Ti liners questions

D

Dmitry.M

Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
1,008
Hi everyone.
1. I need to make a Ti knife liners. It is eccential to make the locking spring on one of the liners so I would need as springy Ti as possible.

2. I found Grade 2 and Grade 5. Is there any difference between them or not?
I heard that Ti is heat treatable, so it is possible to temper or quench it.
Can I do that with Grade 2 or Grade 5?

3. I will need to thread few holes for the screws as well, any suggestions on tap type and threading techniques?

If there is any better Ti grade for this I would appreciate any info.
Thanks!
Dmitry
 
I'm not versed on the various "grades" of Ti, but can tell you that generally 6AL4V titanium is the standard for knifemakers.

Titanium is NOT heat treatable in the sense that most knifemakers know. There is no iron in it, so you can't relate it to how steel hardens. For the most part, about the hardest you can achieve with Ti is about 48Rc, unless you do something else to it such as boron, or other carbide/nitride coatings.
6LA4V is going to be plenty "springy" and tough for what your wanting to do, without any special treatments.

There are a lot of different way that folks deal with tapping Ti. I personally use one size larger drill bit than the charts call for a specific tap size...and example: If I want to tap a 2-56 thread in Ti, I drill a #49 hole for thinner cross sections (.093 thick or less), and a #48 for anything over .093 thickness.

If your tapping by hand, be prepared, as you're very likely going to break some taps. The bright side is that if you do break a tap off in Ti, and you have ferric chloride in the shop, you can soak the piece of Ti overnight in it, and the next morning, the tap will be dissolved. Use plenty of tap lube, and take your time. The best scenario for tapping Ti is to have a tapping head. In that case it usually takes longer to drill the holes than to tap them.

Hopefully thats helpful.
 
I'm sure someone can answer this better then me, but here goes.
Ti has a spring to it and does'nt need to be HT from what i've read. I bought .40 Ti from Tracy at usaknifemaker.com. He has all the supplies you'll need for folders. I use 2-56 screws, as they are alittle easy to see and handle. He also has taps and again 2-56 seems to be a good size IMO.

Hope this helps

Steve
 
Grade 5 is 6al4v.

I personally only use thread forming taps in the small diameters.

Tap under power, whether it be a tapmatic, or a hand drill...
Counter intuitive, but small taps don't like to start and stop in Ti.
Use Plenty of lube.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top