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Ring-A-Day: Titanium 365

After degreasing the titanium sheet, I covered it with clear tape, then laser etched the outline of the numbers. If you look closely at the number 6, you can see an anodized line where the tape was etched away on both sides.

The number 3 is the color you get at 45volts DC. I chained five 9v batteries together by linking their crowns to get the 45v. Brush on little cola as an electrolyte with the anode, and bzzzzz – you get color.

Next, I took off one battery. The number 5 is the color of 36 volts.

The six was last. It’s 27v. Had I realized that I’d get the nice contrasty outline where the laser etched the tape, I would have added another battery or two and put an outline color on all the numbers first.

Higher voltage spots of anodized color cannot be colored by the lower voltages as the oxide layer builds to refract light, so you work from highest voltage to lowest when you’re “painting” titanium with electricity.

This is ring number 365, if you hadn’t guessed already. It’s the end of my Ring-A-Day project, but by no means is it the end of me making rings. This creative exploration has re-energized me and shown me what I’m capable of creating within the limits of a daily deadline. Please bookmark this site and stop back often to see our newest creative projects. Thanks for being a part of this exploration.

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Ring-A-Day: DeadMau5 Titanium Ring

After several failed attempts to build an anodizer, I went low tech and came out a winner. This titanium ring was created with several 9v batteries and Coke. Colas have phosphoric acid in them which is the ideal electrolyte for anodizing. Miracle-Gro also works well. It has Ammonium Phosphate as the primary ingredient.

Check out my blog post in NYC Resistor for more details if you want to try anodizing too.

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Ring-A-Day: First Anodized Titanium Ring

So I get this harebrained idea that I’m going to shock some titanium and get some pretty colors. I searched everywhere for a cleaner called TSP. Turns out that it works great because it kills EVERYTHING, um, including us. Next up, Miracle-Gro. Why Miracle-Gro and/or TSP in the first place? Ammonium phosphate. The titanium needs an electrolyte between it an the cathode that contains phosphates. WAIT! Wikipedia says phosphoric acid is added to soda to give it some zing.

So I rectified a 130v VariAC, cranked it up all the way, dipped my sponge in some Coke, clipped it into the anode, clipped the other end onto the titanium and happily brushed some 130v oxides. Turned it down a touch (approximately 1v) and swabbed again.

On it goes until 126v and BANG! I jump out of my chair. Somehow the dang thing shocks me. I put on rubber gloves and continue making swatches for each volt. At 110v BANG again, but this time I’m not the ground. The lights go out. I reset the breaker, look over the circuitry and find that there’s nothing burnt or shorted, and try to make today’s ring. BANG! Killed the circuit again at 110v.

I’ll continue experimenting, but today’s ring is literally half-baked in Coca Cola.

More to come on this subject.

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