Working with Titanium - A Brief Overview

by Kirk Lang

I was first introduced to titanium while visiting the Reactive Metals Studio booth at one of the first SNAG conferences I attended, close to 20 years ago. At the time, I was an undergrad student at the Cleveland Institute of Art and was working towards my thesis. The work I was creating then (and even now), drew inspiration from astronomy and space exploration. I knew titanium was used extensively in the aerospace industry so it was a natural connection. It is also biocompatible, making it an ideal metal for jewelry making too. In addition, it possesses properties that are unlike any other metal, which is what makes it so unique. Over the years I have attempted fabricating with titanium in every way I could think of such as forging, machining my own screws and even spinning vessels out of it. Through trial and error, I feel I’ve learned a lot about this particular metal. Some of that information is included in this article and hopefully it will be helpful for anyone interested in experimenting with titanium for themselves.

Titanium Grades

Titanium is often thought of as an extremely hard and challenging metal to work with. This is true but only in part. Yes, there are alloys that are hard to work with but there are also others that are much more ‘agreeable’ when fabricating with standard jewelry making tools. Although there are many grades of titanium available, there are only 4 grades that are considered commercially pure (CP). These are the grades that are most suitable for jewelry making in my experience. Of those 4 grades, grade 1 and 2 are ideal. Grade 1 is the most ductile and works best for general forming…I would say relatively similar to half-hard brass. Grade 2 is a little harder and stiffer but is also a good option (think 3/4 hard brass). Grades 3 and 4 are a bit too hard for most jewelry applications, so I would recommend sticking with grades 1 and 2.

Limitations

There are a couple caveats when working with titanium. The first is that it can’t be annealed like most other metals…at least not in a typical studio setting. Second, it can’t be soldered either in a typical metalworking studio. The reason for this is because it needs an inert gas atmosphere, such as argon, surrounding the metal to protect the surface from oxidation when heating or soldering.

Solutions

There are workarounds to these limitations. If you are making a piece that requires forming, make sure the titanium you are ordering comes to you fully annealed. Grade 1 would be the best option for this since it is the most ductile of all of the commercially pure grades. That said, keep in mind that because you will not be able to anneal the metal again, it is important to design accordingly. For instance, you wouldn’t want to plan raising a complex vessel out of titanium but shallow dome shapes for instance, are no problem.

In regards to joining, assembling parts via cold connections is certainly a great option. Rivets, screws, tabs, etc. all work well. Another option, if you have access to one or your budget allows, is to weld parts together using a micro TIG welder. These machines are becoming more and more affordable (but costs are still unfortunately on the high end for most) and provide almost limitless possibilities when it comes to joining and constructing with titanium.

Finishing

Like most metals, titanium requires one to go through a sequence of sanding grits to achieve a polished finish. This is where the stubbornness of titanium really shines…no pun intended ;) My recommendation is to purchase silicon carbide sandpaper (vs aluminum oxide) for finishing titanium. It cuts faster and lasts longer due to its hardness. You will want to go through a series of grits from 320 - 1000 (at least) in order to prepare the surface for polishing.

For polishing, I find ‘Greystar’ works well as a pre-polish on a variety of metals including titanium. For a final finish, I like ‘Picasso Blue’, which also works well on a variety of other metals. If you are going for a matte finish, simply skip the polishing process and apply the type of matte finish you desire like you would any other metal. Matte finish options include but are not limited to sanding, filing, sandblasting, bead blasting and satin wheel finishing.

Anodizing/Coloring

The outer surface of titanium is capable of creating an oxide layer exhibiting a wide range of colors. It is able to do this without any pigments or dyes. Instead, titanium reacts with oxygen (forming titanium oxide) to create what are known as interference colors. The way in which light interacts with this oxide layer is what causes the perception of color on the surface of the metal. As the thickness of the oxide layer increases or decreases, the perceived color changes.

There are two common methods used to achieve these colors. The first and easiest, is to apply heat directly to the metal using a standard torch. Very little preparation is necessary, just make sure your metal is clean and then simply move your torch around the piece you wish to color. Very quickly you will start to see various colors emerge from the metal. Of the two methods, this yields the most unpredictable results but with a lot of practice and patience, interesting effects can be achieved.

The second method, which yields far more even and consistent results, is to anodize your piece. This method requires a set of specific tools such as a rectifier, thin stainless steel sheet, anode and cathode leads and an electrolytic bath. In a nutshell, the cathode lead is connected to a piece of stainless steel, which is submerged in the electrolytic bath and the anode lead is connected to the piece you wish to color. The electrolytic bath is made by adding TSP-PF (an environmentally safe phosphate free cleaning solution) to distilled water. The piece to be colored is then submerged in the solution and the rectifier is dialed into the appropriate voltage for the desired color. As with all metal working processes, certain safety precautions need to be followed when anodizing titanium. Specifically, you will want to wear thick rubber gloves, safety glasses and make sure you have adequate ventilation.

Please note, this article is not intended to be a ‘how-to’ article. Instead, it is designed to shed light on a material that is often overlooked because, unfortunately, it is considered too challenging or difficult to work with. Hopefully this overview provides enough information for the jeweler and/or metalsmith interested in exploring a new material to give it go and see what they can come up with.