Help, please: Hard titanium to cut

[Dani Girl]

Sorry everyone.

This has been covered but I'm stuck staring at a set of titanium knife scales that are the hardest thing I've tried to cut. I'm suspecting heat from the surface grinding has made it tough and more so in some spots than others.

It's challenging to get to the depth you're trying for then challenging to control it once youré there, or to go in a straight line.

 

[Dani Girl]

The titanium grade is just 6al4v

 

[sam]

Dani: 6al4v is the nasty stuff. Pure (CP) Ti is good for engraving. I've only engraved Ti a couple of times and it was an unpleasant experience. The pure stuff is quite nice to cut though. You might search for posts by Arnaud as he has a lot of experience making and engraving Ti jewelry.

 

[Brian Marshall]

What are the odds that you, or the knifemaker could make a duplicate set out of CP 1 or 2?

It would very definitely be worthwhile to try and get another set made!

Life is too short to work on that aircraft stuff...


Brian

 

[davidshe]

I have engraved some very tough Kershaw knives that I think may have been 6al4v. I used Lindsay carbalt and M42 gravers. I dipped the gravers lightly into a sponge with Tap Magic cutting fluid. The oil plays havoc with the layout but I used a light coating of Grumbacher fixative and that really helps. I used a 105 V point and dubbed the tip. I experimented with quite a few dubbing variations before I found something that held up for at least several cuts before chipping and sometimes longer. Overall the job came out pretty nice but of course it takes a bit longer. Good luck!

 

[dlilazteca]

Just cut some, was and is the hardest stuff around, 120 heel and I just went increasing the face dont remeber where i ended up, used the high speed bur to remove background. Carbide graver and used tapmagic. Then just go and clean up the walls.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[tsterling]

What David and Carlos said. I don't use lube. Don't forget to add in the titanium piston and 60 psi for your Lindsays, and long stroke if you're using the Classic. With experience and good graver technique you can make peace with Grade 5/6Al4V Titanium. Emphasis on good graver technique...

PS I charge a premium for Grade 5/6Al4V work

 

[aleks177]

... Dani: 6al4v is the nasty stuff ...

I not quite agree. Hammer chisel from tungsten carbide cuts him easily. And that the cutter wasn't rebated, it is necessary to use with it the hammer from not tempered soft steel. It extinguishes vibration and preserves the tool.

it is one of my first works with 6al4v

 

[Dani Girl]

Thanks everyone. I have never had this much trouble before. This piece is testing my patience more than usual. Usually peace can be made but this might be a day that won't happen.

I shared my concerns with the knife maker and he said keep going. I will try

 

[Dani Girl]

Ok. Tried folks suggestions... it's coming back to me. I remembered how important it is to crank the music up loud and get serious and gritty

 

[mitch]

Danae-
just yesterday i told a client, "Your pistol slide is too hard to engrave, sorry." THAT'S how i deal with things like this.

 

[MoldyJim]

Wow!
We be talking some Ninja Skills girl!

 

[Dani Girl]

Yep,... for those who are concerned for their sanity... 6al4v (aircraft grade ti) is not recommended. For the rest of us, oh why not... we're all a bit bent aren't we? Ok i'll speak for myself. There is something terribly satisfying about getting to the end of the piece, and knowing it's darn near indestructible.

I'll add any more tips to this thread if I find anything that work great for me and will check in to see if anyone else adds anything here.

Oh on the design I suggested something along these lines would look great on this maker's knives years ago and he sent me a design ready to go and said would I do it?

I virtually did tell him it was impossible but being a repeat customer I think he had more faith in my skills than I did...he told me to keep going.

 

[Brian Marshall]

The misery factor of cutting that stuff is just too high for me these days.

Maybe back when I was a puppy and damn near always hungry - I would've? Not now...


Brian

 

[Jahn Baker]

Nice going Dani, as they say, perseverance furthers. You should have a pretty good sense of accomplishment after mastering that challenge.

 

[Lofide20]

Beautiful work.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Dani Girl]

The misery factor of cutting that stuff is just too high for me these days.

Maybe back when I was a puppy and damn near always hungry - I would've? Not now...


Brian

Yeah... can't afford to lose my customers or the work

 

[Brian Marshall]

Long as YOU got paid what it was worth?

You don't need to get paid for "practice" anymore - nor do you need to prove you can do sumthin'.... (at your cost)


Normally, customers play on the "macho" thing with guys - but I suppose that was because there weren't many women doing our work back then.

They'd come into your shop with some impossible piece of cr*p job and tell you this long sad story about how the guy down the street or the next town over said he just wasn't good enough to take on that job.

If you are dumb enough to fall for it, you'll say that of course YOU can do the job because (in your head) you wanna prove to the guy that you are so much better skilled.


You'd take the bait. You'd kill yourself to prove you can DO this thing, and when you're finished - you'll lie about how hard it was or how long it took you - or both.

You usually wind up doing whatever it was for a quarter of what it was worth! Of course, the customer gets what he/she wanted - finished work that everyone with "experience" backed away from...


Takes a few years to figure out that those kinds of customers are playing you... don't let 'em. You CAN afford to "lose" a job now and then.

Just learn to say NO. Then go and do two or three jobs for double the money - in the time one of these would've taken you. Or better yet, go take a long nap, read a book - or both!


Brian

 

[MoldyJim]

I agree with Brian, your skills are way up there.
You don't need to prove nuthin to nobody!

 

[Dani Girl]

Thanks Jim.

Thanks Brian... you know me too well, I will admit it, for a girl I can be pretty macho. It's a family thing.

Flaws in the argument though... we didn't set at budget on this... he knows how much my work costs. The only person I want to prove it to is me... and I really want to see this job finished. I don't have a stack of work I can do instead of this... a few things I am still organizing... artwork to do.