Working with Tungsten

Pure Tungsten & Tungsten Alloys

Turning

Tools	Carbide H(2)
Clearance angle	9°
Back Rake	27°
Side Rake	0°
Cutting Speed	132 ft per minute
Nose Angle	90°
Nose Radius	0°

Grinding

Wheel Type	silicon carbide; hardness j to l ; gram size 100-120
Speed	12 ft per second

Use aluminum oxide or silicon carbide wheels with medium hardness.

Milling
When milling Tungsten, the following is recommended

Cutting speed	73 feet per minute
clearance angle	8°
side rake	10°

Forming
When spinning, bending or stamping note the following

Tooling	Carbide
Temperature	1000° - 1500° F

Drilling

Use high speed steel surface treated drills with plain points. Increased clearance angles and automatic feeding are often used to avoid binding. Carbide drills will give better tool life. A Chlorinated oil or a tapping compound is recommended.

Tapping

Use high speed steel or carbide, two flute plug spiral point taps. Chlorinated oil or a tapping compound is recommended.

Cutting

When sawing use a bi-metal coarse blade at high speeds, or a high speed steel coarse blade at low speeds. Coolant can be used. Material can also be cut using high
speed abrasive cutoff wheels.

Joining

Methods used are copper brazing, diffusion bonding, silver soldering and shrink fitting.