# RPM info for titanium



## Marc Moreau (Oct 24, 2020)

Hy guy's I want to make a dog tag for my dog . I have a piece of titanium shaft around 1 1/4  or close I need to know about this material . Could you give me and idea for the RPM ? for the lathe . This dog come from in indian reserve and I would like to make a special one.     First Nation Dog         Buck   Lac Simon  Louvicourt  Québec   March 2019   and our phone number.      Thank You


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## Marc Moreau (Oct 25, 2020)

Ho ok thank you I was thinking I have lost my message.


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## RobinHood (Oct 25, 2020)

I would treat it like stainless steel: it is gummy and heats up quickly. Sharp HSS tooling works at slow rpm. I used cutting fluid.

After you are done turning, be sure to clean out the chip pan of all the titanium chips and store them in a metal container - I would even fill it with water to make sure they don’t catch fire. Ask me how I know that they spontaneously combust... good thing I was still in the shop when they lit up.


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## Dabbler (Oct 25, 2020)

+1 on Rudy's comments... 

I'd like to add that it is as gummy as aluminum, but needs twice the force to cut it.  HSS tools need to be sharpened very often to do a good job.  If you use carbide, use a tool intended for stainless;  and expect tool life to be shortened.


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## Janger (Oct 25, 2020)

Is Titanium like magnesium as a fire hazard ? Will it burn bright? I didn't know that.


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## Brent H (Oct 25, 2020)

if you go to youtube and search Engineer BrunS  Titanium is dangerous metal - you can see it light up as he is trying to work with it on the lathe.

I would post a link but this Government has banned youtube on the ships


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## YotaBota (Oct 25, 2020)

I knew about magnesium but didn't know titanium was that flammable as well.


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## Janger (Oct 25, 2020)

Wow. What about those Ti alloys - "Ti 6AL-4V, Ti 6AL ELI, Ti 3Al 2.5 and Ti 5Al-2.5Sn. Ti 6Al-4V (Grade 5) Ti-6AL-4V is the most commonly used of the titanium alloys" etc. Same behavior in those alloys? Use coolant?

Thanks for the link @Brent H


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## Janger (Oct 25, 2020)

The vid is a bit of a setup. You can see his buddy sitting by with the coolant in his hand all ready to put out the fire! haha All good still entertaining.


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## Brent H (Oct 25, 2020)

Yes, he is putting out the fire (LOL) but it was crazy to see it light up like that - that being said I was machining some 4140 and took  some good hot passes and lit that rats nest up as well.

If you have a good sense of humour the BrunS guy is pretty entertaining all around, and he makes some neat stuff


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## Marc Moreau (Oct 25, 2020)

Thank you for your answer  I hope my dog don't get in fire.


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## RobinHood (Oct 25, 2020)

My chips did not go into full-on flames, but I could see a “combustion front” move across them. Kind of like a wild fire: the chips were all charred after the “front” had passed. I was too chicken to leave it to get the camera, but sure was neat to see.


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## Dabbler (Oct 25, 2020)

Titanuim releases a lot more energy when burned, i vaguely remember 25% from high school chem.


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## Dabbler (Oct 25, 2020)

-quote- Is Titanium like magnesium as a fire hazard ? Will it burn bright? I didn't know that. -quote-

@Janger, I have a bag of titanium chips from my last Ti project.  When I find it, we can light it and you can see for yourself!


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## YYCHM (Oct 25, 2020)

Wasn't it a titanium super structure that did in a British navel vessel in the Falklands?  A missile hit it and they couldn't put the resulting fire out.


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## Brent H (Oct 25, 2020)

Aluminum was the culprit - metal fires are crazy.  We have extinguishers for such  fires on board - Although we are not aluminum - some of our ships do have an aluminum superstructure as did the British ships in the Falkland's


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## Dabbler (Oct 26, 2020)

Magnesium, aluminum and titanium all burn in air with enough provocation.  None of them can be put out with water - the flame is hot enough to disassociate the hydrogen and oxygen, making a small explosion that pushes away the cooling water.

There was a car-sized chunk of magnesium that was on fire un the US in the early 70s,  and the firefighters sprayed water on it, making it worse!  They had to let it burn out.


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