An obscene use of titanium

[JamesCH]

So I heard a lot of good things about after market shifter weights and decided that I should get one. When I realized what they were and where they went I thought "well crap, that's easy!"

So I dug through some metal scrap at my job and found a nice chunk of 1/2" 6Al-4V titanium plate

Using SolidWorks I figured out the right dimensions to yield the same weight as the Cobb shifter weight that many people seemed to like, ~7.5oz, which was a 2"x3"x0.5" block of titanium. So I cut and machined my bit of scrap down to the right size, milled my initials into it for a personal touch, drilled and tapped two holes (M8x1.25 with 20mm C2C, 0.55" deep blind tap with index size P body drill 0.8" deep) and I now have a shifter weight made out of aerospace grade titanium. I should note that I didn't tap the full length of the bolt fully, the partially cut threads at the very end of the hole do a great job of preventing the bolt from backing out.

Don't try this with titanium if you haven't had a reasonable amount of time in a machine shop! And even if you have, be warned: TITANIUM IS A b**** TO MACHINE AND ESPECIALLY TO TAP! I had some solid carbide TiN coated end mills and good cutting/tapping fluid that I used liberally. Even then it wasn't trivial machining.

SEE POST #30 FOR 1ST PROGRESS UPDATE ON STS PLATE!

 

[Rix6]

So my question is why would you use titanium for this application? Stainless steel would seem like a much better choice if you are looking for a non-corroding material. Titanium is known for its light weight - which if you are making a "weight" just does not make sense.....

 

[Olestra]

Because regular Joe blow can't do it himself and JamesCH is the man.

 

[JamesCH]

So my question is why would you use titanium for this application? Stainless steel would seem like a much better choice if you are looking for a non-corroding material. Titanium is known for its light weight - which if you are making a "weight" just does not make sense.....

My company has done a lot of novel research in titanium MIG welding, particularly in thick plate, so there's about 400lbs of 1/2" Ti scrap lying around and 0lbs of SS.


Well, that and what Olestra said (wink) anyone can buy a Cobb weight and bolt it up, but it takes a certain level of derangement and/or boredom to make your own out of a material that's difficult to machine.

 

[ms6acton]

wow, props indeed sir!

 

[GoFast]

save your self the time and money...just remove the stocker.

 

[JamesCH]

save your self the time and money...just remove the stocker.

Tried that, didn't quite liked the feel, it was just a bit too light for me.

 

[essejkcamraw]

i love me some titanium. i just ordered a cobb shifter weight. i shall see how i likes it. thats an expensive shifter weight you made though hah.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

My company has done a lot of novel research in titanium MIG welding, particularly in thick plate, so there's about 400lbs of 1/2" Ti scrap lying around and 0lbs of SS.

wanna grab some random pieces of that and ship em my way?? $7 flat rate box full of em? I'll pay ya like... $20? lol

 

[BillTheCat]

Pffffft. Anyone with real talent would've made that out of Blueberry Pop Tarts.

j/k, of course. Nice use of scrap material.

 

[PCspeed3]

frickin' showoff is what this guy is.....lol

 

[TheMAN]

that is sick s***
20 bucks isn't even worth your time... maybe 100 is more like it!

 

[zx2man]

alright screw this s***, whos gonna one up this smart sob lol *goodjob*

 

[JamesCH]

i love me some titanium. i just ordered a cobb shifter weight. i shall see how i likes it. thats an expensive shifter weight you made though hah.

Haha, yes it is! About $75 in titanium and 4.5 hours of machining at a standard $45/hr is... $277.50... (wow) Though if I had stock that was in some of the right dimensions and didn't care about having every surface be machined it would have taken less than half the time (shrug)

Pffffft. Anyone with real talent would've made that out of Blueberry Pop Tarts.

j/k, of course. Nice use of scrap material.

I tired! They're just too damn tasty...

 

[ericrapp]

Jame since you have the solidworks at the ready, would you real quick take that scrap TiT and whip me up a 3.75 dia +-.005 TBE. That should save me about 31 lbs.
I laughed when i read this. I have many associates that look at some of the metals we toss as a company. The general response is, hey you gonna really throw that away? Welders and Machinists are the worst of all. you are not one of those by chance are you?

 

[oaklandopen]

Because regular Joe blow can't do it himself and JamesCH is the man.

pretty much that

 

[JamesCH]

Jame since you have the solidworks at the ready, would you real quick take that scrap TiT and whip me up a 3.75 dia +-.005 TBE. That should save me about 31 lbs.
I laughed when i read this. I have many associates that look at some of the metals we toss as a company. The general response is, hey you gonna really throw that away? Welders and Machinists are the worst of all. you are not one of those by chance are you?

Haha, well I only wish I could make a Ti TBE... the race car in my avatar that I'm driving has a full Ti exhaust that I designed, saved 22lbs over mild steel on a 475lb car! It also cost about $3500 to buy the tubes and have them CNC bent. We then got flanges and brackets water-jet cut, machined some things ourselves, and then yours truly welded it all together.

While I'm an engineer by title, I am also a certified welder and wind up doing some machining too. I work at a small company, so we don't really throw much stuff away... but yeah, I can be one of those guys (screwy) haha.

EVERYONE STAY TUNED! If I can dig up some 1/4" or 3/16" plate I'll be making a shifter plate to reduce the throw on my stock shifter. And I'll post the print up here so anyone can make their own!

 

[oaklandopen]

while you're at it make some titanium wheels

 

[daonly1around]

nice work...


seeing people do stuff like this makes me think why the HELL am i taking business class when i could be learning something fun....

 

[ericrapp]

Sounds like fun

Haha, well I only wish I could make a Ti TBE... the race car in my avatar that I'm driving has a full Ti exhaust that I designed, saved 22lbs over mild steel on a 475lb car! It also cost about $3500 to buy the tubes and have them CNC bent. We then got flanges and brackets water-jet cut, machined some things ourselves, and then yours truly welded it all together.

While I'm an engineer by title, I am also a certified welder and wind up doing some machining too. I work at a small company, so we don't really throw much stuff away... but yeah, I can be one of those guys (screwy) haha.

EVERYONE STAY TUNED! If I can dig up some 1/4" or 3/16" plate I'll be making a shifter plate to reduce the throw on my stock shifter. And I'll post the print up here so anyone can make their own!

i am looking forward to the blueprint. I love this kinda fun crap. The best shops to work in are the ones that the employees are allowed to work on their pet projects.
Our young engineers are too busy right now to help design my shop project. if you get bored i have something serious you might consider.
Good luck with the shifter plate
It seems work is more important than car projects! go figure!