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If you dip the tungsten causing a ball, you want to clip the end off before sharping it again. That ball will contaminate your grinding wheel.

When welding aluminum, grinding a little cone on the end of your tungsten and then hold it 1/2" or so from a piece of brass and hit your peddle. This will give you a nice round ball on the end which will make it easier to control your arc.

Ron
 
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I should add, use DCRP (direct current reversed polarity) to ball the end. the ball should not be any bigger than 1-1/2 times the dia. of the tungsten. A larger ball means you have too much current. Don't forget to switch back to alternating current for welding.

Ron
 
The only problem about sharpening both ends is that if you ball up one end and try to use the other end you might do damage to the collet and cap,and not get a good electrical connection to the tungsten, which can cause a wandering arc - - - not to mention having to replace the collet and cap. Also a tungsten that is sharp on both ends can really give ya one heck of a shock if the cap is cracked - - - Electricity flows the path with the least resistance
Like Youngster said,,, if it balls up, to avoid contaminating your grinder wheel, you really should cut off the ball first anyway.

As for welding with a cracked cap, if you are so cheap you cant buy a new cap if you break yours,,, might want to think about taking up another hobby.:cool:
 

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