Ti flamability depends on alloy, some aerospace alloys contain magnesium and can be really exciting. We spun a lot of Ti in Dad's shop and trimming almost always had a really bright light involved.

One of my jobs as a kid was making sure to keep the shavings to a minimum in lathe beds spinning Ti.

Frosty the Lucky.

FINALLY !
I got a chance to play with my forge for a little while to do a preliminary test of this theory. I made a little pan about four inches square with half inch sides, dumped some flux, slag, steel shavings from my lathe, and a little dirt for good measure and then I waited.

And nothing happened. This was not a long term test, but it was in my forge for a good hour at welding temperature and other than congealing into a mess that was hard to get out after, nothing much happened.

Will have to see what happens on long term exposure, Should be running my forge a bit more in the future so I'll just leave it in there when I can.

Pictures to come.

Just got a bunch more ti plate (1/8th ish) pm if anyone is interested in some. I'm open to trades.

Drq.

I just got my induction forge set up today and played with some bronze, copper and a bit of titanium.


As the Ti was coming up to a white heat I began to wonder if I could get it to ignite... I didn't want to push it to far but if there was a good set of circumstances to get bar ti to combustion I would say that's it..

Very interesting, guys. Thanks for posting.

Larry, if you're interested in an experiment, take a file or grinder and make a nice, clean, oxide-free spot on your Ti, then see how it reacts to heat. I'm wondering if there's an oxide coating that's protecting the surface from burning. Ti is supposed to be very reactive stuff, so that seems plausible. Of course if there is an oxide coating, it'll probably re-form by the time the Ti gets (theoretically) hot enough to burn. This probably won't make any difference, but I can't help being curious.

Very interesting, guys. Thanks for posting.

Larry, if you're interested in an experiment, take a file or grinder and make a nice, clean, oxide-free spot on your Ti, then see how it reacts to heat. I'm wondering if there's an oxide coating that's protecting the surface from burning. Ti is supposed to be very reactive stuff, so that seems plausible. Of course if there is an oxide coating, it'll probably re-form by the time the Ti gets (theoretically) hot enough to burn. This probably won't make any difference, but I can't help being curious.

Yeah... I thought the thing to do is to cut a small chunk of ti and hold it with tongs... I thought it was problematic to hold on to a foot long bar of 3/4 sq and see if it would explode into a bright flash...

I dont think at 3500 deg the oxide layer is going to affect much....

Hehehe, I tried the exact thing a few nights ago. I cut off about an inch of 1" ti round stock I had and tried to forge it down. No big white explosion or anything, it was just a pain to try to hold on to. It forges somewhere between hot stainless an cold aluminium. Its weird stuff, doesn't sound right and is always lighter that you expect. It looks the exact same as any steel in the forge other than the occasional white spark that shoots off.

Hehehe, I tried the exact thing a few nights ago. I cut off about an inch of 1" ti round stock I had and tried to forge it down. No big white explosion or anything, it was just a pain to try to hold on to. It forges somewhere between hot stainless an cold aluminium. Its weird stuff, doesn't sound right and is always lighter that you expect. It looks the exact same as any steel in the forge other than the occasional white spark that shoots off.

If you come up with any sizable chunks (foot long or better) of 3/4" to 1" round ti bar I would be interested... Make great crowbar stock...

I've forged Ti in charcoal, coal and propane forges with never an ignition problem. It will absorb gasses and turn as brittle as glass over time though. (I mainly used CP 1&2). I forged a set of tongs out of some of mine---light and the heat doesn't transfer down the reins very fast---I found a set of Ti tongs at Quad-State this year for $10 in a junk tong box---I don't think they recognized them...

As I recall there is an alloy that forging of it can give you flu like symptoms, Rob Gunter mentioned it at a demo once.

I'd love to have some 1/8" sheet to make a spangen helm from---pattern welded steel bands and anodized Ti plates---what you interested in trading? I have some WI plate to hand...

