Cutting Titanium

[Farmer Phil]

Hi Friends,

Any of you folks work with titanium? I'm trying to cut a 1" slice off of a 2"x4"x6" chunk of Ti-6Al-4V. It is slooooooooow going! I'm probably 6+ hours into it and still have almost 1" to go. Anyone have any suggestions, or is this par for the course?

Thanks, Phil

[Avadon]

After using a few bandsaws, something tells me that block should NOT take 6 hours. You need to change the blade. Your blade is probably doing nothing more then friction cutting, not unlike cutting a wood 4x4 with a metal wire. Call up grizzly, msc/J&L, kbc, etc and ask one of their techs what blade you need for your saw for exotic metals. Trust me you will be glad you did. That block shouldn't take easy less then an hour to cut through.

[inazuma_x]

as a side note...how much does a block of Ti like that cost?

[patrick]

If you don't need a perfect surface, you can cut Ti with a cutting torch just like steel. You may want to use a little darker shade in you cutting glasses with Ti than for steel since the sparks are very bright white.

[RegionalChaos]

inazuma, new Ti is SPENDY. That's my understanding anyway.. But.... If you are resourceful, you might be able to find some cheaper. What I heard was that Ti has to be sold with its papers certifying it's make up. If a steel yard looses the paperwork associated with the Ti, then they can't really sell it as new.

[bruce wilcock]

i dont have trouble hot cutting titanium, it is very soft to forge at a full heat use a thin slitting tools i use two and change to a cool one after a few blows.the scale is a greenish shade and gets everywhere.

[Thomas Dean]

If your Ti has any paladium in it the cost goes up drastically, paladium is more expensive than gold or platnium. Also, cutting with a torch...do it outside, makes a TON of smoke! To the original question, should only take a new blade.

[Sask Mark]

I have heard that titanium gets fairly gummy when worked. Is there any truth to this? Would this affect the type of blade selected? i.e., gummy metal would require a coarser blade to be used to avoid plugging up the teeth.

I have no idea as to the validity of this. It's just a thought that popped into my head while reading this thread. I would imagine there are members here that know the answers.

[Rich Hale]

I believe Ti work hardenes some blade steels do also That simply means if you are useing a hand or bandsaw and the pressure is to light or the teeth are dull the spot you are cutting hardens and resists cutting. If using a bandsaw see if the blade will cut mild steel like it used to. You may also want to google Chuck Bybee, known as the Ti man he sells a lot and may have a thought.

[Farmer Phil]

Thanks for all the ideas fellas. I'm on my third blade. It's a bi-metal variable 10-14 TPI. Got it from McMasters. Their chart says use variable blade for titanium. They also say use 2-4 TPI for my size stock, but for my blade length (64.5") 10-14 TPI is the fewest teeth they have. My previous blades both snapped. (I'm still learning how to use a horizontal band saw. Think I got all the guide bearings set right now.) I'll cut some steel with the blade in there now to see if it still cuts. Wouldn't that be a hoot if it's just dull? Anyway, guess I'll try and track down some folks who know more and can make more blade specific suggestions.

I don't want to use a torch. I'd really bugger this thing up then. It's also a too hefty a chunk (2"x4"x6") for hot cutting (for me anyway).

I got it as scrap for $10 a pound. I understand retail goes for over $100 per lb.