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  1. #1
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    Default Titanium First Impressions

    I had a chance to play with my titanium bar today. It's interesting stuff to hold. It looks and feels exactly like SS, but is obviously lighter. It took me by surprise the first time I pick up a piece of the bar.

    I decided to make an M5 screw for practice. First impressions are very good. It cuts and drills like butter with carbide tooling and drill bits (solid carbide drill bits are superb- I'll be getting more). The finish is beautiful. The swarf is razor sharp. Sharp HSS tooling cuts nicely too, although my cobalt HSS parting tool complained a bit while parting off. I kept the pressure up to prevent overheating the blade, but it was quite 'grabby'. I managed to part off without getting the blade too hot. I'll setup my mist coolant system tomorrow and see if that improves things.

    Cutting the thread was easy enough. The die started to squeal as the threading progressed and I could feel it binding as I'd read titanium does. I backed it out and applied Trefolex paste. That helped a lot. I had turned the blank to 5mm. I would try slightly under that next time. The threads are very clean and crisp.

    It gave off some bright white sparks when cutting the screw slot with a Dremel carbide disc. The screw head was polished on a buffing wheel after facing (no filing or sanding) and has a mirror finish.

    Can anyone recommend an eBay seller with a reasonable quality carbide parting tool to suit a Hercus sized lathe (fairly thin blade I'm thinking)?

    The pics came out in reverse order. The first pic is of drilling swarf. The other swarf pic is from turning with a carbide insert tool.
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    Chris

  2. #2
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    Default

    Looks good thank you for sharing.

    What wheel did you use to cut the slots ??

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Somedayplumbing View Post
    Looks good thank you for sharing.

    What wheel did you use to cut the slots ??
    Thanks. I used one of these: https://www.dremel.com.au/au/en/heav...tal=Soft+metal

    If I was doing a run of screws I would buy a solid carbide slitting saw.
    Chris

  4. #4
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    The screw looks fantastic. I just had a look at the supplier's website and I'm surprised at the price of the stuff- thought it would be much dearer. Would a HSS slitting saw not cut it? I'm doing a batch of custom archery broadheads, titanium ferrules would be nice...

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete O View Post
    Would a HSS slitting saw not cut it?
    I'm sure it would Pete with the correct speed, feed and coolant. I wasn't game to try a good HSS slitting saw to find out. I might give it a try when I get my coolant system setup.
    Chris

  6. #6
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    For anyone contemplating turning Ti maybe have a read of this beforehand.
    https://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...h-fire-163372/

    Anyone thinking about sanding it might like to know that Ti powder spontaneously combusts and this will set fire to small chips and fine swarf which in turn will set fire to bigger pieces,.
    Ti fires cannot be put out with water and a D-type (lime green stripe) dry powder extinguisher is required.

    Must be time for my Ti story, well its not mine, it's my brother's.
    For about 10 years he was a trouble shooter for an engineering company based in Denver and would fly to more or less anywhere on the globe to consult on engineering problems. One time he flew to Kazakstan to consult on an open cut gold mine. Normally he flies in, assesses the situation, writes a recommendation report and a few days later he flies out. This time he decided to stay to supervise the "fixes". A day after he arrived his laptop screen hinge snapped and one of the Russian mining engineers saw this and said take it to the workshop and, lets call him "Ivan" will fix it. Not only was it fixed, Ivan had use missile grade Ti to do a beautiful job. A few years later when the laptop died, bro kept the hinge and still has it somewhere.

  7. #7
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    Thanks for the heads-up Bob. Can confirm it burns. The angel-hair swarf from turning burns like gunpowder. I couldn't get the thicker drilling swarf to burn, even with my MAPP gas torch.
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    Last edited by jack620; 22nd Sep 2018 at 01:09 PM. Reason: spelling
    Chris

  8. #8
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by jack620 View Post
    Thanks for the heads-up Bob. Can confirm it burns. The angle hair swarf from turning burns like gunpowder. I couldn't get the thicker drilling swarf to burn, even with my MAPP gas torch.
    A MAPP torch is not hot enough to ignite thick swarf or solid Ti. However, if Ti powder is mixed with fine swarf and that is mixed in with thicker swarf and even solid pieces of Ti, if the powder ignites then it can all go up. It burns like Magnesium and can easily burn up a lathe and in turn a shed shed. Removing fine swarf as soon possible after it has been generated and use of coolant will dramatically reduce risk.

  9. #9
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    Hi Guys,

    I've seen magnesium do similar things.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete O View Post
    I'm doing a batch of custom archery broadheads, titanium ferrules would be nice...
    Pete,
    you would probably be better buying tube rather than solid. It would save you a lot of drilling. I don't know what diameter your ferrules need to be, but this eBay seller has a range of sizes.

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1X-Titanium-Grade-5-Gr-5-Tube-Tubing-OD-8mm-x-6mm-ID-Wall-1mm-Length-20cm/372091140128?hash=item56a25c3820:g:ni0AAOSw-0xYSJ5M
    Chris

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by jack620 View Post
    Pete,
    you would probably be better buying tube rather than solid. It would save you a lot of drilling. I don't know what diameter your ferrules need to be, but this eBay seller has a range of sizes.

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1X-Titanium-Grade-5-Gr-5-Tube-Tubing-OD-8mm-x-6mm-ID-Wall-1mm-Length-20cm/372091140128?hash=item56a25c3820:g:ni0AAOSw-0xYSJ5M
    No drilling involved in the broadhead ferrules Jack; these are the experimental batch I've made from aluminium. They were slotted on the horizontal mill with a HSS slitting saw; I guess titanium could be slotted in the surface grinder with a thin wheel? I need to read up on working with the stuff.
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  12. #12
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    Hi Pete,
    that's nothing like what I had envisioned! I was thinking of a ring, like a chisel ferrule. What you've made is essentially the same as the pen tip I just made, only with a slot in the end rather than a small hole. I reckon you could slot them easily with a solid carbide slitting saw. I don't think a grinding disc would give you accuracy you would probably need. It was slow and tended to wander. But it might work on a surface grinder if it had coolant.

    Something like this maybe? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KLOT-Sol...item4b4638347b

    PM me your address and I'll send you a bit of the 10mm stuff to play with if you like.
    Chris

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by jack620 View Post
    PM me your address and I'll send you a bit of the 10mm stuff to play with if you like.
    That is such a generous offer I will definitely take you up on it! Having read the PM thread in the link above, I don't think I'll be putting Ti anywhere near my surface grinder though (doesn't have a coolant system).

    I just remembered that I have a sizeable chunk of titanium screwed to my spine; perhaps I should be more paranoid when I'm using the angle grinder!

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