Cutting titanium

[HolyRoller]

Purchases a 2mm titanium plate to make some custom pocket clips for a few projects.

Drilling isn't too bad, but my saws aren't really cutting it too well.

Any suggestions for coping or jigsaw blades? Or even hacksaw blades, and grind the final shape? Would I be better off using a Dremel and cutting disk?

Any advise on grinding? Anything I should know before going at this stuff? I've never worked with titanium before.

TIA.

 

[JC972]

When I was a machinist I always used carbide cutters for machining titanium, and had constant coolant flow on it. I’ve never messed with it outside of a machine shop. Even cutting it before machining, we used a band saw with coolant flow and the saw blades didn’t seem to last very long. I didn’t mess with it too much there, as I mostly worked with steel and aluminum. With some ductile iron and stainless in the mix as well. I’m sure somebody here knows much more about it sorry I couldn’t help.

 

[BitingSarcasm]

If anybody knows the best answer for you, it's probably Mecha. He has his own maker's forum here, the Mad Science Forge, might try going there and asking nicely. Or just do a search in his forum, he has posted a lot over the years about working with Titanium.

 

[Diemaker]

I have never worked with it but have heard/read a fair amount about it. It likes to work harden so no dull tools, use slow cutting speeds, and make sure you are cutting chips and not rubbing the tool. I don't think grinding will work well but filing will. Bimetal hacksaw blades should work fine to cut, or fine tooth jigsaw blades. The rule of thumb for bandsaw blades is 6-8 teeth in the cut, probably good advice for both jigsaws and hacksaws. Of course, saying titanium is like saying steel for knife blades, much depends on the alloy and hardness.

 

[RustyIron]

Like Diemaker said, titanium will work harden pretty quickly. Cut slow, keep sufficient pressure to cut a good chip, and use cutting oil. Your sheet is 2mm, so you're going to need a fine tooth pitch if you want to cut it with a saw. Clips aren't very big, so just go ahead and use a Dremel with an abrasive disc.