[TheForge] Heat treat for Titanium

[Ries Niemi]

I have seen some demos of blacksmiths forging titanium, and on a small 
scale, a lot of the intense technical issues can be ignored.
John Rais, who used to teach at Peters Valley, did a lot of small scale 
stuff- as I recall, he stuck to CP, so heat treating was not an issue. 
He would dip the piece in powdered borax once he got it up to 500 
degrees or so, and continue to dip it once in a while as he was 
forging.
It was quick and easy. He only forged it when it was hot, but aside 
from that and the borax, he didnt do anything out of the ordinary. He 
was able to get pretty extreme movement from it- he made some of his 
signature ladle pieces from it, getting big cups and long handles from 
one small piece of 1" round or so.
He would glass bead or sandblast afterwards, for a lasting, matte gray 
finish.
Here is his website- it doesnt specify which if any pieces are 
titanium, but I think some are.
http://www.johnraisstudios.com/index.htm


Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist

http://www.RiesNiemi.com