adjustment angle, used the first side of the wheel then flipped it over and continued to grind. It is a must have for a shop.

Date Added: 03/17/2009 by Hit Hard

The Sharpie™ SD “Standard” has it’s grind angle pre-set at 20 degrees, a good, general-purpose angle for a variety of TIG welding applications, making the Sharpie Standard™ an economical choice.

Customer Review:

I’m a student at the local tech college taking the basic welding course. As you may have guessed, the need to sharpen the tungsten electrode is pretty frequent. The sharpie standard model has been a huge time saver, allowing me more time to learn tig. The price for of the sharpie is fairly steep for a student but well worth the cost in time saved. I would recommend this product to anyone from bigginer to expert. Sincerly, Dave

Date Added: 11/14/2008 by Dave Fasteen

Did you know that Arc-Zone.com carries the industry’s most comprehensive selection of tungsten grinders? In addition to the Sharpie, we’ve got the Turbo Sharp, the Triad, the Neutrix hand held tungsten grinders. We’ve also got the Neutra, the Ultima LTG, the TIG 10/175 and the Turbo 4…. not to mention replacement parts– including diamond grinding wheels for all the industry’s tungsten grinders.!
And if you’re not sure which one is right for you, check out our Tungsten Grinder Selector Guide (pdf).

“multiprogram science and technology laboratory managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle, LLC. Scientists and engineers at ORNL conduct basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technological solutions that strengthen the nation’s leadership in key areas of science; increase the availability of clean, abundant energy; restore and protect the environment; and contribute to national security.

ORNL also performs other work for the Department of Energy, including isotope production, information management, and technical program management, and provides research and technical assistance to other organizations.”

One can only guess what they’re welding up there!

I’m pretty sure they contacted us because Arc-Zone.com offers the widest variety of tungsten electrodes for TIG and Plasma Arc Welding applications. We offer quality brand names like ArcTime™ , Amplify™ MultiStrike™, SYLVANIA and Weldcraft® and all the popular blends like 2% Ceriated, 1.5% Lanthanated, 2% Thoriated, Pure Tungsten, Zirconiated Tungsten, Rare Earth blends and the new ArcTime Hybrid™ Electrodes.

We also stock (ready for immediate delivery) the most common diameters for welding from .040″ to 1/8″ Other diameters up to 1/4″ are usually available to ship in a couple of days.

But 1/2″ diameter tungsten electrodes– that’s a different story. For a request like that, we would need to quote a special run of 1/2″ diameter….

If you want to learn more about tungsten, check out the newest addition to the Arc-Zone.com family, TungstenElectrodesOnline.com, a comprehensive resource website for information about tungsten, tungsten production, the properties of tungsten and specifically the use of tungsten electrodes in TIG and Plasma Arc Welding. And if you have special need for tungsten electrodes, use the handy Request A Quote form.

….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:

Thanks for your question…. the spray arc transfer process is mostly used for thicker metals, and you definitely need higher voltage and current… that said, we currently (no pun intended) don’t have a lot of products and resources for MIG welding. I would highly recommend a call to Miller directly (Phone: 920-734-9821). They’ll be able to guide you better given the machine you have.

I also recommended a couple of articles, one from Miller and one from Lincoln:

http://www.millerwelds.com/education/articles/articles10.html
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/migweldss.asp

Dave may have felt bad that we couldn’t directly answer his question (we can usually offer a referral if there’s something we can’t answer) so he sent in this follow up via email:

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, Miller doesn’t recommend spray arc with the Syncrowave 200. Not enough output. They suggest an inverter unit like the 350 XMT, or compatible 3-phase multi-processor. I do have a question that you can answer.

As you may know, the Miller Syncrowave 200 is a somewhat advanced square wave machine. It features pulse, background adjustments for proper cleaning (AC aluminum), and a few other perks. It’s still, however, a transformer, rectifier machine. What tungsten do you, the professional, recommend for these types of machines. I’ve had good results on mild steel with 2% Thoriated, and fairly good results with pure tungsten on aluminum. Remember, it’s not an inverter machine, so I cannot adjust the “frequency” (Hz are 60 cycles) unlike the Dynasty 200 DX.

Of course a tungsten question is right up our alley. In fact, we just introduced a new, improved version of our ArcTime™ Hybrid All Purpose Tungsten, which we highly recommend for all metals and all welding machines.

Good Luck Dave, and thanks for stopping by– your t-shirt is on its way!

