ROGER4314
Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
THE $10,000 BELT BUCKLES!
I worked at the aircraft plant in Tulsa from 1978 to 1983 in Maintenance as a High Pressure Test Technician. I went all over the mile long plant and outlying areas to maintain and certify high pressure production and test equipment. Because my job gave me plenty of mobility and I had an issued bicycle, I became a courier for the thriving Titanium Belt Buckle manufacturing industry within the plant.
The three buckles that say “Roger” are made of solid Titanium. The third is made of hand formed stainless steel.
The buckles began as sheets of solid titanium. The sheets were longer than plywood sheets, (some as long as 20 feet) pulled from stock racks by the stock handlers and sheared into strips. Titanium has grain just like wood so the materials guys had to shear it in the right direction so it would form correctly.
The strips were taken to the saws by material handlers on tugs, which were motorized vehicles that looked like bumper cars in an amusement park. At the saw department, strips were cut into rectangles, which eventually formed the buckle. Free hand band saws made the initial shapes and a lot of artistry was employed. Titanium throws off brilliant white showers of sparks when it was sawed or ground so it was a sight to see.
Buckles went then to the Murdock press for forming. The Murdock was a huge hydraulic forming press that was heated to 1300 degrees. There, buckle tooling formed the curve of the buckle, and held it at 1300 degrees until the buckle took a “set”. Titanium is like a spring and the only way to bend it and make it “stay” was to heat it.
Buckle blanks went to the masking area where layers of green masking vinyl were sprayed on them. After each coat, buckles were hung in a drying oven to set the vinyl. How thick the vinyl was applied depended upon how much chemical milling was needed to make the buckle.
Another part of the vinyl-masking department cut out the design and a lot of artistry was needed. They used “Exacto” knives to cut out areas of the design and pull off strips and pieces that were cut out.
The masking process was used to thin areas of each F-15 and F-18 fuselage panels. Titanium is very hard to machine so it is chemically milled and thinned in many places to reduce weight. Areas that are NOT to be milled are masked in green vinyl.
Masked buckles were sent to the Chemical Mill next. Chemical Milling was done in 20-foot long tanks that were 5 feet wide and about 6 feet deep. A mixture of Hydrofluoric and Nitric acids was used and bags of Cyanide were added to make the acid cut faster. When Titanium was placed in the tank, a green smoke was given off and the etch rate (how fast it cut) was .004” to .006” per minute. How long the titanium stayed in the tank depended on the current etch rate. Kept in the acid too long, acid would begin to eat titanium from under the masking.
That fluid was the nastiest chemical I have ever been around and it was said that if a person fell into the tank, he would go down to the bottom, float to the top and be gone….just that fast! The only thing remaining would be his hair.
I used to measure temperature of the acid with a glass certified thermometers to check the instrumentation devices. I had to remove the thermometer quickly as the acid would remove the etched numerals from the glass!
Buckles were rinsed immediately and all green masking was removed then the surfaces were polished and buffed and sent back to masking again. This time a rubber like tape covered all flat surfaces and any etched design was hand cut and exposed with Exacto knives.
After a second masking, buckles were sand blasted so any design would have more contrast. Masking was removed, then.
The horse head buckle is different. That was made from a thick piece of titanium and the horse head was the only thing masked. That left the horse head in relief on the surface when the surrounding area was chem milled away. After Chemical Milling, that buckle returned for the standard design creation.
There is a bracket on the buckle back that is also made of Titanium. Those were stamped from thin sheets and formed with a channel to allow the belt loop to swivel. I was never involved in that part of the process except for transporting them.
Finished buckle pieces went to the weld shop were those brackets were welded on and a hook fabricated to engage the belt holes. Titanium must be welded in an oxygen free environment so all welding was done in an enclosed cabinet with long, sealed gloves the operator wore.
The simple stainless buckle was probably the most time consuming buckle of them all. That was made from a piece of stainless, hand formed and blended with buffing and polishing to make the curved surface. After forming, a clasp and hook were welded on the back. That buckle took several weeks to make and it was all hand done.
My role in this was as a courier and I shuttled buckle pieces from department to department. Every so often, I would say, “You know, it may be time for Flash to have another buckle” and that’s how I got mine.
Was this off the books and unauthorized? Of course and it was our tax money that paid for them! How did it continue? We got regular orders from the big bosses in “Mahogany Row” for buckles. In a huge defense contractor business, favors are just like money!
Years ago, I added up all the man-hours that were applied to making a belt buckle. It was thousands of Dollars in 1980 money. Each buckle is easily $10, 000 in 2012 Dollars!
These buckles are scratched up now but they were in use for 30 years and came by that honestly.
I decided to make some solid Titanium knives and chem. milled what resembled hollow grinding on the blade. I had mixed success and have not finished them in thirty years. Perhaps now that I’m retired, it’s time to complete them.
