Any body know how to size a titanium band?
Hi Billy
Depends if you going up or down in size. The way I have done it
inthe past is with a ring stretcher. if u are going to size down then
you dome both sides of the ring and flatten with a jewellers hammer
with the ring on a ring mandrel, hitting on the domed area. Dont hit
so hard that metal thickness starts to depleat. This process of dome
and forge flat you should do 4-5 times depending on how small you
want to go. Basically when doming you go a few sizes smaller than the
size your require and then flatten…you will find that the size
starts to decrease. remember to anneal.
Hope that helps
Raakhi
Make a new one, titanium can not be resized by any method that I have
access to.
Jerry
Bigger or smaller? Depending on who made it and what it is made of.
Titanium comes in a lot of grades: purity and alloys. You won’t be
able to shrink any of them. You could cut it but then you would need
to MIG weld or maybe laser weld to close it up. Argon atmosphere.
etc., etc. If it is Grade #1 you may be able to size it up a bit on
a stretcher. that is if it wasn’t stretched to begin with. Talk to
the maker at least. If it was a cheap off shore ring, get a new one.
If it was custom made take it back to the maker.
Bill
Bill, Deborah, Michele & Sarah
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc
928-634-3434, 800-876-3434, 928-634-6734fx
Depends on direction - to get larger, titanium can be ground or
bored out, as long as there is enough material to safely remove
without ruining the ring. For smaller, it’s either back to the
drawing board, or using a micro tig welder to weld in a thin sleeve,
or perhaps mechanically inserting a thin layer of some other
material (gold, platinum, silver).
OR, if it’s one of the titanium rings that go for very little money,
just buy a replacement.
Chris
Chris Ploof Studio
How are you going to anneal a Ti band with the tools a goldsmith
typically has on hand?
Find a friend with a laser welder with an argon overlay, then cut
the band and add a piece of Ti to go up or remove one to go down.
James
Billy, do you mean sizing or resizing… ( sometimes i get hung up on
semantics and want to reply "use a good ring sizer!) however i
believe you mean resizing the band,in which case unless you have a
sparkie, puk or some other laser or noble gas assisted welder you
should probably just recommend the purchase of a new Ti ring to fit (
18-30 bucks wholesale for a plain band -or there about) from the
first contact with the customer.Alternatively you can cast one,
using cad/cam, rapid prototypeing with metal powders, or outsource
the casting from a number of companies. In the general application of
jewelry repair titanium isn’t workable it can be stretched to some
degree using great care…but with the extra time and procedure it’s
cheaper to replace it, as the metal’s structure makes it prone to
cracking, .If you really just want to try it out, one of those -on
the inexpensive side- stretching units with multiple rolling dies
and a horizontal lever that you pull, for stretching stone-in-place
rings, or milling small lengths of wire, etc. would be a good bet,
compared to the indo-pak stepped mandrel and planishing hammer type
unit… then there’s the refinishing steps…If your bench time is in
the 17-20 dollar an hour range for repair work then its simply not
cost effective.good luck
Find a friend with a laser welder with an argon overlay, then cut the band and add a piece of Ti to go up or remove one to go down.
Please remember that Titanium ignites at 6,000 Degrees F.
In the general application of jewelry repair titanium isn't workable it can be stretched to some degree using great care..but with the extra time and procedure it's cheaper to replace it, as the metal's structure makes it prone to cracking,
Only if you mistreat it. It is quite ductile if you work it
properly,forges and is formed with more difficulty than precious
metals but it can definitly be worked with standard metalsmiths
tools. How easy it will be to stretch depends on the type of titanium
it is made from. We regularly stretch and shrink grade 2
(commercially pure) titanium bands 2 sizes using a standard ring
stretching machine, however if it is heat treated grade 5 (Ti
Al4-V6) you will not be able to move it very far at all as it is much
harder so maybe only a half size.
James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Ti welds beautifully with a laser welder, because of the way they
work you don’t need to worry about ignition also the argon overlay
prevent oxidation which can produce brittle welds.
James