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Ti barstock sources

Started by MMICKELS , May 28 2010 05:51 PM
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20 replies to this topic

#1 MMICKELS

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Posted 28 May 2010 - 05:51 PM

I'm looking for some 5/8"-3/4" x 1/4" (or thereabouts) thick Ti. I only need a couple of inches of the bar. Anyone have a cheap source for me. TIA :bow:

#2 RossSackett

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Posted 28 May 2010 - 06:10 PM

Oh, that is gonna be fun to machine...

McMaster has it:
http://www.mcmaster....itanium/=7ahmd4

But it ain't gonna be cheap, and you have to buy a foot of it...

#3 MMICKELS

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Posted 28 May 2010 - 06:17 PM

McMaster is kinda pricey. Some Ti doesn't machine all that bad. Drilling it can be problematic though.

#4 Pinbout

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Posted 28 May 2010 - 07:06 PM

but their shipping costs are vey cheap

#5 dave b

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Posted 29 May 2010 - 03:54 AM

http://www.titaniumjoe.com/

#6 Achernar

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Posted 29 May 2010 - 01:37 PM

Yep, drilling titanium is a nightmare, and welding it even more so. Moreover, titanium alloy is very expensive, like iron and aluminum it must be alloyed with other elements for most applications it is used for.

Taras

#7 MMICKELS

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Posted 31 May 2010 - 07:41 PM

Dave, titanium joe looks like a good resource. I also found a place that sells Ti for knifemaking.

#8 GShaffer

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Posted 31 May 2010 - 08:50 PM

These folks sell it and will do custom cuts....

http://www.onlinemet...fm?all_metals=1

I have bought aluminum bar stock from them with good results and at a great price.

#9 Jon Isaacs

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 06:07 AM

Regarding the difficulty of machining Ti, as I recall, Mark is a machinist by trade so he knows the score.

Jon

#10 MMICKELS

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 06:55 AM

Yep, been machining for 24 years now.

#11 rboe

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 08:49 AM

Wow, that is one tough Ti bar then..... :whistle:

#12 Gordon Rayner

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Posted 02 June 2010 - 12:44 AM

After 24 years , perhaps he should give up and get a powerful laser cutter/driller. I suppose that they exist.

I made some roller furling devices for a sailboat . Ti requires slow speeds (24 years?), a rigid setup , sharp tools , coolant. It work hardens . My father got some beautiful tube surplus , about one inch bore. He used some of it as towel racks on the sailboat he built . It is now hauling tourists in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Google "Ingrid ketch Victress".

#13 MMICKELS

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Posted 02 June 2010 - 04:26 PM

Gordon, I'm a very thourough machinist. :whistle:

#14 CharlesStG

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Posted 02 June 2010 - 09:41 PM

Another source for Ti I would recommend it Shapiro Supply in St. Louis, MO. I was just there today to pick up some great aluminum tubing for a scope project.

#15 gregj888

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Posted 03 June 2010 - 10:05 AM

Mark,

Can I ask what you are using the Ti for?

Greg

#16 MMICKELS

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Posted 03 June 2010 - 10:28 AM

Greg, the Ti is for boat parts on my r/c sailboat. It has an aluminum mast step that is getting a fair amount of corrosion on it, and the support for the spreaders is SS, so I'd like to make it out of Ti and save some weight.

#17 gregj888

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Posted 03 June 2010 - 10:08 PM

Mark,

That makes sense, just courious...:-)

Greg

#18 MMICKELS

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Posted 04 June 2010 - 06:58 AM

My current project is to make a couple of punch sets out of A2. The punches will be used to cut "hatch patches" for my International One Meter boat. The patch material is an adhesive backed fabric, and the punches will be used with an arbor press to cut the patches out like you would use a cookie cutter.

#19 MMICKELS

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Posted 10 June 2010 - 05:00 PM

The punches worked. The circular one worked the best, and the other punch needed some help. I think the tools were getting dull and I ended up with too much of a flat on the second punch, so I re-ran the 20 degree cutter a little deeper. I need to get some more sailcloth material to see if the modification helped the situation. I was using a 2 ton arbor press to do the punching. We have a 30 ton hydraulic press at work as well, but I'd rather cut the material than crush it.

#20 rboe

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Posted 10 June 2010 - 05:09 PM

I think you should use a laser..... :poke:

#21 MMICKELS

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Posted 10 June 2010 - 05:28 PM

Ron, I thought about that, but I'm concerned that the heat would damage the adhesive backing. That and the fact that I don't have much room for storing the contraption.
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