No. Compared to must other metals (aluminium, steel) it is very hard and won't scratch easily.

Too bad spring steel is heavy. It would make the ideal material in a lot of applications. Done right, it will flex a little and return back to default. Those hard materials like Ti are hard to bend, but when they do, might as well replace it! Of course, sometimes no amount of flex is desired, which is good for those materials.

It would be nice to have an inexpensive material that was a breeze to work on (cut, drill, and bend), and then "cure" it using common household resources to get it to be whatever hardness dedired. I guess similar to how clay works. :)

Its not difficult to temper steel, all you need in a gas flame. Heat it to about 250C and watch as it goes through different colours (first yellow through to blue). If you stop when its yellow the steel will be very hard but brittle, and blue equals soft and springy. Afterwards just quench it in cold water. Easier said than done though.........

Exactly. Not too many hobbyists have heast sources capable of 482F, unless an oven would work. And then, I can't imagine by better half being keen on me heating metals in our oven. :)

I meant something really easy to work on like Aluminum, but able to easily treat to get the hardness/flexibility desired.

7075 isnt a bad option. im pretty sure its the strongest aluminum although its harder to work with than the standard 6061.

To harden steel properly, you need steel with a high grade of carbon.

And the best part of 700C!! Tempering comes after hardening, and alters how hard/brittle or soft/springy the steel will be - incase anyone was confused.

Im confused - thought this was about Ti - :005: :005:

I think its just a general materials discussion. We never stay on topic anyway......:rolleyes:

topicstarter himself has got quite a reputation on thread hijacking, ever since this still is about metal, and not about him dancing naked on the table, it's not too much off-topic.. We could elaborate a bit more on the titanium, i am curious, what Daniel had in mind, to make out of titanium.

Well, here is the good news! My sweetheart promised me a mill and a lathe, once i finished all the jobs in and around the house, so i won't be much online for a few years.. LOL, nononoooo i will have a mill and a lathe in a few months.! Perhaps in time, before you get to Holland Daniel!

Aint that the truth - :005:

You getting CNC or manual Serum. I would love to get my own CNC lathe and mill, but we've got them at school anyway. :D:D:D

Manual first, but i am going to buy one, that can be upgraded to CNC for sure! i already collected a few stepper motors for this.. but i can do enough in my opinion with a manual. (and a rotating plate )

I don't agree that Ti is for bling with RC vehicles.It is not used in place of aluminium in any RC application i can think of other than plates(apart from the cast Ti arms which are many many times stronger than anything you can make in aluminium)It's properties are nothing like aluminium and are far more like a lighter super steel,and that's where it mainly applies to RC, replacing steel parts with a lighter alternative.I don't think i'll be changing from lunsford,hardcore,flextek parts to aluminium anytime soon,i perfer to combine plastics and titanium to build the most durable chassis capable of absorbing large amounts of shock.Aluminium is ideal for when stiffness and lightweight is needed but is not a durable material.
Apart from being the most respected material in engineering,all the best machines are made from titanium,the shuttle,concorde,blackbird.Can't think of any aluminium parts on F1 cars either off the top of my head,carbon,magnesium,titanium being the materials of choice.

There i feel better now.

Amen gustav.

it is just too expensive to work with in RC..

a bulkhead of titanium could be made much lighter/stronger than aluminum, but i would change the design to keep the costs down