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Titanium Rod for DIY Projects


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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • #1295090
    Lawson Kline
    BPL Member

    @mountainfitter

    Hey Everyone,

    Over the last few years, I have received ALOT of emails asking if I would sell my super strong Grade 5 6AL-4V Titanium round rod for DIY Projects. To keep costs low and to be able to ship the rod for free, I was thinking of cutting the rod into 18" lengths and selling it in 10 piece packs. I am thinking of offering the rod in a few sizes .0625" (1/16"), .0935" (3/32"), and .1250"(1/8"). Rough prices look like this…

    $19.95 for 10 pieces of .0625" (18" piece 4.08 grams)
    $29.95 for 10 pieces of .0935" (18" piece 9.11 grams)
    $39.95 for 10 pieces of .1250" (18" piece 16.28 grams)

    I am sure you are scratching your head asking yourself what you would use these rods for.. Some suggestions would be ultralight backpacking grills, ultralight pot stands or even ultralight tent stakes. All you need is a pair of pliers and an imagination :)

    So all that said, who is interested?

    Thanks,
    Lawson

    #1921498
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Of course the question is: How much does each piece weigh?

    –B.G.–

    #1921506
    Daniel Russell
    Member

    @superfluous_grizzly

    Locale: Creation

    Ditto.

    In addition, which would be more suitable for making a grill? Bail handle?

    #1921513
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    Bob,

    Assuming those diameters are exact and the alloy is close to titanium's density of 4.506, then I calculate 4.1, 9.1, and 16.3 grams per 18" rod, respectively. Times 10 for the pack of ten.

    YTMV

    (Your titanium may vary)

    #1921516
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    cut&paste from wikipedia:

    Generally, Ti-6Al-4V is used in applications up to 400 degrees Celsius. It has a density of roughly 4420 kg/m3, Young's modulus of 110 GPa, and tensile strength of 1000 MPa.[8] By comparison, annealed type 316 stainless steel has a density of 8000 kg/m3, modulus of 193 GPa, and tensile strength of only 570 MPa.[9] And tempered 6061 aluminium alloy has 2700 kg/m3, 69 GPa, and 310 MPa, respectively.[10]

    So weights should be 2% lower than I quoted above, give or take variations in thickness.

    Lawson: Yes, I would be interested.

    #1921517
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Thanks, David. That may be somewhat heavier than what I need.

    Plus, how can you join that stuff? I guess it would have to be welded. You wouldn't exactly put it together with Superglue.

    –B.G.–

    #1921526
    Lawson Kline
    BPL Member

    @mountainfitter

    David's weight per 18" piece are right on the money. Thanks, Lawson

    #1921535
    Gary Dunckel
    BPL Member

    @zia-grill-guy

    Locale: Boulder

    Way to go, Lawson! Bringing small quantities of titanium to the people at a fair price!

    But, yes, what do you do with it? That was the dilemma that Ryan Jordan faced back in 2006–nobody wanted to buy the 24" .062" 6AL-4V rods that the Gear Shop sold. So during his annual inventory reduction sale, he offered them for 50% off, just to get rid of them. He made a sort of contest of it, offering a free year of BPL membership to anyone that came up with something unique using that titanium rod. I bit on it, just for fun. I made my first grill from the metal, and it was something that only a mother could love. But it worked. I sent Ryan some photos. Ryan gave me a year's worth of BPL, and he asked me to make a couple of grills for him. He even sent me some more titanium rods. After maybe 6-7 grills, I came up with a couple that actually looked and worked quite well, and I sent them to him. That's how my Zia grills came into being.

    Pretty soon, one thing led to another. When you have a stockpile of titanium in the basement, and a blizzard is raging outside, the graph lines seem to intersect. I found myself sitting in the basement war room, bending titanium into all sorts of shapes, making useless, but cool (and lightweight) gizmos. Then I had to buy some titanium foil from Ti Goat, and try my hand with wind screens. Then came the pot supports, etc. etc. There's always something cool to be made from titanium, if you are a true geek.

    To answer some questions asked in the above posts:

    Haywood-For a grill to be made from 6AL-4V titanium, the .0625" rod will work best, but you really should be using commercially pure rod. I use CP-type 2 rod for my Zia grills, as it is easier to bend, and it has better physical properties when exposed to intense heat. In making a wire bail for a bucket, I think the .0935" rod would be best. the .125" rod is extremely difficult to bend by hand, but it's rigidity makes for great tent stakes. Incidentally, the custom pot stands that I made/sold last winter were made from both .0625" and .09" rod. For boiling just 2 C. of water, the thinner diameter works fine. But for heavier loads, or for a taller pot stand, you'll want to go with the .093".

    -BG- The only way that you can truly weld titanium is by using an argon chamber to keep oxygen out. However, Josh Leavitt does some good work with his titanium grills without an argon chamber, employing a type of pressure welding technique.

    David-I went down to the basement and weighed ten-18" titanium rods. They were 42 g., or 4.2 g. per rod.

    Lawson, you might also consider finding some CP Type 2 rod in both the .0625" and .09-.10" diameters. Those might be useful to some people. I love the creative offerings that you always seem to come up with.

    #1921604
    Joseph R
    BPL Member

    @dianoda

    Locale: Chicago, IL

    How ideal is 6AL-4V titanium rod as a material for pack stays?

    I might be willing to try out the .125" for that purpose (as a replacement for the AL stay in my SMD Swift), although 18" would be too short – 20-22" would make more sense for that specific use.

    #1921612
    jim draucker
    BPL Member

    @mtnjim

    Locale: Shenandoah Valley VA

    Hello

    I would like to play with the 1/16" stuff

    Thanks Jim

    #1921683
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > The only way that you can truly weld titanium is by using an argon chamber to keep
    > oxygen out. However, Josh Leavitt does some good work with his titanium grills
    > without an argon chamber, employing a type of pressure welding technique.

    I have used high pressure spot welding with fair success, on both wire and sheet. If you are only doing a little bit, try gooping the joint first with welding paste flux.

    cheers

    #1921694
    Steven McAllister
    BPL Member

    @brooklynkayak

    Locale: Arizona, US

    I don't know how long the material is, but many may prefer it in full length gently wrapped into a large circle/spool.

    It could mean less waste for some projects making the extra shipping cost worth it.

    Titanium rod is fairly easy to bend and the rod could be straightened out or shaped as needed.

    #1921828
    Robert Paul Malchow
    Member

    @paulmalc

    I too would like to be able to get some longer (~36"), thin titanium …

    #1921933
    Kim Pingatore
    Member

    @tryker13

    Locale: Close to the AT in Central VA

    I'd be interested in the .0625 rod

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