Is this to be expected when grinding tungstens?

[MikeBs]

This was a brand new wheel, when I started.

I tried grinding with my angle grinder and a cutting disc, but it was taking a while and not really getting a good point. Hence the purchase of a silicon carbide wheel specifically for tungstens.
The idea was to just grind all the rods I have while the wheel was fitted with a the rods held in a drill. This is after about 50 rods with a mix of 1.6 and 2.4 in the blue and white varieties.
I have tried to move from side to side, but without going over the edge. You can see where the area I’ve used is already worn.
Is this the norm?
Should I have just got a cheap grinding wheel instead?
The good thing is 50 rods in about 20mins.

 

[addjunkie]

Fairly normal for a grinding wheel. A diamond wheel is another option.

 

[Kram]

Wrong wheel. Sillicon carbide is sometimes used for tungsten carbide, which is much harder than welding tungstens. To make SC wheels work they use a soft binder. The wheels wear fast and are very dusty, best avoided. Theres no situation that I would recommend SC wheels... However if you can put up with the dust, you already have it so may as well use it up..


A normal alumina/corundrum wheel is quite adequate for tungstens, it has a harder binder, so wear like that would take significantly longer.

Diamond wheels also work well,
Some people like electroplated diamond discs, but you only get a single layer of diamond and I find it wears out fast.
I prefer the resin bonded diamond type. You can often get them on amazon or ebay quite cheap.

 

[Erie Fred]

There are TIG Tungstens
And then there is Tungsten Carbide used in the machining world.

FWIW trying to sharpen a tungsten carbide lathe tool using the proper green wheel,
led to the same results you have shown.

Diamond wheels are so cheap from aliepxress, I would try that instead.

 

[MikeBs]

Thanks to all for the rapid responses.
I will continue to use this wheel until it’s worn out and replace it with a diamond one.
I am only a hobbyist, so this will be OK for now and hopefully 50 tips will get me past the ‘just starting out’ phase.
If it lasts for a few hundred tips, I’ll be happy.
I must admit though it was much faster and easier than an angle grinder, but the dust was plentiful. Glad I had a mask and overalls on.