Coloring of niobium and titanium

Hi Suzanne, I do simple coloring of niobium and titanium. In doing
flat work, the biggest problem I had was putting a hole in the piece
to color and then hang in an earring. For two years I looked for
drill bits that would drill a neat hole in the metal. I never had
much success, the bit would wander, get the metal hot even under
water, or break. In Tucson, in the big tent was Miland Suess, M&J
Tool Co., selling hand tools he had made. We tried one of the plier
punches he had made on niobium. What a great find! It put nice neat
holes in the niobium without a problem. The round 1mm punch pliers
continue to be my favorite tool. In three years I have found a lot
of different uses for the punch. Linda Johnson lrjflap@cs.com