Titanium for guards and fittings

Tom,
Go down to your welding supply and get yourself a gas lens set-up for your TIG torch. I've used Ti. in the past on my knives, also Ti. jewelry. I'll try to find pics... (although I don't know how to post them!) You will find that you will no longer need that bowl your using.
You can also get yourself a pyrex cup with the gas lens... Works really well.
I've had no problem with CP or 6-4.
I've always TIG'ed my habaki or ferrule,whether it was copper, stainless, bronze, silver or gold..
It just makes for a clean, seamless piece.
 
Thank you very much for the detailed response Tom :thumbup: :thumbup:

FWIW, the " Grail Haiku " was/is one of the most beautiful, cleanest looking knives I've had the pleasure of seeing :thumbup: A true Masterpiece !!


:cool:
 
Our aircraft welder has a clear plastic bubble with hand holes much like a bead blaster, gloves and all, torch is inside with a rubber seal around the lead, small hole to let the air out.
Richard
 
D.Mirabile said:
Tom,
Go down to your welding supply and get yourself a gas lens set-up for your TIG torch. I've used Ti. in the past on my knives, also Ti. jewelry. I'll try to find pics... (although I don't know how to post them!) You will find that you will no longer need that bowl your using.
You can also get yourself a pyrex cup with the gas lens... Works really well.
I've had no problem with CP or 6-4.
I've always TIG'ed my habaki or ferrule,whether it was copper, stainless, bronze, silver or gold..
It just makes for a clean, seamless piece.
Click to expand...

Hi David:
I'm not familiar with the "gas lens"... but from what I can find out it is basically a narrower ceramic nozzle for the gas outlet. That looks like it would be great for VERY small items, like jewelery rings for instance. What worries me is the BACK of the piece that I'm welding, especially on larger weldments like scabbard tips ets. I want to make sure that there's no oxygen getting to the weld in back because I've had experience with cracking the welds when hammering, I don't see how a more focused jet will do that. What does the pyrex cup do??? Not familiar with that either.

The glove box setup would be good too... for mid-range size pieces. I started out looking for one of those but focused on the bowl idea once I realized what a gas-hog the box would be.

So David... sounds like you've been doing this a while. Got any pics to show us?
 
When milling Ti using carbide, Teksec said he milled at a slow speed taking light cuts. I've never milled Ti, but why would you run the carbide cutter at a slow speed? I learned the hard way turning carbide slow or even moderate speeds - broken end mills. Does the Ti work harden when the cutter is at high speeds and if so would ordinary high speed end mills work better at the slower speeds? I'm just trying to save some broken end mills down the road.
 
Tom,
The gas lens is actually a larger cup and the collet has a screen that lets the argon flow more diffused, and cover a larger area. The Pyrex cup just allows you to see more. When I want gas coverage either on the back of the weld or if I'm welding a ferrule, depending on the piece I will either use a back-up of copper with a small groove to allow for complete penetration, or at the end of my purge line I will direct the argon behind the piece, using a steel nipple at the end of the purge line. I have used a chamber before but found it to be unnecessary for this work.
You can email me and give me your info, I'll gladly send you a gas lens and cup.
dmknives@juneau.com
Tonight I'll try to dig out some photos.....
 
David, did you test for your Mastersmith rating at the Blade show? I didn't see you there. I watched your performance test last year at the hammer-in and expected to see you in Atlanta.
 
Mike Quesenberry said:
When milling Ti using carbide, Teksec said he milled at a slow speed taking light cuts. I've never milled Ti, but why would you run the carbide cutter at a slow speed? I learned the hard way turning carbide slow or even moderate speeds - broken end mills. Does the Ti work harden when the cutter is at high speeds and if so would ordinary high speed end mills work better at the slower speeds? I'm just trying to save some broken end mills down the road.
Click to expand...

I use the low speed to prevent work / heat hardening the Ti since I don't have a flood set up for my bits. When I say low speed, I'd estimate around 300 sfm not the actual rpm of the end mill.
 
6-4 titanium

I have welded it for non critical welds using a gas lens without problem. If you get a white granular mess on the back of the weld it should be removed before welding over it. This isn't the best technique, I like that bowl idea, but it is fairly easy to weld.

Machining titanium is not that bad if you consider its properties and adapt to them. Titanium is very flexible but strong. The modulus of elasticity is half that of steel, but the strength is more than twice that of mild steel. That means the cutting forces will be high and there will be less resistance to deformation. So you can get movement and rubbing rather than clean chip forming. The answer to this problem is to use a high chip load per tooth, similar to machining aluminum, to trump that movement. Some materials, such as brass and even steel, can benefit from the heat at the cutting edge during chip formation (this is part of the theory behind certain dry machining strategies), but not titanium (at least in my experience). And it conducts heat very poorly (which is why it is easy to weld). So you need lower RPM and flood coolant. To keep cutting forces reasonable you should use a low depth of cut. So: low RPM (40-90 SFM), high chip load (.003-.005 per tooth for 1/2") and low depth of cut (1/10 diameter).

Carbide will last longer that HSS, but it costs more. It is a wash, they both work. Carbide will cut it more accurately because the high forces at the cutting edge flex the cutting edge of HSS, which is more flexile than carbide.


Tom, I handled your blades in Atlanta. They were very light and felt good in the hand.
 
Thank you for taking the time to explain in detail the in's and out's of machining Ti. None of my books or DVD's talk about it's properties. I'm new to the forums and have been impressed with the great info that is shared here.

Thanks
Mike Quesenberry
 
while im not sure i can tell the difference in Ti work hardening or not i can tell you when it gets hot it gets gummy/grabby and will snap cutters fast
 
Mike, didn't go to Atlanta this year. Too much going on here..., I'll be there next year!

Tom, email sent your way.......
 
I found this old thread and thought I'd post a reply, I'm new to the forum and have a ton of Titanium welding background. I just finished an Inert Atomsphere Glovebox and can hold <1ppm Oxygen levels.
I can help with TIG welding Titanium if there is any interest.

thanks,

MV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top