# My first titanium part



## PEU (Apr 20, 2007)

Armed with some new tools I decided it was time to try again with titanium, so here is what I did so far:























I learned something the hard way  be carefull about the hot shavings, they catch fire. Luckily no damage done.

Now I need to finish the reflector part, thats going to be next week assignment.


Pablo


----------



## greenlight (Apr 20, 2007)

I don't know what it is, but I applaud your continuous efforts.


----------



## Anglepoise (Apr 20, 2007)

Look forward to seeing this mated to your 'Hall Effect' dimmer.
Good job.


----------



## ICUDoc (Apr 20, 2007)

Looks FAB as usual, Pablo!


----------



## Mirage_Man (Apr 21, 2007)

Very cool Pablo! Looking good. How does working with Ti compare to aluminum? 

I really want to try some Ti too but I need to get the right tooling first.


----------



## ckthorp (Apr 21, 2007)

Pablo, is that an IBM model-M in the background?


----------



## PEU (Apr 21, 2007)

ckthorp said:


> Pablo, is that an IBM model-M in the background?



Yes, been using it for the last 22 years 



Mirage_Man said:


> Very cool Pablo! Looking good. How does working with Ti compare to aluminum?
> 
> I really want to try some Ti too but I need to get the right tooling first.



Ti cuts nice once you have sharp tools, my previous attempts failed because of this very fact. Also lack of rigidity in the lathe does not help, I must fight chatter all the time. In fact my idea with these two grooves was to make they deeper, but chatter was so much that I decided they look better this way  

The mini fire incident I had was due to an unsharp tool, if the chips aren't moved away quickly they pile up in the tool and they get red hot very fast.

Also its important to work at low speed, with the 30mm diameter piece I had I never went over 1000RPM

TI is an excercise in patience 


Pablo


----------



## Ganp (Apr 21, 2007)

This looks very promising Pablo.:thumbsup: 

I anticipate some nice Ti creations coming soon.


Colin.


----------



## kenster (Apr 21, 2007)

oo: TITANIUM!  My favorite!  I haven`t even plugged my Lathe in yet so I am jealous.  Please keep us posted on this project with more cool pictures of course. :rock: 

Ken


----------



## PhotonFanatic (Apr 21, 2007)

Wow, I almost fainted when I thought you had done your Pineapple body on a mini-lathe! And then I re-read the thread and realized that you were working on the part in front of it. 

Totally agree with you that Ti is an exercise in patience. I'd suggest using even slower speeds for some operations. The experts suggest low SFM, but high infeed rates. Since most of the infeed is controlled by hand, that means not being afraid to crank that tool into the part.

Are you using carbide inserts or HSS tooling?


----------



## scottv (Apr 21, 2007)

Nice!

Watch out for the residue from the burnt titanium.
Contains mostly titanium nitride - the gold colored stuff they coat bits with - 'cause it's harder than carbide. It'll tear up your cutters real fast.
I think that's how its use was discovered . . .


----------



## will (Apr 22, 2007)

Pablo 
I was getting some chatter on my enco mini-lathe. I drilled the 2 extra holes like this part. It changes the geometry of the lathe and helped eliminate some of the chatter.

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1677&category=

I replaced the spindle and intermediate shaft bearings with new ball bearings. That eliminated the remaining chatter I was getting facing aluminum parts. 

If you are going to do Titanium, you need the strongest setup possible. These tapered bearings will give a much stronger spindle setup. Changing the bearings is not all that difficult, but they are all pressed on.

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2822&category=5


----------



## PEU (Apr 22, 2007)

will said:


> Pablo
> I was getting some chatter on my enco mini-lathe. I drilled the 2 extra holes like this part. It changes the geometry of the lathe and helped eliminate some of the chatter.
> 
> http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1677&category=
> ...



This sounds great Will, do these bearings have a part number or something? I guess I can get them here and avoid the shipping and delays. And whats the distance in these holes, I guess this is not critical, they seem to be in the compound center.

I have to dissasemble the gearbox in my minilathe anyway, the low is not working well, Im sure the problem is in there. 


