Recommendations on who can mill out solid titanium scales?

[Mako109]

Any recommendations on who can mill out (lighten) solid titanium scales? I have three titanium folders which I would like to lighten.

Thanks much

 

[WValtakis]

Any recommendations on who can mill out (lighten) solid titanium scales? I have three titanium folders which I would like to lighten.

Thanks much

I can't cut fancy contours because my mill is manual, not CNC... but I could probably lighten them up a bit depending on specifics.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

titanium is one of the easiest materials to machine.

anyone with any type of cnc mill and modeling program or g code proficiency should be able to do what you want.

titanium is eeeeasy cutting

 

[Danke42]

Kinda heard the opposite about machining Ti. Guess I better check Wikipedia and see if I've been wrong all these years.

 

[Diemaker]

Ti isn't easy and depending on the alloy can be real tough. I would think holding onto the scales to machine them may be a pretty big challenge too.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

I'm a machinist and machine titanium every day.

its sweet sweet cutting. what grade titanium is it?

 

[Mako109]

I'm a machinist and machine titanium every day.

its sweet sweet cutting. what grade titanium is it?

I'm assuming the standard grade titanium used in making knife scales, either Ti4Al4V or Ti6AL4V.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

well. I machine titanium for medical parts so it may be different. I use small diameter barstick in swiss lathes.

the tooling lasts quite a long time and dimensions dont move at all.

this is grade 5 Ti wich has the least pure titanium.

I know that pure titanium gets pretty gummy and sticky when cutting if theres not enough coolant or the speeds or feeds are wrong.

glw your endeavour

 

[Danke42]

Titanium alloys have a low Young’s modulus, which causes spring back and chatter during machining. This can create poor surface quality in the finished product.


Because of titanium’s high work hardening tendency and the stickiness of the alloy, long continuous chips are formed during turning and drilling, which can entangle the tool and impede function. This almost eliminates the possibility of automating titanium machining.

Sounds easier all the time.

Why Is Machining Titanium Difficult? - Inverse

Titanium has unique properties which can make machining difficult. Read about the challenges and how to overcome the obstacles of machining titanium!

inversesolutionsinc.com

 

[WValtakis]

well. I machine titanium for medical parts so it may be different. I use small diameter barstick in swiss lathes.

the tooling lasts quite a long time and dimensions dont move at all.

this is grade 5 Ti wich has the least pure titanium.

I know that pure titanium beats pretty gummy and sticky when cutting if theres not enough coolant or the soeeds or feedscare wrong.

glw your endeavour

There's a bit of a difference between turning small barstock into screws in a Swiss screw machine versus hogging material out with a mill.

 

[kreisler]

I h*te that the Spyderco Techno (1, 2, 3, 4, just any) doesn't come with milled out Ti scales. They could have done it, but they chose not to. Maybe to cut costs?
Mako109 you could shoot Mike at Spectrum Energetics an email. they have a machine shop and offer services.

 

[Danke42]

I h*te that the Spyderco Techno (1, 2, 3, 4, just any) doesn't come with milled out Ti scales. They could have done it, but they chose not to. Maybe to cut costs?
Mako109 you could shoot Mike at Spectrum Energetics an email. they have a machine shop and offer services.

Ti is pretty light already. Most of the milled Ti slabs out there are one the presentation side for show vs. trying to shave weight.

There's a bit of a difference between turning small barstock into screws in a Swiss screw machine versus hogging material out with a mill.

Especially since you'll be working with an already finished item.

 

[WValtakis]

Especially since you'll be working with an already finished item.

Something I do have, is a lot of tricks for rigidly mounting finished titanium items...you think Ti sucks to machine, you should try chiseling it

 

[Danke42]

Something I do have, is a lot of tricks for rigidly mounting finished titanium items...you think Ti sucks to machine, you should try chiseling it

You should do a timelapse video. That would be cool.

 

[Mako109]

Hi everyone - thank you all very much for your thoughtful responses.

I know Razor Edge Knives used to offer the service, so it's possible; but his modding books are now closed indefinitely as he is focusing his business on making knives under his own brand.

Thank you WValtakis . This job may involve a little bit of contouring but I'm not sure yet. If it's a straight forward job I'll reach out to you

Thank you D Danke42 for recommending Spectrum Energetics. I'll contact them and see what they can do as well.

 

[RustyIron]

titanium is one of the easiest materials to machine.

anyone with any type of cnc mill and modeling program or g code proficiency should be able to do what you want.

titanium is eeeeasy cutting

That's not been my experience. I find it tough and prone to work hardening. But then again, I don't even know what "g code" is.

 

[eKretz]

It's very easy when all you're doing is pushing buttons and changing parts...

A one-off part with tooling that isn't optimized on a part that isn't easy to hold is a whole 'nother story. Gr. 5 (6Al-4V) titanium is a little difficult to machine but in this instance the workholding would be the most difficult part, as the scales are generally very thin and usually not of a shape that's conducive to holding easily in a vise. Matching scale angles when milling out the pockets is no big deal, just mount your work on a rotary table.

This would almost certainly be finished on a manual machine by a machinist that knows what he's doing before the programming for a CNC could be completed. Programming a CNC isn't worth the time unless there's a chance for many multiple parts in the future.