Cutting Titanium

Joined
Jul 23, 1999
Messages
1,409
Hi Folks,
I'm beginning to move into a new area and need some advice. My first attempt at cutting titanium resulted in a bandsaw blade with no teeth. It stipped them off like they were nothing. (This was a Sandvic blade with 14 TPI) What type, and tooth pitch can you recommend for .050 Ti? Any other recommendations on working Ti would be gladly accepted.
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"


 
Ed,
Save the blade with no teeth!!!!! I use a very dull blade, sometimes a newer one running backwards. You have to increase the speed of the saw and it more or less melts its way through!! At work I use a friction saw that was made to cut like this but my Wood bandsaw will cut it OK too. There has been lots of discussion here about friction sawing. I do it all the time with Ti but not on blade steel. Wear a face mask in addition to safety glasses!!! I had to have a Ti particle taken out of my eye from friction sawing. I was wearing only safety glasses!
Neil
PS I'm thinking of one of your forged damacus blades in a Ti. framed folder???
WOW!!!

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http://members.aol.com/blademakr/BlackwoodWP.html


[This message has been edited by Dr.Lathe (edited 05 October 1999).]
 
Ed,
I cut it both ways. For low speed work i use bi-metal 18 and 24 TPI sawblades from E.C. Blackstone, 800-866-6241. For friction cutting I use worn out 14 TPI on the woodworking bandsaw at real high speed.

One disadvantage of friction cutting is the burr that is usually left on the underside.
Heat is not a problem since you are only taking large pieces and making smaller one that will be ground to shape.

All in all, I prefer the slow speed with the bimetal blade on the old 64 1/2" metal saw.

I quit laser cutting about 2 years ago. Everything I do now is cut on the bandsaw, in case you were wondering.

 
Thanks Darrel, I forgot to say that. EC Blackstone 24 tooth are the best I've found for thinner Ti. Problem is, they ran out of stock and are not currently making them. They were .020 thick compared to most that are .025. Had great flex and with the 24 teeth, you never knocked off the teeth. You all help me by calling them and asking for em.

I know one maker that uses a portable band say. He has it mounted on the wall and it works great. Blades are cheaper and you can easily get the finer teeth ones.

 
Thanks fellas! Kit, so good to hear from you! Now, as soon as I get this anodizing thing figured out.........maybe I'll get this project off the ground!
Thanks Again!

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"


 
use 18tpi bi-metal or carbide blade, and decrease the speed to 45fpm. use a mist coolant system. i wouldn't friction cut it, becuase ti sparks can set other metal sparks on fire, plus it wears out your bandsaw. take your time cutting and don't force the ti, becuase it chatters and can break tooling.
 
Kit, while this may or may not help, McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply has listed a number of 1/2" X 0.020" 24 and 18 tpi bi-metal bandsaw blade options available, in 100 ft. coils to a number of sizes already cut to length. Their website is at http://www.mcmaster.com . They have warehouses in the Atlanta area at (404)346-7000, or in the Cleveland area at (330)995-5500. I believe you're right about in the middle of the two, IIRC. Hope this is of some help.

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Don LeHue

The pen is mightier than the sword...outside of arm's reach. Modify radius accordingly for rifle.


 
ED,
Thank you for posting that question. You asked one that I was going to. You beat me to it, but that does not bother me. I signed up just a couple of days ago and I have learned
so much and had so much fun here. It is really great to talk to other makers that will share such information.
 
Welcome to the forums, Barry. It's good to see you here and posting. Get some of pictures of your knives up on the forum.
 
Kit,

Had to find a new source myself recently for saw blades for thin titanium. For any of you still looking for the thinner blades made to your specific lengths, here's what I came across:

Bi-Metal, 24 tpi, .020" thickness, 1/2" (my length was 71"), price: $22. (up to 12), $18.50 (13-25 blades).

Carbide grit edge gulletted blades, carbide cutting edge .063" for medium coarse cut, 24 tpi, 1/2", up to 6: $74.20, 7-12: $65.47.

Martin Supply, Decatur, Alabama. 256-355-6311, Evelyn Huggins.

JH
 
Thanks, Jim. I'll check them out.

The bi-metal Matrix II blades in 64 1/2" (18 or 14 TPI) from E.C. Blackstone are $13.80 each and the 93 1/2" was $17. Good saw blades but I still gotta have the 24 TPI for the thin Ti. Thanks for the phone #.

How do the carbide grit blades work? May help me on the Stellite/Talonite.


 
Kit,

Haven't had a chance to work with the carbide grit blades yet. Just found out about them when I placed my order--it was the alternate blade they recommended for the application. The gulletted blade would help in chip removal and should be superior on the really tough alloys you mentioned.

Jim
 
It depends on the type of ti you are cutting, O1 Ti is gummier but seems to cut faster that 6al4v. You need to cut it fast enough to keep from work hardening. I use new regular offset blades at medium speed dry and never have problems. One thing you didnt mention is the thickness of the stock you are trying to cut. What problems are you having with the anodizing?
 
Ed,

do you have to chance to get the parts water jet cut? Depending on the tolerances youneed, it might be easier to go that route and then precise finish the parts by hand...

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www.wilkins-knives.com


 
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