Engraving Tungsten Rings

cyounkin11

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Dec 22, 2014
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Hi, all!

This is my first post in the Engravers Cafe. Fist off I would like to thank everyone for adding their own tips and tricks. This page is a great resource.

I am planning to make a wedding band for a dear friend who would like tungsten. Really my plan is to find a plain ring and then hopefully engrave it and add and inlay. I know tungsten is a very hard metal, but was curious if anyone has been able to engrave in it with special gravers perhaps? If not I may consider using a titanium ring which should be a little easier to work with. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Chase
 

Brian Marshall

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Yup, special gravers will definitely be needed. Our carbide gravers won't do the trick.

Computerized lasers or diamond rotary mills, lathes and pantographs are not tools that most hand engravers have in their tool box...


Go with the titanium. CP or chemically pure grades - not the more common aircraft alloys.

You can cut the aircraft stuff, but life is way to short for me to waste time with it. (depending, of course on whether the customer is willing and able to pay an exorbitant price?)


B.
 

Sam

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Welcome to the Cafe!

As far as I know, for all practical purposes tungsten is impossible to hand engrave.

Arnaud in Belgium has discussed titanium rings at length and if you use the search feature you should be able to find posts regarding his preferred grades for hand engraving. Use the SITE SEARCH link below the Cafe logo top left. You might have to do some digging but you should find a wealth of information on the subject.
 

Eugene Carkoski

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I have done ti money clips there hard but cutable , Ray made it look easy at our class when he did one for me, thanks again Ray
kind of like cast brass only harder
 

cyounkin11

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Dec 22, 2014
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Hey thanks guys! I'm leaning now towards titanium. If I do make the actual ring myself I will probably cast it. In the reading I've done it takes a gas like argon to work with titanium. I think that's what I read anyway. I'll have to look into it a little more. Once I get something worth showing off made, I'll post pictures!!
 

Ron Spokovich

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Forget tungsten, as you won't engrave it. It was used in .30 caliber, armor piercing ammo. We used to find pieces, down range, and make holders for center punches with the tungsten insert used for center punches.I don't know if you'd locate pieces suitable for rings, either. You're better off with titanium, as Sam suggests, and Arnaud has done work in that area!
 

Brian Marshall

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If you've not done any casting before - even if you have, and have never cast titanium before - you might consider what it is gonna cost you to get set up to do it? You may be surprised at what this one ring is gonna cost...

And even you do cast it yourself, have you considered that most castings don't engrave well?

I can't speak for a cast titanium ring blank, because I have never held such a creature between the jaws of my vise... but cast gold, silver & platinum do not engrave as crisply as milled material that is then machined or stamped into blanks.

There are companies out there that do custom castings in all kinds of metals including titanium. You may find it more cost effective to sub out that part?

Let us know which alloy they choose to cast in and how the stuff engraves?


I myself have never seen a cast titanium wedding band - yet? Everything on the market - including the custom shop made bands - seems to be machined from milled round bar stock.


Lastly, do you have enough experience with metalsmithing and/or hand engraving & inlay to feel comfortable taking on a job like this?


B.
 
Last edited:

Roger B

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If I do make the actual ring myself I will probably cast it. In the reading I've done it takes a gas like argon to work with titanium.

You'll need argon to create a neutral blanket around the titanium whilst melting it but argon is an inert gas and will not heat it up. My guess is that you would need some sort of electric melting crucible. I don't think this is a job to learn on.

Roger
 

monk

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my trusty laser can do tungsten. but i'm too lazy to make a simple holding fixture to do them.
 

JOEYS CARVED ART

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Try to talk the client into classic silver rings. Explain that they will be much more customizable and show nice detail. If you mess up the silver it won't be too expensive to start over. As far as engraving tungsten, forget it, unless you might have some kind of cubic boron nitride cutting system or laser of some sort. Casting titanium can be a nightmare if you are not skilled in it.
 

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