Titanium

Jay Mead wrote:

Welcome to the forum.

I have a curiosity for titanium. I haven’t worked with it and I have
always heard that it is very hard to work with. Would like to know more,
maybe you can share some of your knowledge of this metal with me.

Thanks, Jay Mead

Yes many says, that titanium is very hard. I don’t agree, but you’ll
need a little more patience, than with silver.

The problem with titanium is, that the meltingpoint is to high, so
soldering is out of question, but any kind of cold connection is
possible. Personally I like rivets of silver in a piece of coloured
titanium. It adds to the design, besides connecting f. ex. the
brooch-needle with the titanium plate. Another possibility is to use a
kind of spring-technique. A little like spring-steel is used in the
industry. But about cold connections I can recommend “Metal technic” ed.
by Tim McCreight, Brynmorgen Press. There is an article about cold
connections, thats just great.

The most fascinating thing about titanium is, that its so easy to
colour. The easy way is to clean the surface (wire or plate) thoroughly
with sand or emery paper. The most important thing is, that the surface
is evenly “scratched”. Then use a soft flame and carefully warm up the
titanium. You’ll see rainbows, I promise!

Making coils of titanium wire, colouring it, and afterwards sawing it
out in jumprings to make chains, is another possibility. Its not hard at
all. You kan make some very beautyfull chains if you mix silver and
titanium jump-rings. Try the “Idiots delight” from Tim McCreight’s
Metalsmiths Handbook. Here in Denmark its called (translated) “the kings
chain”.

Have a good time and a nice weekend

Yours
Dorthe

ccccold ccconnection fffor tttitanium. I know It’s a real bummer,
but until someone comes along and invents a titanium welder
we’re stuck w/ rivets, screws, and pins. Tim @tmn8tr

I’m looking to make a salt dish in titanium. This is the first time
I will work with this material. I want it to be blue. Does anyone
know if the salt will affect the color? Any hints/tricks/links on
working with titanium are very,very welcome!
Thanks in advance, Linda

Dear Linda, the salt will not affect the titanium, but the normal
blue you get from heat treating will appear to dull a little because
of the moisture the salt will attract. Kind regards, Rex

Welcome to Reactive Metals Studio, Inc. Thank you for making contact.
We hope we can serve your needs and introduce you to some new and
old exotic materials. RMS has over 20 years as the leader in exotic
jewelry metals. Deborah, Michele, Bill

Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
PO Box 890 * 600 First North St. * Clarkdale, AZ 86324
Ph-928/634-3434 * Ph-800/876-3434 * Fax-928/634-6734
E-mail- info@reactivemetals.com
Catalog- www.reactivemetals.com

You might want to try niobium, a cousin to Titanium… Colors
beautifully, and forges like silver. When anodised, the refractive
index on the surface of the metal changes, so I think that salt
wouldn’t hurt it. Hope this helps.

Joan
www.joandulla.com

The blue color will be affected by anything on the surface. The color
is produced by the interference of refracted and reflected light
sources. Anything on the surface that disrupts the incident light
will mute the color. Once cleaned with soap and water the color will
return to original intensity. The surface color is easily abraded, so
you have to be careful with it.

Daniel J. Statman, Statman Designs
www.statmandesigns.com
@Dan_statman

A titanium salt dish, anodized blue, should be pretty darned inert.
The color is a layer of titanium oxide that’s even harder than raw
titanium. The only reaction issue you might have with salt is if you
were to add water to the salt, then dip electrodes in the salty
water and run current through it. Not usual dinner table
activities…

-Spider (loves the pretty colors)

Yes many says, that titanium is very hard. I don’t agree, but you’ll
need a little more patience, than with silver.

The problem with titanium is, that the meltingpoint is to high, so
soldering is out of question, but any kind of cold connection is
possible. Personally I like rivets of silver in a piece of coloured
titanium. It adds to the design, besides connecting f. ex. the
brooch-needle with the titanium plate. Another possibility is to use
a kind of spring-technique. A little like spring-steel is used in the
industry. But about cold connections I can recommend "Metal technic"
ed. by Tim McCreight, Brynmorgen Press. There is an article about
cold connections, thats just great.

The most fascinating thing about titanium is, that its so easy to
colour. The easy way is to clean the surface (wire or plate)
thoroughly with sand or emery paper. The most important thing is,
that the surface is evenly “scratched”. Then use a soft flame and
carefully warm up the titanium. You’ll see rainbows, I promise!

Making coils of titanium wire, colouring it, and afterwards sawing it
out in jumprings to make chains, is another possibility. Its not hard
at all. You kan make some very beautyfull chains if you mix silver
and titanium jump-rings. Try the “Idiots delight” from Tim
McCreight’s Metalsmiths Handbook. Here in Denmark its called
(translated) “the kings chain”.

Have a good time and a nice weekend

Yours Dorthe

Dorthe

What kind of Saw Blade works good on Titanium. I am looking for a
Blade to be put on a Jump Ring Cutter? Thanking you for your input.
Regards

Kenneth Singh
Karat46@aol.com
www.ringtools.com

The jump ringer is just not suitable to cut Ti rings. The blade RPM
is drastically too high so that you will burn the blades in Ti. Ray
Grossman makes a special unit that incorporates a motor which turns
the blade at 200 rpm which is much more in line for the proper
cutting speed for Ti or steel. Even at that speed you would likely
want a wated mixed cutting oil to keep the blade from overheating and
dulling. If you are determined to try with the standard jumpringer
you will want a solid carbide blade, but in the thickness required
they are EXTREMELY fragile and any sideload will snap them instantly.

Tim
A2Z Metalsmith Supply Inc
5151 S Federal Blvd Unit I-9
Littleton CO 80123
720 283-7200

This is the "All Metal Saw" $475.00. Blades are $17.50each 

I have tested it on titanium and niobium with Anchorlube. It seems to
work fine. We are adding it to our catalog for 2004. Bill

Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
PO Box 890 * 600 First North St. * Clarkdale, AZ 86324
Ph-928/634-3434 * Ph-800/876-3434 * Fax-928/634-6734
E-mail- info@reactivemetals.com
Catalog- www.reactivemetals.com