Tried that fancy new ceramic rod for my fillet weld prep

I saw a guy on YouTube using one of those ceramic sharpening rods to clean up his tungsten before welding. Figured I'd give it a shot on my 2% lanthanated electrode last week. Instead of a nice clean point, I ended up with this weird splintered tip that made my arc wander all over a 6 inch root pass. Took me 20 minutes to grind it back to a proper taper with my regular diamond wheel. Has anyone else had that happen with ceramic rods, or did I just get a bad one?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivanlewis1mo ago

You ever notice how expensive tools sometimes make things worse? Sorry you had to deal with that wandering arc, nothing kills a weld faster than fighting the puddle the whole way.

jessicaw541mo ago

Yeah, “fighting the puddle the whole way” was basically my whole Tuesday with that rod, @ivanlewis. I think half the problem is I tried to treat it like a diamond wheel and just gave it a few quick passes instead of taking my time. Last month I ruined a brand new cup the same way, tried to rush a prep and ended up with a chipped edge that sucked gas coverage right out. Honestly, some of these fancy tools work great for some people, but if your hand isn't steady or you're not using them exactly right, they turn a simple job into a headache. Did you ever try one of those little hand-held tungsten sharpeners, or do you stick with the grinder?