Titanium - Grade 5

[Nicholas]

Does anyone have experience with titanium? I'm the $85 per pound price tag is not something we want on our cost report, anybody found a less expensive supplier?
Thanks

[Nicholas]

I should note, we're looking for 2.75" rod.

[Denny Trimble]

google search for "titanium 2.75 round bar" turned this up:
http://truetex.com/metals.htm#ti

0714 6Al/4V titanium 4928 Round bar 2.75" diameter x 8.75" length 8.32 1 $125.00

That's only $15/lb

[Nicholas]

Thanks for the heads up, Denny. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Unfortunately somebody got to it before I did yesterday. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_mad.gif

[Wilso]

I've used titaniumjoe.com before. Nice guy actually named joe (so he claims). He also doesn't mind selling small pieces; I don't think there is minimum order.

[Gareth]

I've bought from Titaniuim Joe before also. I made my brother and his wife some wedding bands out of it. He's great to deal with and will cut to whatever size you need, for the $5 cutting fee iirc.

In case it matters, it is actually pretty nice to machine. With carbide inserts you can take good size passes without any hassle. The high speed steel doesn't like it nearly as much, but if you keep the tools sharp and the passes smaller it works fine. It still needs lots of coolant though. It likes low speeds with relatively high feeds.

I've got pics of the rings here...and my Montreal GP, Toronto Indy, and Petit Lemans pics.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gakenwor/my_photos

[Nicholas]

Unfortunately, Titanium Joe won't cut anything bigger than 1.5" OD. Unless I want a 48" piece for $700 I'm out of luck.

[RagingGrandpa]

eBay has a scrap metal category with Ti... I've seen some nice stuff in there.