Weldcraft® has added a new double decker kit to the options available for the grinder — and it’s a well made precision machined set-up. Check it out (at the left) and read the press release from Weldcraft here…

And by the way if you want to try any of our tungsten electrode grinders — we offer a 7-Day trial — to make sure you get the best machine for your welding application. Restrictions apply — Purchase order or credit card at time of order!

That’s a tough question because there are many variables based on the type of front-end parts being used on the torch — and — the welding application. As we all know high-quality, consistently good looking and strong TIG welds are a combination of art and science.

With this new tungsten electrode stick-out tool you can reduce some of the variables by accurately measuring the tungsten stick-out by 1/16″ (1.6mm) increments up to 1″ (25.4mm).

It’s constructed of CNC machined brass with knurled locking sleeve and includes a key ring holder with nylon strap and spring type aluminum hook loop… and is available online at Arc-Zone.com!

APPLETON, Wis. 4 June 2007—To provide welding operators with the accuracy and verrsatility needed to prepare tungsten for both orbital and hand-held TIG applications, Weldcraft offers its new Triad™ (TTG Plus) tungsten grinder. Featuring precision-drilled entries, Triad accommodates six different tungsten electrode diameters—0.040, 1/16, 5/64, 3/32, 1/8 and 5/32 inch—and offers four different grinding angles (15º, 18º, 22.5º and 30º) to ensure reliable arc starting and good weld penetration.

Triad™s robust industrial-grade motor also provides consistent cutting and facing capabilities (up to 5/32-inch) to eliminate the need and cost for additional tungsten preparation tools.
READ MORE ABOUT WELDCRAFT’S TRIAD TUNGSTEN GRINDER HERE….

Arc-Zone.com is adding to our industry leading lineup of precision tungsten electrode grinders with the Triad Tungsten Grinder from Weldcraft.

As you may or may not know, Arc-Zone.com introduced the first low-cost, high-quality portable tungsten electrode grinder 7 years ago (the Sharpie™ Hand Held Tungsten Grinder). Since that time we have continued to bring to market new products that offer additional user benefits, whether it’s, adjustable grind angle, dust collection, cut-off options, or heavy-duty motors.

The new Weldcraft™ Triad model fills a void for a portable, semi-hand-held model and was designed for the precision TIG/GTAW orbital welding market by Georg Fischer. This new grinder offers several “fixed” grind angles which may be important to welding engineers that don’t want the operators constantly tinkering with the tungsten grind angle (or taper). Additionally, and more importantly it offers a precision tungsten cut off option, important for orbital welding equipment that use short tungsten electrodes.

The Triad is priced at the high end of the portable grinders, $895, just below the high-performance bench top models, and will sharpen tungsten electrodes in diameters from 0.040″ to 5/32″. The machine can be used in the weldshop or in the field and has a durable long-life motor.

The Weldcraft Triad Tungsten Grinder is not yet available, but you can reserve yours today– they should be shipping, complete with rugged carrying case by the end of next week. Give us a call:
800-944-2243 (toll free US) or
760-931-1500 (worldwide) or
email triad at arc-zone.com.

In the April 2007 edition of the American Welding Society Product Review section of the magazine, the Piranha II ad says:

“Perfect for nearly all welding applications this portable unit (under 7 lbs) is comapct and durable with no vibration. Grinds .040″ (1.0mm) through 1/8″ (3.2mm) tungsten at any angle from 15 to 45 degrees.”

Now we have nothing against the Piranha II. It’s a good, solid machine. We sell a lot of them. However, the Piranha II does not prepare 1/8″ (3.2mm) tungsten. It used to be manufactured to accommodate the 1/8″ diameter electrode, until it was discovered that the motor was not robust enough to handle that larger diameter– at least not for anything more than occasional use.

So, if you’re looking for a robust tungsten grinder that can handle 1/8″ diameter tungsten, check out the Piranha III, the Neutrix, or the Neutra Liquid Tungsten Grinder….

Think about it– you’re trying to hold the tungsten to the wheel or belt and rotate it, sounds simple, but what happens is that the tungsten gets real hot real quick, and if you lose your grip, the tungsten rotates around the wheel and shots back toward the operator like a rocket– not good when it’s a hot, pointed, fast-moving object!

Of course once a shop upgrades to a dedicated tungsten grinder they will immediately benefit from improved welding performance, better quality welds, less tungsten electrode waste and of course a safer weldshop!

Check out our line up of tungsten grinders. Arc-Zone.com(tm) offers one for every application and budget, from reasonably priced Sharpie(tm) hand-held tungsten sharpeners– great for in the weld shop or in the field– to robust bench-top tungsten grinders for precision, repeatable grind angles. We even have tungsten sharpeners with integrated dust collection.