bending titanium rod

Apr 12, 2006 9 Replies

i have 3/8's titanium rod can i stick it in a vice heat it up with a torch and bend it by hand? accuracy is not an issue as it is a 'honey do' to fix a purse.



any other suggestions accepted


laz



222 86459 body i have 3/8's titanium rod can i stick it in a vice heat it up with a torch and bend it by hand? accuracy is not an issue as it is a 'honey do' to fix a purse.

any other suggestions accepted


laz


what is the length of this rod, and even more curious is how does a 3/8" diameter rod fix a purse? depending on the angle you may be able to bend it cold

Richard

3/8 is what i have (local metal recycler). the purse had a plastic 'D' ring thingy that broke (on a 'new' ebay purchase for $30 of a $200 purse). so i need to make a ~2" 'D' ring. i'm thinking i might turn the rod down a bit to make it easier to bend and have a nicer surface finish.

i haven't worked with titanium other then to find out: it sparks REAL nice and machines pretty good

laz

It should hot bend just fine- just dont get it too hot, or it will oxidize- you dont need to get it red.

I hot twisted some 1 1/2" square titanium bar for some guys a while ago on my twisting machine- we got it dull red, didnt even glow in daylight, but in shadow you could see it dull red, then twisted it real tight. It definitely moves a lot easier when hot.

Ha! Tell me that when your carbide insert tool decides it's through cutting. Titanium is one of the more difficult materials to machine, although it is soft. When it decides it no longer wishes to cut---it doesn't. Even when you're in the middle of tapping a thread.

Harold

Caution! Pyrophoric! Swarf will ignite!

actually I would think even .093" stainless would hold much better than the plastic, and if your handy with a TIG torch you could tack the ends together after the install

Richard

I spoke with a blacksmith that was making forged titanium tongs. He said that it was really easy to tell when it was too cool to continue forging. The metal would move well when hot enough, and hitting it after it cooled past the point, was just a poor way to exercise.

Cheers Trevor Jones

Especially when you're in the middle of tapping a hole, actually.

Mike

any warning signs to look for before this happens? any advice on machining titanium? i just have a bunch of scrap and haven't done anything with it (yet) other then store it.

laz

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