Pablo


----------



## will (Apr 22, 2007)

The distance is .750 inch ( 3/4 inch )


These are the numbers for the ball bearings that I replaced

intermediate shaft, the box, NTN bearings, 6001LLB/2AS , on the bearing 6001Z need 2

Spindle Ball bearings, the box Koyo 62062RDC3 GXM 00409, on the bearing 6206ZZ need 2

I didn't get the tapered bearings, I don't know the part numbers for those. Chris at Little Machine Shop has been very helpful to me. He answers his email within a day. I don't know if they ship out of the US.


----------



## PEU (Apr 25, 2007)

Dissasembled the gear box today, and...  the low speed gears lost some teeths 
Tomorrow I will go to a shop to see if they can be redone here, and if they can't I will purchase a new set from littlemachineshop.com...

Some photos:














Its really difficult to remove all the parts, and it takes time, but once its open, removing the shaft and countershaft is not that difficult. 

I will also replace all the bearings, I hope to reduce some of the chatter this way. If they aren't expensive I will go with a tappered bearing instead of the regular one.


Pablo


----------



## IsaacHayes (Apr 26, 2007)

Did the Ti shavings ignite (like magnesium) or just catch the workspace on fire?


----------



## PEU (Apr 26, 2007)

They didnt ignite like magnesium, while I was turning the TI bar with an unsharp tool, the shaving became red-hot, add this to a lot of shavings around and also add to the mix lubricant oil and you have the perfect combination for a small fire incident. It was the dumb operator the one to blame 


Pablo


----------



## PEU (May 1, 2007)

Ordered replacement parts for the gears, I asked a quote to make them here but was very expensive.

Of course, since I purchased them from LMS, I ended purchasing some new tools too  well, not exactly tools, I purchased some tool holders for my QCTP.


Pablo


----------



## will (May 1, 2007)

PEU said:


> Ordered replacement parts for the gears, I asked a quote to make them here but was very expensive.
> 
> Of course, since I purchased them from LMS, I ended purchasing some new tools too  well, not exactly tools, I purchased some tool holders for my QCTP.
> 
> ...



I have found Chris at Little Machine Shop to be very helpful. Also - when they have something on sale - the price is very good. They ship very quickly, usually the same day of the order.


----------



## ErickThakrar (May 3, 2007)

Be really ******* careful with Ti shavings or dust. It WILL catch fire almost like magnesium and it's very, very difficult to put out. It's recommended if you can, to have your shavings or dust from grinding go into a bucket of water. Many a knifemaker that deals with titanium, have suffered shop fires from that stuff catching on fire.


----------



## PEU (May 14, 2007)

Parts arrived and mini-lathe is already rebuilt, in the process I replaced the original bearings with SKF branded ones.

Let's hope its stays in one piece for a long time 


Pablo


----------



## PEU (May 15, 2007)

will said:


> The distance is .750 inch ( 3/4 inch )
> 
> 
> These are the numbers for the ball bearings that I replaced
> ...



You were right on Will, today I did some slots with the parting tools and there was no chatter at all, the new bearings really improved rigidity.

They also added a little resistence to the movement, so I will need to adjust the torque setting in the electronic speed control, because sometimes while doing simple facing operations, the motor slows down.

Thanks for the tip :twothumbs 


Pablo


----------



## will (May 15, 2007)

Happy that the bearings worked out for you. They should not have added any resistance to the movement. Did you replace the drive belt also? Is it possible you have too much tension between the motor and the drive pulley? With my lathe - I had trouble eliminating chatter on face cuts. The bearings fixed that problem.

also - if the tool is too high, or the clearance grind is not right - that can cause a rub - instead of a cut..


----------



## PEU (May 15, 2007)

will said:


> Happy that the bearings worked out for you. They should not have added any resistance to the movement. Did you replace the drive belt also? Is it possible you have too much tension between the motor and the drive pulley? With my lathe - I had trouble eliminating chatter on face cuts. The bearings fixed that problem.
> 
> also - if the tool is too high, or the clearance grind is not right - that can cause a rub - instead of a cut..



No, I used the same belt, maybe its too tight, will check its tension tomorrow. Thanks!


Pablo


----------



## PEU (May 20, 2007)

Forgot to post, but I checked the belt and it wasn't tight at all, so I opened the electronic speed control with its manual at hand, adjusted the torque trimpot a little and everything worked as expected again 


Pablo


----------

