Tweet
Many here know that I recently took delivery of a Diamond Ground Piranha II tungsten grinder. Since receiving the unit I have ground fair number of electrodes and I thought that I would share my thoughts about the unit.
The grinder was shipped both quickly and securely. My grinder arrived via second day air from Diamond Ground. This was unexpected but very welcomed. It was double boxed with the inner box well protected with packing peanuts inside the outer box. Hats off to diamond for this attention to what is often an overlooked detail. The unit was in a large heavy duty zip top bag. Inside another large zip top bag were the manual and the accessories. The accessories included an allen wrench for the socket head cap screw that are used in the final assembly of the unit and a pin vise (a Starrett no less) for holding electrodes.
My first impression upon removing the unit for the box was “Wow, this is one sturdy piece”. Subsequent time spent using it has confirmed this. The build quality is excellent, as is the fit and finish.
Using the PII is easy and straight forward. I won’t go over it here but for those that want an overview there is a video on the Diamond Ground website. This is really the machine to consider if you are looking for an excellent value in the tungsten grinder arena. Having received the unit while enrolled in a tig class has been very valuable for a couple of reasons. One, at class we use a Diamond Ground DGP for grinding our tungsten. The DGP can grind a very accurate angle and it is easy to achieve an almost mirror like finish on the grind. Two, because I am able to practice at home I have been able to compare the arc characteristics of tungsten ground on both machines.
The PII is not perfect (more on this later) but it is probably as “perfect” as most any hobbyist and even most professionals will ever need. One drawback, and it has nothing to do with the unit, is that the better one gets at tig welding the less frequently one has to sharpen their tungsten. The less frequently one has to sharpen their tungsten the more the PII will sit. But, that being said, I know that my tig skills have improved greatly as a result having the PII. And they have probably improved more rapidly than if I had not had it.
In use it very easy to get a grind very similar to that of the DGP. The grind from the PII is not quite as mirror like as that which the DGP can achieve, however, a little practice and a light touch get me very close. Because of the improved tungsten tip life the time between grinds, as mentioned earlier, has steadily increased resulting in more time spent welding and less time spent grinding electrodes.
As I mentioned earlier the PII is not perfect. The issues that I will discuss below are by no means an indictment of the quality but rather issues that I as an engineer might have done differently. Something that must be kept in mind is that most of these would add cost to an already substantial sum.
Angle Setting:
The angle indicator is very easy to use, but I am not certain how accurate it is. It does certainly get you close though. Contributing to the angle is what I consider excess slop in the tungsten guide. I noticed the same thing with collets on the Sharpie. This sloppiness is exacerbated by the short supporting distance of the guide. I will be making a new tungsten support arm in the future. On the new arm I will increase the support length (effectively doubling it) and reduce the size of the guide holes slightly. In addition, I will also add a guide hole for 1/8” tungsten. I will be doing the same to the flatting guide block.
Drive Motor:
The drive motor, when placed under the load of sharpening, slows considerably. That is not to say that it is near stalling or anything but I was rather surprised by it. Even with a gentle touch it slows slightly but this is no need for concern. I am certain that a drive motor with greater torque would add quite a bit to the size and the price.
Flat Presetting Depth Gauge:
This one baffles me. The premise is that one is able to set the distance into which the tungsten can be inserted into this block, opposing the tungsten in a screw with a jam nut. The screw is threaded into the block until the desired length is obtained (this length translates into the desired flat in the electrode) and the jam nut used to lock the screw in place. The pin vise is now used to grip the tungsten (with the jaws up against the block opposite the screw and jam nut) and provide a bearing surface that will limit the depth that the electrode can be plunged into the wheel at the flatting station. The problem is the minimum preset length is about one inch. The distance from the flatting block (surface that the pin vise would contact) to the wheel is about ¾”. The result is that the point would be completely ground away using this feature. In all fairness I haven’t called DG regarding this because I tend to flat my tungsten then grind the angle.
The minor issues above are just that, minor. If I seem to be overly critical it is because I am an engineer and being detail oriented to a fault often comes with the territory. Having said that, I have to give the folks at Diamond Ground a hand for a job well done, for I have been using the PII for about a month now and only considering making enhancement/changes because I can. I could use this product as it is for a long time and never feel as though I was missing something. I would strongly recommend this product to just about anybody that can afford it. If you already have a tig machine and enjoy spending time welding, put it on your short list of tig accessories. If you can’t afford it ask all those who would give you a gift for your Birthday, Christmas or any other occasion to combine the gifts and get it for you. I know what coming next and, yeah you could live without it. However, when something makes your life easier (kind of like fire or the wheel) why would you fight it?
