How do I soften titanium

[Mark Barone]

As some of you know I am making a knife handle out of U2 wing skid plate for a veteran per his request. I would like to soften and most likely need to soften it . I read that I get it red hot then quench it. I read that quenching doesn’t harden it like carbon steel. Is this the right process?

 

[BossDog]

Good question.
i spent some time recently trying to find that out myself. The tech jargon is mind numbing in most all of the online references. This could be entirely wrong but what I came up with after reading a bit was heat to 1350 and shut off the oven and let it cool for several hours slowly. I put it in overnight and took it out the next day.
My only experience with this is trying to anneal some titanium Damascus I had forged. This process worked for me. It did not soften any oxidized surface scale that is insanely hard.

 

[Mark Barone]

Good question.
i spent some time recently trying to find that out myself. The tech jargon is mind numbing in most all of the online references. This could be entirely wrong but what I came up with after reading a bit was heat to 1350 and shut off the oven and let it cool for several hours slowly. I put it in overnight and took it out the next day.
My only experience with this is trying to anneal some titanium Damascus I had forged. This process worked for me. It did not soften any oxidized surface scale that is insanely hard.

Yes it was confusing. I tried to use a simple solution that someone mentioned. Didn’t work. Cutting it half was no bid deal with the angle grinder. Slow but it did cut. Trimming the sides of onto get the same wi was hell. I just kept biting at it with angle grinder and the 40 grit on the belt. Finally got it really close. So I will include these on the handle of the knife.,somehow. I still have to design the knife. I have some ideas. Interesting note. Those scratches are not from the wing of the U2 plane tilting and the wing skids on the ground, hence needing a skid plate. I didn’t know the plane on,y has two wheels like a bike, so obviously as the plane slows down the plane will tilt one side depending on which wing has more fuel.

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

I'm a bit late to help, but I'll try....

Titanium really doesn't fall into the category of non-ferrous alloys from the standpoint of how we would expect a non-ferrous alloy to react in different operations.
Heating and quenching will soften most non-ferrous alloys, but not Titanium.... in fact titanium will SEEM to harden when heated and quenched, due to the oxide that forms on it as/when cooled.

Titanium is not "hard"..... the max hardness you will get out of any titanium alloy is 45-48Rc (6AL4V alloy), and that usually requires "work hardening". CP (Commercially Pure) comes in 3-4 different grades..... the most common being grade 1. It has some mild forming characteristics, but it also work hardens quickly. Titanium is "tough" for lack of a better descriptor.

I have formed titanium by heating in the forge, and going into specialty press dies....but even that requires a ton of work....the Ti work hardens/cools so rapidly that the dies have to be heated above 350F, to even get a single "press" in, or the titanium simply breaks.

Long story short..... Titanium is what it is in terms of workability. You can't change it's characteristics like we can with ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, and won't be able to do anything to noticeably soften or harden it through heating/cooling operations.
With each grade those working characteristics vary slightly, but the good news is that titanium is about the most consistent material out there. Once you understand it's characteristics, and how to work it, that is super consistent from piece to piece.

Probably the best advice I can offer when working titanium is "slow and deliberate"....... slow the speed of EVERYTHING down..... drilling, grinding, milling, sawing, etc.