(Note I will be offline for a day or two---trip to Mexico for dental work)

I've forged Ti in charcoal, coal and propane forges with never an ignition problem. It will absorb gasses and turn as brittle as glass over time though. (I mainly used CP 1&2). I forged a set of tongs out of some of mine---light and the heat doesn't transfer down the reins very fast---I found a set of Ti tongs at Quad-State this year for $10 in a junk tong box---I don't think they recognized them...

As I recall there is an alloy that forging of it can give you flu like symptoms, Rob Gunter mentioned it at a demo once.

I'd love to have some 1/8" sheet to make a spangen helm from---pattern welded steel bands and anodized Ti plates---what you interested in trading? I have some WI plate to hand...

(Note I will be offline for a day or two---trip to Mexico for dental work)

What are the Beta alloys? what is it in them that makes you ill?

I have forged several things that made me feel ukky.... But usually attribute it to Carbon monoxide or other fire issues

Larry look it up in Wikipedia. It will explain it better than I can.

It causes a condition call metal fume fever which I have had several times in my welding career. You will wake up in the middle of the night with the sweets and a fever mine was 102 at the highest. You will vomit and muscles will ache just like the flue. In the morning you will wake up and sometimes feel fine or feel like a bad hang over but this will pass during the day. When I have had this and did not know what was happening I went to the doctor and they drew blood they found I was poisioned from heavy metals.

The good news is your body will clean it self out over the course of a weekend. I was cutting titanium with a oxy-cutting torch for long periods with out a respirator and also got from pulse mig welding monel in a semi closed environment.

I've forged Ti in charcoal, coal and propane forges with never an ignition problem. It will absorb gasses and turn as brittle as glass over time though. (I mainly used CP 1&2). I forged a set of tongs out of some of mine---light and the heat doesn't transfer down the reins very fast---I found a set of Ti tongs at Quad-State this year for $10 in a junk tong box---I don't think they recognized them...

As I recall there is an alloy that forging of it can give you flu like symptoms, Rob Gunter mentioned it at a demo once.

I'd love to have some 1/8" sheet to make a spangen helm from---pattern welded steel bands and anodized Ti plates---what you interested in trading? I have some WI plate to hand...

(Note I will be offline for a day or two---trip to Mexico for dental work)

Hey Thomas, regarding the dental work, is that some fella that would/could not settle his account? Do you want to come and see some of my customers?
Ian

Hey Thomas, regarding the dental work, is that some fella that would/could not settle his account? Do you want to come and see some of my customers?
Ian

No thats refered to as a tuneup or a nose job. dental work is either a trip to the dentist or a hockey game, being in mexico i would say a cheaper trip to the dentist. lol

One of my students needed a couple of root canals and can't afford having them done in America; 4 hour drive each way will save him over $100 per hour.

So I've been playing in my shop a little more these days and decided to try this idea out a little longer. I'm running a whisper daddy forge. It has what I think is Kaowool on the sides and a hard firebrick on the bottom. The flux hasn't been doing much to the floor, but as that I use the side ports a lot for forge welding the kaowool is getting destroyed by flux and the fact that I have bad aim and can't seem to get things through both ports all the time to heat the middle of stock.


Today I ended up cutting out the kaowool out just under the ports as it was down to 0.5" thick. I replaced it with some kiln brick I had kicking round. I've used it before and I know it gets eroded really quickly by hot flux so I made little ramps out of ti that go through the port and clip on the outside and then go over the kiln brick down to the floor. I had the forge running at welding heat for about four hours today and it seems to be working just fine. It oxidizes like crazy and there is a fair bit of slag comming off it, but other than that it seems pretty stable with flux on it, and it protects the insulation under it from abrasion. We'll see how it works in the long run but it seems pretty promising.

The fact that it oxidizes could lead to some fun too. I think I'll collect all the Tioxide, powder it in a ball mill, mix it with aluminium powder and make some titanium thermite


Drq