Tungsten Sharpeners have made a big splash in the Tig Welding industry.
At the American Welding Society expo last year, there must have been at least 50 different brands and designs of tungsten sharpeners, Every major welding equipment manufacturer like Miller, Lincoln, and Esab had tungsten sharpeners on hand to assist in tig welding demonstrations. Even the booths with Chinese Tig Welders had them on hand.
Cordless Angle Grinder
But are they necessary? or are they just one more widget to spend money on that might make a difference and might not?
Lets look at the 2 main designs of tungsten sharpeners and discuss the pro's and cons of each...
The 2 main designs are Benchtop, and handheld.
Benchtop tungsten grinders generally use a coolant to keep down dust and to keep the tungsten electrode cool while sharpening. on the surface that sounds like a plus. But in reality it makes for a sludgy mess when it is not cleaned often enough, which in my experience, is always.
Pro's...The pro's of benchtop tungsten grinders are that they are more precise than other designs and they tend not to "walk off" because they are kind of bulky and dont fit in a lunch box. Also dust is not a problem because of the liquid coolant.
Cons... are mainly that they are messy, and expensive. Some benchtop models are over 1500 dollars.
Handheld tungsten sharpeners can be pretty affordable and handy. They range anywhere from 150 to 700 dollars. They contain some of the grinding dust but once they get full, dust kind of just comes out in a cloud whenever you pull the trigger. They have to be cleaned periodically.
Pro's...The main Pro's are that they are cheaper than benchtop units and they are portable and do not generate a messy sludgy mess like the benchtops. Cons...Diamond grinding wheels for the handheld models are usually close to 50 dollars to replace and handheld tungsten grinders do tend to wander off due to the fact that people like them and they will easily fit into a lunch box.
A good alternative to a tungsten sharpener is to use a cordless drill to spin the electrode and a small benchtop belt sander. You can use both the drill and the belt sander for other things and you will still come out ahead on the price. If you are doing precision tig welding and need to eliminate every possible variable, then having a precise angle taper on your electrode is important enough to buy a tungsten sharpener. But for the average welder, it is one of those things you can do without...like having flames airbrushed on your helmet.