Titanium Jump Ring, Niobium Wire ?
Q: I'm after Niobium wire (1mm round) but the only source I've found so far
wants £70 a metre for it. Is this what I'll have to pay for it? Or is
there a cheaper source? I've never worked with Niobium before but I love
that bluish colour! Also, can you solder Niobium?
A:I don't know about the UK, but in the US, the best source I'm aware of for artists
especially, is Reactive Metals Inc. (www.reactivemetals.com) They list 18 guage,
which is about your desired size. at $1.34 per foot, which should be a more
reasonable price for you. I assume, but have not checked, that they can ship
internationally, and can vouch for them as a fine company to do business with, as
I've dealt with, and know, Bill Seeley (the owner) for years. If even this price
is too high for your needs, consider Titanium instead of Niobium. It's a bit
whiter in basic color, harder/stiffer, but can also be colored. Niobium colors
best with electrolytic anodizing. Titanium can be given a nice blue with just
heating. (I'm assuming that the blue your refer to is the anodized/colored
color, not the native color of the metal, which is mostly a darkish grey. Nice,
but not really a blue...)
Like Titanium, Niobium on contact with air forms an impervious hard oxide layer
virtually instantly. Heated, the oxide layer gets thicker and denser. Normal
soldering fluxes don't effectviely remove it, nor does pickle, etc. Removing it
mechanically is possible, but must be done in an inert atmosphere or it instantly
reforms. This all makes niobium very difficult, if not impossible, to solder,
since solder simply does not stick to the oxide layer or bond with it. Niobium in
fact, makes a very good soldering poker for this very reason. It CAN be joined
using technologies like laser welding (with argon shielding), or fusion welding
(like Sparkie or other capacitive discharge welders), but these often are not
simple, or within the easy means of the usual craftsperson's workshop, so most
people using niobium, or titanium, rely on mechanical joints such as rivets,
bezels, screws and nuts, glues, or the like.
So, I can get the blue colour onto the wire by heating it? I want to do
some sort of chain for a bead (you can see it one Tink's website here:
http://www.blackswampglassworks.com/electrochakra1.jpg. I want to make the
chain from both silver and niobium, so I'm thinking about one with fancy
silver bits that I can solder, linked with niobium jump rings that don't
need soldering because I can spring fit them. Am I talking rubbish now?
I'm really just trying to throw a few ideas around to get some feedback!
Don't want to spend a small fortune on something that won't work. Titanium
might be easier for me to obtain, and that gets the blue colour easier?
Will I be able to cut it with a normal jewellers saw?
With titanium, yes. Gentle heating with a torch, or even in an oven or over a gas
stove burner can color it a nice rich blue. Niobium is considerably harder to
heat color, though with practice and luck, you can perhaps do it. Anodizing is a
lot more reliable for niobium. With both niobium and titanium, anodizing allows
you a much wider range of available colors. But anodizing requires a variable
voltage source capable of a range of voltages going rather higher than the usual
electroplating power supplies. Often one uses voltages going up as high as a
hundred volts or more, for a full range of colors, though you can get by with half
of that. The power supply is best when well filtered for DC ripple, but does not
actually need