Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

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SteveHGraham
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Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by SteveHGraham »

We all know you can't grind brass or aluminum on a bench grinder. Does that hold true for tungsten, too?
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John Evans
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by John Evans »

As in TIG welding tungstens? I do it but usually use a disk sander.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by SteveHGraham »

I am planning to use a belt grinder, but I wondered.

I would think that a metal like tungsten, with a high melting point, would not be dangerous on a bench grinder.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I sharpen mine on my bench grinder.
Always have.

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Frank Ford
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by Frank Ford »

SteveHGraham wrote:I am planning to use a belt grinder, but I wondered.

Eh? I'm under the impression you can grind or at least try to grind any goddamn thing on a belt sander/grinder without the safety concerns of a wheel blowing up as with aluminum loading on a regular grinder. Tungsten makes nice bright white sparks. . .
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Howard Gorin
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by Howard Gorin »

You should consider reserving a grinding wheel only for tungsten. In critical situations a grinding wheel used on other materials could contaminate the tungsten rod
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by powderhorn01 »

If you have the newer tungsten electrodes, have at and grind on what ever you want. But if you happen to have some old stock electrodes, that contain thorium, Do not grind in the open. The thorium containing tungsten is safe to handle, but the grinding dust is a alpha, beta emitter(radioactive).
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John Hasler
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by John Hasler »

powderhorn01 wrote:If you have the newer tungsten electrodes, have at and grind on what ever you want. But if you happen to have some old stock electrodes, that contain thorium, Do not grind in the open. The thorium containing tungsten is safe to handle, but the grinding dust is a alpha, beta emitter(radioactive).
Thorium has a half-life of 14 billion years. The activity level is too low to matter. You'd have to grind solid thorium as a full-time job for years with no dust control in order to suffer any ill effects, which would probably be dermatitis and/or liver injury. It isn't going to give you cancer.

Thorium is everywhere. You've got 100 micrograms or so in you and consume about three micrograms a day.
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by Howard Gorin »

I recall reading about a young man who was apparently collecting Coleman lantern mantles for the Thorium. I think he was trying to create a chain reaction in his backyard. I think he did create a Superfund site. Maybe other readers here can add to the story.
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by J.Ramsey »

Howard Gorin wrote:I recall reading about a young man who was apparently collecting Coleman lantern mantles for the Thorium. I think he was trying to create a chain reaction in his backyard. I think he did create a Superfund site. Maybe other readers here can add to the story.

Link to the article.http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Lot of lead pipes in the Detroit area, besides just Flint, apparently....

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John Hasler
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Re: Safe to Grind Tungsten on Bench Grinder?

Post by John Hasler »

Howard Gorin wrote:I recall reading about a young man who was apparently collecting Coleman lantern mantles for the Thorium. I think he was trying to create a chain reaction in his backyard. I think he did create a Superfund site. Maybe other readers here can add to the story.
He was collecting smoke detectors and trying to extract the americium. If he had acquired every one ever made and successfully extracted and concentrated the radioactive material he might have had something slightly dangerous (but many orders of magnitude less than the amount needed for a reactor).

The authorities, of course, reacted with their usual "abundance of caution".
Last edited by John Hasler on Thu Feb 09, 2017 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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