Titanium tubing (off topic)

O

Omega Leather Works

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Jun 13, 2007
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Hey guys, I realize that this is totally ot, but many of you have more experience with titanium than me. Stacy, feel free to move the thread if there is a better place for it. Thank you!

I'm trying to decide what titanium tubing would be best for a walking stick/cane. I need dimensions for od and thickness. I will probably go with 6al4v.

I'm 6'5 and 200lbs. I'll outfit the handle and tip myself, but suggestions there are welcome too. I need this for actual use, but I don't want to pay $150 or more so I'll do it myself.

Thanks guys.
 
I'd make it normal walking stick OD so that it feels ideal in the hand.

For ID; do you want it to boing?
 
Go to a pharmacy


Have a look at the aluminum canes there

they have ones that extend with a pushbutton hole detent system.


Buy / rent one use it, try different lengths.
then once you know the length, measure the specs of the tube.


They are surprisingly light and thin.


Then I'd make a test one from Al before committing those $ to Ti
 
Danke42 said:
I'd make it normal walking stick OD so that it feels ideal in the hand.

For ID; do you want it to boing?
Click to expand...

Boing?

Count, that's a great idea. I know the insurance will cover a pharmacy cane. I might even be able to get one with decent hardware that I can put on the ti stick. If not I could always make a burl handle or something. The rubber feet are sold plenty of places so that should be easy as long as the od is somewhat close.

I guess I'm wondering how thick the wall should be to keep it light but durable. I've had three falls since spinal surgery, I really need to prevent this from happening again. :(

I may know of a vendor that sells recycled tubing so (fingers crossed) I can get a piece at a good price.
 
Boing is the bounce you get out of the tube. The thinner the ID the springier it will be (till it fails of course).
 
I needed a good cane and first 36" is a standard length. Then I found that walking canes are NOT designed to support all your weight !!! My use is for everywhere and to have a cane break would be dangerous ! So I kept looking. KABAR the knife people have a defensive cane made of 1" aluminum tubing and that will support more than 250 lbs ! They come as 39" which probably is fine for you or you could cut to size. I'm very happy with mine though it's not , as I improve , a daily use.
The defense part of it is that it has knurled areas for gripping and courses can be found to learn techniques for defense. That was not my need except for feral chipmunks !
Whatever aluminum is used , titanium should be stronger. Ask Mecha about which alloy might be best , though I assume 6-4 would work fine . Keep it grey or anodize to your favorite color , or paint.
If you make one let me know I'd like to get one !
 
Great stuff guys. I think I could do without any boing. :)

Mete, thanks for chiming in. We're in the same boat. I cannot deal with a structural failure. I've had numerous x-ray's to verify that I haven't broken any of the titanium hardware that holds everything in my back together. The surgeon warned me that it's only a matter of time should the falls continue. :(

I wonder if rod stock would be better than tubing. If I had the ability to turn rod stock I'd go that way for sure. Wish I had the ability to feel the different options.

Mecha, speak now or forever hold your peace. :)

Oh... There's always cf too...
 
The KABAR is 1" OD and .75" ID Use tubing as the stresses are mostly on the outside ,the center would be dead weight. I prefer the handle type that the KABAR has . BTW since you will be making a Ti cane measure carefully for length .They tell you how in the cane websites . Making a curved handle and welding it shouldn't be hard if you find the right people , ask Mecha.
After talking with archers about how CF can shatter when used as arrows I'll stick to Ti.
I'm liking Ti and have a piece inside me now .My avatar is Dangermouse who has a Ti belt buckle to help defend against the BG s !!

Wake up Mecha !!
 
Rod would be too heavy. Got with Ti and mirror the dimensions of the alloy cane with a bit of wiggle room. It'll be stiff and strong and not much heavier.
 
The Crawford brothers make a survival hiking stick with many accessories. I have some 1" OD Ti CP tubing lying around. You can have a piece. I just don't know how to ship it.
 
Hey bud, thanks for the offer! I would love to take you up on it, but I worry about strength too. I've done a little work with commercially pure ti and it doesn't seem to be as tough as the usual alloys. I could be wrong.

Okay, so the rod is out (that sounds wrong).

Mete, I was under the impression that welding ti was quite difficult, or needed special atmospheric conditions?

Glad to know I'm not the only cyborg around here. :)

Edit- oh btw, I'm buying a titanium belt buckle oddly enough. My friend Dave (Horsewright here) is helping with making my first belt. On top of everything else I have allergic reactions to a few different metals. I figure that I may as well go with the best from the outset. Should even be able to transfer the buckle to a new belt in the future.
 
You have to weld in an argon environment.There are a few ways you can do it; you can cap the tube and fill it with the gas and then flow some onto where you're laying the bead. Or you can build an airtight box to work in and fill that with the gas. You can make a small one with a window and glove access. You don't need to make a whole room.

I would avoid CP in a load bearing application. I've seen sporting goods made with it but the quality was always sub par.
 
Finding 6-4 tubing can be difficult. It is much easier to find 3AL-2.5V.

I sold a few pieces of tapered 3-2.5 tubing for canes. The tube was 1" at the top, .500" at the bottom and 40" long. I tried to kink the tube and could not. It will be fine for a lightweight like you. :p

I have not seen tapered tubing in a few years but I will keep my eyes open. The supplier who sold the tube went out of business. I do not recommend using CP tubing.

Chuck
 
They don't like making 6-4 tubing because it's harder than 3-2.5 and has a higher chance of cracking.

I used to spend a lot of time talking to Sandvik Special Metals in WA and then Titanium Sports Technologies when they went out on their own. They got out of my interest though and pretty well just make sport wheelchairs these days. Their special projects guys definitely made some cool stuff and were always willing to explain obscure details.
 
Hi Strigamort, aka Omega LW!

6al4v or similar would be great as a walking stick, definitely use an alloy of some sort. Tubes/pipes made of ti are quite stiff and orders of magnitude stronger than aluminum. I have some beta ti tubes (alloy 15-3-3-3) that are only about .035 wall thickness with 1.25" diameter OD and 42" length, yet can easily support my entire body weight of 145 lbs without buckling at all. They weigh only 13.4 OZ.

You can have one for free if you can cover shipping and want to try it out!

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I can pretty much bounce on this thing and it's still stick-straight, even the thin edge that's on the concrete remains unscathed.
 
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Can you bend that for the handle ? Weld ? He needs atleast 40" total.
 
I would socket the foot and handle into the tube, secured with a pin and/or epoxy, which would also stretch it to 40" or more. He could use pretty wood or other material.
 
Hey you remember my old sn. Sucks when you change your name then no one knows who you are. :)

Mecha, yeah, I'd definitely like to take you up on your super generous offer. Shipping is not my forté but I can PayPal you whatever it costs.

You can pm me, or email at-

Gripstang@gmail.com

If I need to get extra length I'm sure I could get it out of the handle.

Mete, thanks for all your help. Not sure if I'll anodize it, I've only done knife parts. A long tube would probably end up not very even. In any case, I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks to everyone else who has contributed as well. Titanium makes it fun, but I really do need the assistance from a good quality cane.
 
You got it, Strigamort! :D
 
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