The grinder was shipped both quickly and securely. My grinder arrived via second day air from Diamond Ground. This was unexpected but very welcomed. It was double boxed with the inner box well protected with packing peanuts inside the outer box. Hats off to diamond for this attention to what is often an overlooked detail. The unit was in a large heavy duty zip top bag. Inside another large zip top bag were the manual and the accessories. The accessories included an allen wrench for the socket head cap screw that are used in the final assembly of the unit and a pin vise (a Starrett no less) for holding electrodes.
My first impression upon removing the unit for the box was “Wow, this is one sturdy piece”. Subsequent time spent using it has confirmed this. The build quality is excellent, as is the fit and finish.
Using the PII is easy and straight forward. I won’t go over it here but for those that want an overview there is a video on the Diamond Ground website. This is really the machine to consider if you are looking for an excellent value in the tungsten grinder arena. Having received the unit while enrolled in a tig class has been very valuable for a couple of reasons. One, at class we use a Diamond Ground DGP for grinding our tungsten. The DGP can grind a very accurate angle and it is easy to achieve an almost mirror like finish on the grind. Two, because I am able to practice at home I have been able to compare the arc characteristics of tungsten ground on both machines.
The PII is not perfect (more on this later) but it is probably as “perfect” as most any hobbyist and even most professionals will ever need. One drawback, and it has nothing to do with the unit, is that the better one gets at tig welding the less frequently one has to sharpen their tungsten. The less frequently one has to sharpen their tungsten the more the PII will sit. But, that being said, I know that my tig skills have improved greatly as a result having the PII. And they have probably improved more rapidly than if I had not had it.
In use it very easy to get a grind very similar to that of the DGP. The grind from the PII is not quite as mirror like as that which the DGP can achieve, however, a little practice and a light touch get me very close. Because of the improved tungsten tip life the time between grinds, as mentioned earlier, has steadily increased resulting in more time spent welding and less time spent grinding electrodes.
As I mentioned earlier the PII is not perfect. The issues that I will discuss below are by no means an indictment of the quality but rather issues that I as an engineer might have done differently. Something that must be kept in mind is that most of these would add cost to an already substantial sum.
Angle Setting:
The angle indicator is very easy to use, but I am not certain how accurate it is. It does certainly get you close though. Contributing to the angle is what I consider excess slop in the tungsten guide. I noticed the same thing with collets on the Sharpie. This sloppiness is exacerbated by the short supporting distance of the guide. I will be making a new tungsten support arm in the future. On the new arm I will increase the support length (effectively doubling it) and reduce the size of the guide holes slightly. In addition, I will also add a guide hole for 1/8” tungsten. I will be doing the same to the flatting guide block.
Drive Motor:
The drive motor, when placed under the load of sharpening, slows considerably. That is not to say that it is near stalling or anything but I was rather surprised by it. Even with a gentle touch it slows slightly but this is no need for concern. I am certain that a drive motor with greater torque would add quite a bit to the size and the price.
Flat Presetting Depth Gauge:
This one baffles me. The premise is that one is able to set the distance into which the tungsten can be inserted into this block, opposing the tungsten in a screw with a jam nut. The screw is threaded into the block until the desired length is obtained (this length translates into the desired flat in the electrode) and the jam nut used to lock the screw in place. The pin vise is now used to grip the tungsten (with the jaws up against the block opposite the screw and jam nut) and provide a bearing surface that will limit the depth that the electrode can be plunged into the wheel at the flatting station. The problem is the minimum preset length is about one inch. The distance from the flatting block (surface that the pin vise would contact) to the wheel is about ¾”. The result is that the point would be completely ground away using this feature. In all fairness I haven’t called DG regarding this because I tend to flat my tungsten then grind the angle.
The minor issues above are just that, minor. If I seem to be overly critical it is because I am an engineer and being detail oriented to a fault often comes with the territory. Having said that, I have to give the folks at Diamond Ground a hand for a job well done, for I have been using the PII for about a month now and only considering making enhancement/changes because I can. I could use this product as it is for a long time and never feel as though I was missing something. I would strongly recommend this product to just about anybody that can afford it. If you already have a tig machine and enjoy spending time welding, put it on your short list of tig accessories. If you can’t afford it ask all those who would give you a gift for your Birthday, Christmas or any other occasion to combine the gifts and get it for you. I know what coming next and, yeah you could live without it. However, when something makes your life easier (kind of like fire or the wheel) why would you fight it?
Comment