TITANIUM:

To All,

I have been seeing a few number of post about titanium swords.I want to pass on a little about forging a particular titanium alloy that would give you "flu-like" symptoms. I was talking with a rep from
Teledyne Wah Chang today and the culprit seems to be the vanadium bearing
family of alloys, Ti-6Al-4V, etc. This is a common aerospace alloy. Most big
forging shops do not have this problem because of the ventilation and distance
between humans and the work. Besides a lot of the time the titanium has a
protective coating on it like glass to keep the air off of it. I am not aware
of any simple test to determine the alloy type. CP ( Commerically pure) is
virtually non toxic. If you want to play with titanium begin with CP. It
offers a much different feel than iron.

I would have the MSDS's faxed to me for your own safety

As with ALL steels and alloys KNOW how it's made and how it is tempered before you use it.

Safety safety and a little more safety. you only get one life not nine.

I've been looking at the problem of Beryllium in some coper/bronze/brass products.

Acute Beryllium toxicity was once a major problem in industries that use it.

Applying gov't standards fixed the problem in this country, but hasn't really addressed the problem of Chronic Beryllium Toxicity (Berylliosis).

The standards haven't been changed for fifty years.

OSHA is under pressure to do so, but no one really knows what, if any, exposure is safe.

It's quite a complex subject, but it appears that even a very small, limited exposure can lead to Chronic Berylliosis decades down the line, and believe me, it's not something you want to have (think crippled, on oxygen, death).

In the course of looking into this, I've discovered that small manufacturers and foundries often don't have a clue about this. It's just not on their radar screens.

So ask.

Scott Bubar brings up a some good points their are many first time smiths or folks doing it for a hobby
that have no background in the many hazards of metals.So I am going to pass this little bite along

Check with the makers of the steels or metals and or with your local welder or a machine shop
or if your lucky a local blacksmith or on line

also keep in mind many of the fluxes used are very toxic as are many of the baths so ask read and watch
last thing you will want to do is try it yourself