Hello all,
Only my second post, but I am fishing for information about titanium alloys, probably 6Al4V.
I've searched and found good general information from Mecha and a few others, but I'm afraid my (possible) project is specific enough that I need to ask maybe slightly odd questions.
I'm a diesel truck/ machine tech in the south Texas oilfield. I have a habit of making my own (often crude) tools when I can't readily buy something that does what I need. I often need a cutting/ scraping/ notching/ prying tool ready to hand. Hultfors, Mora, and Bahco make "chisel knives" that are halfway okay for this, but no good for hard prying. CountyComm makes an "E.O.D" tool for this from 1045 steel, and it's really heavy-duty. I have one, and I love it. It's only heat treated to upper 40s Rockwell (because it's low/mid carbon, and because a harder steel tool might be to brittle to pry with) so edge retention is only so-so- but it's not a "knife", it's a "tool".
I'm toying with the idea of making my own tool of this sort from 6-4 grade 5 titanium alloy, which would be lighter, non-magnetic, corrosion resistant, and would allow me to choose my own bevels (the CountyComm tool is beveled from both sides along the chopping edge, and I'd prefer both the square tip and the chopping edge to be RH chisel grind, about a 30 degree bevel).
Questions that come to mind:
1. Would a MAPP gas torch and vermiculite firebrick "oven" be adequate to bring 6-4 Ti up to quenching/ hardening temp?
2. If so, would either air cooling or oil quenching harden the bar enough to take a bashing & chopping, wood & brick splitting edge, and still leave it flexible enough to bend a bit without breaking? (Think: busting open a shipping crate made of 2x4s to get an engine part out)
3. Is 6-4 a good choice, or is there a better (commercially available) alloy? What's a good source for 1/4" thick flat bar, plate, or "block" Ti alloy for stock removal- type machining?
4. Am I just nuts for considering this?
Thanks,
Uncle J
Only my second post, but I am fishing for information about titanium alloys, probably 6Al4V.
I've searched and found good general information from Mecha and a few others, but I'm afraid my (possible) project is specific enough that I need to ask maybe slightly odd questions.
I'm a diesel truck/ machine tech in the south Texas oilfield. I have a habit of making my own (often crude) tools when I can't readily buy something that does what I need. I often need a cutting/ scraping/ notching/ prying tool ready to hand. Hultfors, Mora, and Bahco make "chisel knives" that are halfway okay for this, but no good for hard prying. CountyComm makes an "E.O.D" tool for this from 1045 steel, and it's really heavy-duty. I have one, and I love it. It's only heat treated to upper 40s Rockwell (because it's low/mid carbon, and because a harder steel tool might be to brittle to pry with) so edge retention is only so-so- but it's not a "knife", it's a "tool".
I'm toying with the idea of making my own tool of this sort from 6-4 grade 5 titanium alloy, which would be lighter, non-magnetic, corrosion resistant, and would allow me to choose my own bevels (the CountyComm tool is beveled from both sides along the chopping edge, and I'd prefer both the square tip and the chopping edge to be RH chisel grind, about a 30 degree bevel).
Questions that come to mind:
1. Would a MAPP gas torch and vermiculite firebrick "oven" be adequate to bring 6-4 Ti up to quenching/ hardening temp?
2. If so, would either air cooling or oil quenching harden the bar enough to take a bashing & chopping, wood & brick splitting edge, and still leave it flexible enough to bend a bit without breaking? (Think: busting open a shipping crate made of 2x4s to get an engine part out)
3. Is 6-4 a good choice, or is there a better (commercially available) alloy? What's a good source for 1/4" thick flat bar, plate, or "block" Ti alloy for stock removal- type machining?
4. Am I just nuts for considering this?
Thanks,
Uncle J
