[Source] Custom titanium bands

hello all,

I’m looking for a supplier of custom titanium bands. We have a
client that is interested in having one made in a cross or Celtic
design. we have examples of the design that i can fax or email in the
next day or so. If any one can point me in the right direction we
would really appreciate it we don’t want to turn a client away.

Thanks in advance.
William Vance

Contact us off Orchid and we will see if we can help.

Bill, Deborah & Michele
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc
928-634-3434, 800-876-3434, 928-634-6734fx

Correct me if I am wrong here, but I was told that since Titanium is
too hard to cut, it should never be used as a ring. What happens if
it gets stuck on someone’s finger? A very well respected jeweler
here in Seattle told me the finger has to go bye bye.

Ellen Lyons
http://www.ellenlyons.com

I'm looking for a supplier of custom titanium bands. We have a
client that is interested in having one made in a cross or Celtic
design. we have examples of the design that i can fax or email in
the next day or so. If any one can point me in the right direction
we would really appreciate it we don't want to turn a client away

William–we can accept faxes but our machine is a real pain. Is it
possible for you to email them? If not, just give a call and we’ll
give the fax a try.

Thanks.
Sandy

Correct me if I am wrong here, but I was told that since Titanium
is too hard to cut, it should never be used as a ring. What happens
if it gets stuck on someone's finger? A very well respected jeweler
here in Seattle told me the finger has to go bye bye. 

Your jeweler is passing on an urban legend. Titanium and its common
alloys are tough but not particularly hard when compared to steel
saw blades so you can cut them with a jewelers saw or one of those
ring removal saws. It will be slower than a precious metal band but
not too difficult to do. You will want a new sharp blade though.

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

Who ever said titanium was to hard to cut? If it is too hard to cut
just how do rings get made? Where does this stuff come from? We cut
Ti every day with a foot shear and jewelers saw. There are many
grades of titanium none are as hard as hardened steel. Some is tough
to cut, some isn’t. Show me an actual case of a finger lost! Jeeez,
been fighting for 25 years to dispose of weird “Things somebody
heard, from somewhere, that happened to somebody. blah, blah, blah.”

Any tool that will cut steel will cut titanium., Even the hardest of
the alloys will fall to a simple cut off disk and Dremel tool.

Bill, Deborah & Michele
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc
928-634-3434, 800-876-3434, 928-634-6734fx

Hi Ellen:

Titanium has a nasty reputation because it has some very odd habits,
but a standard jeweler’s sawblade will cut it just fine. One of those
little ‘circular saw turned by a key, on a pair of pliers’ ring
cutters will chop right through it, no problem. The real trick is to
do it slowly. Titanium doesn’t transfer heat very well, so the heat
generated by cutting stays near the cut, which will burn the temper
out of a cutter unless you know about this, and cut slowly, or use a
coolant, or both. Part of titanium’s nasty reputation for being ‘hard
to cut’ is from people who don’t realize that it’s keeping the heat
right at the work site, and burn their drills and saws by cutting too
quickly. There are some things that you can do to titanium that
will make it very hard indeed to cut, but a diamond grit sawblade or
cutoff wheel will always get through it. Just take your time, keep
the cutter speed down, use as much pressure as you dare, and use
coolant if you can.

Do not fear the funny metals. Learn their ways, and profit from their
oddities.

Happy New Year
Brian Meek.

I don’t want to sound sarcastic but I really don’t want it to be my
finger stuck in a ti ring while someone uses a cut off disk on a
Dremel tool!

Jon Michael Fuja

Any tool that will cut steel will cut titanium., Even the hardest
of the alloys will fall to a simple cut off disk and Dremel tool. 

We have to remember that we’re trying to cut Titanium (or other hard
material) that’s in intimate contact with a finger or other body
part. The problem isn’t just how to cut the material, we’ve also got
to consider how to keep from injuring/burning the body part. The
cutting part of the equation may just be the easiest.

Dave

Dare I say that confusion has won out over facts! My suspicion is
that titanium has been confused with tungsten, and that tungsten has
been confused with tungsten carbide. It’s the tungsten carbide that
is very difficult to cut, although most of it is rather brittle and
can be broken if necessary.