I worked at the aircraft plant in Tulsa from 1978 to 1983 in Maintenance as a High Pressure Test Technician. I went all over the mile long plant and outlying areas to maintain and certify high pressure production and test equipment. Because my job gave me plenty of mobility and I had an issued bicycle, I became a courier for the thriving Titanium Belt Buckle manufacturing industry within the plant.
The three buckles that say “Roger” are made of solid Titanium. The third is made of hand formed stainless steel.
The buckles began as sheets of solid titanium. The sheets were longer than plywood sheets, (some as long as 20 feet) pulled from stock racks by the stock handlers and sheared into strips. Titanium has grain just like wood so the materials guys had to shear it in the right direction so it would form correctly.
The strips were taken to the saws by material handlers on tugs, which were motorized vehicles that looked like bumper cars in an amusement park. At the saw department, strips were cut into rectangles, which eventually formed the buckle. Free hand band saws made the initial shapes and a lot of artistry was employed. Titanium throws off brilliant white showers of sparks when it was sawed or ground so it was a sight to see.
Buckles went then to the Murdock press for forming. The Murdock was a huge hydraulic forming press that was heated to 1300 degrees. There, buckle tooling formed the curve of the buckle, and held it at 1300 degrees until the buckle took a “set”. Titanium is like a spring and the only way to bend it and make it “stay” was to heat it.
Buckle blanks went to the masking area where layers of green masking vinyl were sprayed on them. After each coat, buckles were hung in a drying oven to set the vinyl. How thick the vinyl was applied depended upon how much chemical milling was needed to make the buckle.
Another part of the vinyl-masking department cut out the design and a lot of artistry was needed. They used “Exacto” knives to cut out areas of the design and pull off strips and pieces that were cut out.
The masking process was used to thin areas of each F-15 and F-18 fuselage panels. Titanium is very hard to machine so it is chemically milled and thinned in many places to reduce weight. Areas that are NOT to be milled are masked in green vinyl.
Masked buckles were sent to the Chemical Mill next. Chemical Milling was done in 20-foot long tanks that were 5 feet wide and about 6 feet deep. A mixture of Hydrofluoric and Nitric acids was used and bags of Cyanide were added to make the acid cut faster. When Titanium was placed in the tank, a green smoke was given off and the etch rate (how fast it cut) was .004” to .006” per minute. How long the titanium stayed in the tank depended on the current etch rate. Kept in the acid too long, acid would begin to eat titanium from under the masking.
That fluid was the nastiest chemical I have ever been around and it was said that if a person fell into the tank, he would go down to the bottom, float to the top and be gone….just that fast! The only thing remaining would be his hair.
I used to measure temperature of the acid with a glass certified thermometers to check the instrumentation devices. I had to remove the thermometer quickly as the acid would remove the etched numerals from the glass!
Buckles were rinsed immediately and all green masking was removed then the surfaces were polished and buffed and sent back to masking again. This time a rubber like tape covered all flat surfaces and any etched design was hand cut and exposed with Exacto knives.
After a second masking, buckles were sand blasted so any design would have more contrast. Masking was removed, then.
The horse head buckle is different. That was made from a thick piece of titanium and the horse head was the only thing masked. That left the horse head in relief on the surface when the surrounding area was chem milled away. After Chemical Milling, that buckle returned for the standard design creation.
There is a bracket on the buckle back that is also made of Titanium. Those were stamped from thin sheets and formed with a channel to allow the belt loop to swivel. I was never involved in that part of the process except for transporting them.
Finished buckle pieces went to the weld shop were those brackets were welded on and a hook fabricated to engage the belt holes. Titanium must be welded in an oxygen free environment so all welding was done in an enclosed cabinet with long, sealed gloves the operator wore.
The simple stainless buckle was probably the most time consuming buckle of them all. That was made from a piece of stainless, hand formed and blended with buffing and polishing to make the curved surface. After forming, a clasp and hook were welded on the back. That buckle took several weeks to make and it was all hand done.
My role in this was as a courier and I shuttled buckle pieces from department to department. Every so often, I would say, “You know, it may be time for Flash to have another buckle” and that’s how I got mine.
Was this off the books and unauthorized? Of course and it was our tax money that paid for them! How did it continue? We got regular orders from the big bosses in “Mahogany Row” for buckles. In a huge defense contractor business, favors are just like money!
Years ago, I added up all the man-hours that were applied to making a belt buckle. It was thousands of Dollars in 1980 money. Each buckle is easily $10, 000 in 2012 Dollars!
These buckles are scratched up now but they were in use for 30 years and came by that honestly.
I decided to make some solid Titanium knives and chem. milled what resembled hollow grinding on the blade. I had mixed success and have not finished them in thirty years. Perhaps now that I’m retired, it’s time to complete them.
