Why did I pursue an alternative to hydrofluoric acid?

In these modern times, dying for your art is just plain stupid. Although in my youth I had my share of unfortunate experience—exploding kick presses, dense orange clouds of acid gas, and even getting shot in a hold-up of my jewelry store—as an artisan-jeweler-metalsmith with close to forty years of experience, my goal is not to die in an industrial accident, but rather, of old age.

Artists courting the muse with hydrofluoric acid need to realize the dire peril involved. Do you really want to find out years from now that your fume hood had back draft, releasing acid fumes into your studio?

I etched titanium for ten years with hydrofluoric acid but I used a full face mask with a separate air supply and a powerful fume hood. Additionally, I took air quality samples with a Draeger tube. These are gas analyzers which read in parts per billion. Yet, even with all these safety precautions, the risk was still too high.  Here is one report on the seriousness of exposure to hydrofluoric acid (PDF).