Interesting factoid: because platinum and tungsten (not the carbide)
have almost identical specific gravity values, tungsten has been
used to counterfeit platinum coins.

Happy New Year, All,
Dr. Mac

We have to remember that we're trying to cut Titanium (or other
hard material) that's in intimate contact with a finger or other
body part. The problem isn't just how to cut the material, we've
also got to consider how to keep from injuring/burning the body
part. 

If ring is stuck, it is not on the phalanx itself, but it simply
cannot pass over the joint. We can always slip a strip of metal under
the ring as a protection against the whatever cutting tool one is
using.

Leonid Surpin.

Hi Dr Mac,

Interesting factoid: because platinum and tungsten (not the
carbide) have almost identical specific gravity values, tungsten
has been used to counterfeit platinum coins. 

It is even a closer match to gold (Specific Gravity W 19.254, Au
19.302, Pt 21.45) and there have been some gold coins floating
around that have been radially drilled and then tungsten rods
inserted into the holes then the edges plugged and re-milled. This
leaves a coin that short of an x-ray image or melting it down passes
for a solid gold coin.

Regards,

Jim

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

Hello,

Although titanium can be cut, remember that the band will be
resistant to bending. A second cut may be necessary to remove the
ring from a finger.

Judy in Kansas, where we are enjoying a sunny but cccccold day

When cutting a ring to remove it from the finger, there is
considerable risk of injuring the finger when bending the ring open.
If the ring snaps shut at any time the cut ends will seriously pinch
the skin. I made a pair of opening pliers from ‘circlip pliers’ as
used by motor mechanics; the jaws open up when the handles are
squeezed. The origional circlip pliers had flat jaws, which I
modified to very thin flat tips with a small ridge at each tip. The
tips can be forced into the saw cut, the ridges snap through the cut
and prevent the tips from slipping out. Squeezing the handles will
open the ring as wide as you like in one powerful movement.

Inserting a strip of metal under the cut as Leonid suggests will
provide protection during the opening process as well as the cutting
process. I use one with the opening pliers for extra insurance.

Alastair

Following this topic with interest and the last comment makes me
wonder: What does someone do if they don’t have this pair of special
pliers of which Alastair speaks?And then, how many jewelers travel
around removing rings from say, injured construction workers much
less keep such a device in their studios? If you live here in
Seattle, you have two choices: Harbor View Medical Center or Everett
Medical Center. I am told that these are the only two hospitals in
the Seattle environs with the equipment to remove said rings to save
attached fingers. But what about everybody else? And finally, don’t
we jewelers have a responsibility not to sell a product that could be
potentially harmful or dangerous?

Ellen Lyons
http://www.ellenlyons.com

What does someone do if they don't have this pair of special pliers
of which Alastair speaks? 

It is my understanding that most EMT’s and Fire Rescue units have
the equipment in their vechicles it is a simple manual ring saw and
they make two cuts so that the ring comes off without the need of
fancy pliers. They don’t care about salvaging the ring just the
finger. And any hospital ER will have the saw.

But what about everybody else? And finally, don't we jewelers have
a responsibility not to sell a product that could be potentially
harmful or dangerous?

Any ring when crushed will cause these problems so are you
suggesting that jewelers not sell rings?

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

Ellen,

As it was mentioned before, your source of is mistaken.
Titanium rings can be cut with regular ring cutters, hacksaws,
jeweler’s saws, Dremel tools, or bolt cutters, all of which a
regular hospital will have access to. There’s no need to lose fingers
or continue to spread unfounded How do I know? Because
I’ve made tens of thousands of titanium rings and work with the
material each and every day. I have cut them from my own fingers with
each of those methods. I believe the start of the Internet
miswas spread when someone who worked at an aerospace
factory used a bearing race as a ring. He had a problem getting it
off. Obviously, a bearing race is made to be as hard as possible, and
it has squared off edges. It was a stupid thing to do. The titanium
used in rings can be hardened further, but we do not do that when
making rings. It is similar in properties to stainless steel. If
anyone has this concern when they come to my studio, I have them
watch as I cut through a ring with a hack saw. It takes about 5
seconds. No plasma torches or ion beams necessary. It has the
reputation of being harder and stronger than steel, but it’s used in
aerospace because of the strength to weight ratio.

Bruce Boone
Boone Titanium Rings