Here’s a few more resources on selecting and preparing tungsten electrodes for your welding application:

Practical Welding Today®  :  Choosing tungsten electrode type, size for aluminum GTAW By Frank Armao, Contributing Writer

I’ve heard different opinions about which size and type of tungsten electrode I should use to gas tungsten arc weld (GTAW) aluminum. Could you clear up this subject for me?

As you know, we use direct current electrode negative (DCEN), or straight polarity, to weld steels and stainless steels. For this type of welding, 2 percent thoriated tungsten electrodes, ground to a conical point, are recommended almost universally. To make this type of electrode, we disperse small particles of thorium oxide, or thoria, in the tungsten so it makes up 2 percent by volume of the electrode.  CONTINUE READING ONLINE–>

Selection and Preparation Guide for Tungsten Electrodes: How to identify, select and prepare tungsten electrodes for your application By Mike Sammons, business development manager, Weldcraft

Tungsten is a rare metallic element used for manufacturing TIG (or GTAW) electrodes. The TIG process relies on tungsten’s hardness and high temperature resistance to carry the welding current to the arc, as it has the highest melting point of any metal (3,410 degrees Celsius).

These non-consumable electrodes come in a variety of sizes and lengths and are composed of either pure tungsten or a hybrid of tungsten and other rare earth elements and oxides. Choosing an electrode for the TIG process depends on the base material type and thickness and whether you weld with alternating or direct current. This article will describe tungsten options, how to pick the best one for your application and proper tungsten preparation. CONTINUE READING ONLINE –>

Selecting the right tungsten, How your choice affects AC GTAW  By Brent Williams, Contributing Writer  Practical Welding Today

Most welders used to agree that a pure tungsten electrode was crucial to obtaining the best results for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) aluminum, magnesium, and other alloys that required an AC arc.

But this isn’t as true anymore, as the welding industry has shifted toward using inverter-based AC GTAW machines that incorporate square wave technology.

Selecting the right tungsten becomes an increasingly critical issue with inverter technology to maximize its benefits. In the past pure tungsten was the best choice for AC GTAW, but today industry experts recommend rare-earth tungstens instead of pure tungsten when using an inverter-type power source.