# Lanthanated Tungsten.



## Zigeuner (Feb 8, 2011)

I've been welding with TIG for a while. The first machine I had was a 250/250 TIG/Stick Lincoln Idealarc. It was a pure sine wave machine with a very large transformer. There was no variation of the arc on AC, just straight 50-50 plus and minus. It was a nice machine but was rather difficult to use on AC for aluminum. I kept it for close to 15 years and then traded it in on a used Miller Syncrowave 200 that only had 8 hours on the meter. 

On the Lincoln, I had been using Pure Tungsten for aluminum and 2% Thoriated for DCRP with mild steel and stainless. It worked well enough but, as I said, aluminum was touchy with regard to heat control and penetration. Also, it would cause pure tungsten to form a very large ball after sufficient heat built up. That required stopping to regrind the tip....not a show stopper, but annoying. 

On the suggestion of some welder friends, I tried using 2% (red code) thoriated on AC for aluminum as well on the Lincoln. I discovered that it worked quite a bit better as long as you could keep the heat down. With too much heat, the tip would tend to split and cause an irregular arc. This was better than the pure tungsten but still not ideal. It required you to stop and regrind the tip rather frequently. 

The Miller, being a square wave machine has some nice features which make aluminum somewhat easier. Unlike the Lincoln, which used continuous high frequency for AC welding, the Miller has high frequency only on startup. It uses the square wave to maintain the arc on AC after startup and that works quite well. I tried both pure and 2% thoriated tungstens on the Miller with similar results, although the welds were beginning to look better. Part of this was due to the square wave, which can vary the penetration to cleaning ratio. Unfortunately, the thoriated was still splitting a bit, although somewhat less than with the Lincoln machine. 

With this as a background, I started doing some research on the internet as to the characteristics of other types of tungstens. 2% lanthanated seemed to be a logical choice since it is said to take more heat and avoid the splitting on AC. I saw an ad for a company that offered a free sample and decided to take them up on it. I got a stick of 2% lanthanated and tried it on aluminum with AC. 

The results were much better than either pure or 2% thoriated tungsten. On AC, the tip doesn't split and will form a very small ball, which is ideal for maintaining the arc in a proper shape. I decided to order a box of 3/32" in 2% lanthanated. I'll use that for AC on aluminum and reserve the 2% thoriated for steel. The lanthanated will also work nicely on mild and stainless steel. The pure tungsten is now obsolete as far as I can see. 

My findings are probably only valid for a transformer machine with square wave. Others may have the newer inverter style machines with greater frequency variation. Such machines will be able to use other types of tungsten to greater advantage. At this point, I'm not ready to spend the kind of money that such machines command. For my hobby work, the Miller suits me well. 

Thanks for listening!


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 19, 2013)

just a fyi, 
i was taught in school that you are supposed to use the 2% lanthinated tungsten and make a small ball on the tungsten to make a better electron path when welding aluminum on AC. 
I learned to tig weld and arc weld on the Synchrowave, it's a fine machine.
Happy Welding!
mike)


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## Ray C (Feb 19, 2013)

Funny... I just posted about lanthanated in the thread about grinding tungsten...

Anyhow, I only use lanthanated now for everything.  My machine is very adjustable and to avoid all the balling-up etc, I can use either the ramp-up on start feature or, high-frequence pulse mode which has adjustable cycle times and duty ratings.  After a good bit of work, seems that all tips eventually ball-up but, truth be known, I usually do an accidental dip and need to grind anyhow...


Ray


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## Uglydog (Feb 20, 2013)

Yep, I've played with 1.5% and 2% lanthanated. 1.5% doesn't work nearly as well as 2%.
Like others report, I'm slowly moving to 2% Lanthanated on everything, that is after I finish up all of the odds and ends I've accumulated. Seems to work well.


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## Ray C (Feb 20, 2013)

Have you tried ceriated?  Give yourself a good belly laugh and give it a try some day.  Don't buy much of it.   -Sheesh!  




Uglydog said:


> Yep, I've played with 1.5% and 2% lanthanated. 1.5% doesn't work nearly as well as 2%.
> Like others report, I'm slowly moving to 2% Lanthanated on everything, that is after I finish up all of the odds and ends I've accumulated. Seems to work well.


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## Uglydog (Feb 21, 2013)

Ray C said:


> Have you tried ceriated?  Give yourself a good belly laugh and give it a try some day.  Don't buy much of it.   -Sheesh!



Belly laugh? More like a belly ache. I'd read somewhere that it worked well for SS. Don't believe everything you read.


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## xalky (Feb 21, 2013)

2% lanthanated is more rare than hens teeth around here in the brick and mortar welding suppliers. The only place to get them for me is online. I haven't bought any yet because of this fact.  The larger sizes are dreadfully expensive, it'd be nice if someone sold the larger sizes by the piece rather than by the 10pack.

Anybody know of a good place to buy them online?

EDIT: The best deal I've found is here: http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_156&products_id=9469  I just bought some 1/16 and 3/32. They also carry a bunch of different brands.


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## Ray C (Feb 21, 2013)

I tried it on aluminum of all types from 3xxx to 6xxx and various steel (low, medium carbon and some alloy).  -No soap.  It just doesn't last worth a darn.  Also tried all kinds of settings on the machine -you know the deal...

I would be a happy man if it worked on SS because I have 3 packs in different diameters -and at the current rate, I'll be owning those packs for a long time.

I'll try on SS and keep my fingers crossed.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Ray




Uglydog said:


> Belly laugh? More like a belly ache. I'd read somewhere that it worked well for SS. Don't believe everything you read.


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## Uglydog (Feb 21, 2013)

xalky said:


> 2% lanthanated is more rare than hens teeth around here in the brick and mortar welding suppliers. The only place to get them for me is online. I haven't bought any yet because of this fact.  The larger sizes are dreadfully expensive, it'd be nice if someone sold the larger sizes by the piece rather than by the 10pack.
> 
> Anybody know of a good place to buy them online?
> 
> EDIT: The best deal I've found is here: http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_156&products_id=9469  I just bought some 1/16 and 3/32. They also carry a bunch of different brands.



Jeff Noland at http://www.usaweld.com/

My first order for Lanth was for 2% they accidentally shipped 1.5%. With a huge apology and no questions asked they sent me 2%, and a USPS envelope to send the incorrect ones back in. Easy people to deal with.


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