2 percent lanthalated tungstens.

[robfrey]

In taking the advise from weldingtipsandtricks.com, I tried these electrodes on tig welding aluminum. I was amazed. They do not ball up nearly as bad as pure tungsten. I thought that the balling effect was a good thing until I tried one of the 2 percent lanthalated trodes. Much better control of the arc and where the heat is going.

[Vinsky]

I use pure tungsten on thin aluminum, 2% thoriated tungsten on heaver aluminum and all other metals.

[Kiwi Paul]

I`ve used Ceriated Tungstens for both Aluminum and Steel for the past 6 or 7 years. Have never tried Lanthalated. Was told Thoriated were a Health Risk. Like welding isn`t.......

[Peter Jack]

The ceriated and lanthiated tungstens are newer technology and work really well with the newer machines. I haven't tried them on my old Dialarc 250. I don't use puretung as it spits at very low temperatures. The alternative for aluminum is zirtung which balls similarly to puretung but is much more temperature resistant. The 2% Thoriated works really well for steel but is a poor choice for aluminum because of the way the tungsten is constructed. The zirtung or one of the newer alloys is a much better choice.

In theory thoriated tungstens give off radiation but there are a lot of us around who have used it on a daily basis for large numbers of years with no noticeable ill effects.

Pete

[robfrey]

2% lanthalated is hard to find. Most welding stores do not carry it. I found it at "the arc zone" using amazon.
My experience is that it works better (handles the heat) better than all other trodes but I have not tried the zirc trodes yet.
Weldingtipsandtricks youtube page does a pretty neat test using various trodes. Can't figure out how to paste the YouTube http address. You will need to search it.

[Vinsky]

Here's the utube link

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=weldingtipsandtricks+tig&oq=Weldingtipsandtricks&aq=1&aqi=g5&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=5755l5755l0l11330l1l1l0l0l0l0l318l318l3-1l1l0

I spent the better part of the last 35 years welding aluminum with 2% thoriated.
Don't know about radiation effects, but my arthritis is a daily reminder.

[Peter Jack]

I enjoy Welding Tips and Tricks. There's a lot of good information there and some great entertainment.

Vinsky, next time you're at your welding supply store pick up a stick of zirconium tungsten and give it a try. I think you'll find it's worth it.

If you want a good source for tungstens as well as a pile of really good information you may want to try this website.

http://www.diamondground.com/

Pete

[Vinsky]

I'm retired now so won't be welding much anymore. I probably have more than enough supplies to last me. I use my 1/4" tungsten for parallels
ls now.  These new tungstens do sound very interesting though.