Thermite

[habu68]

Originally Posted by woodwalker

I followed a few safety procedures when I tried (my leather apron, gloves), and I put the piece in question in the yard.

I might be 18, but I generally think things out (or over think them).

Leather apron, gloves. safety glasses, full hood face mask, welders jacket, steel boot covers will all melt or vaporize with thermite. The only effective protection from thermite is distance. Also remember that once started thermite cannot be put out until the reaction is over.

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." Mark Twain

[evfreek]

Hi woodwalker. You need to find a fellow high school chemistry student who knows how to do a heat of reaction/fusion balance. 1/8 t of each ingredient will not sever a 1/2" thick angle iron. Plus, thermite is better for demolition than cutting. In our high school chemistry class, the instructor set a few teaspoons on fire. It was not enough to melt through lab tweezers, but it did melt the tool into the blob, rendering it useless. Demolition, not cutting.

As for igniting it, you need finer ground mixtures and more of it. Also, if you are in GA, you can probably get ignitacord. This stuff burns HOT! That's because one if the ingredients is thermite. And it lights easily. You can even light it with hammer and anvil.

As for your angle iron and hot cutting it, don't mess with the forge. Ground fire. Search the blacksmithin' forum for the phrase. It will get you out of jams with the big stuff.

[woodwalker]

Originally Posted by evfreek

Hi woodwalker. You need to find a fellow high school chemistry student who knows how to do a heat of reaction/fusion balance. 1/8 t of each ingredient will not sever a 1/2" thick angle iron.

Heh, I guess I should have mentioned that I was doing a small test run, as I hate wasting my time grinding stuff that will not work.

The ground fire idea does sound good, though.

[ThomasPowers]

Woodwalker, it may be fine with the local law; but you may not want to get on the bad side of the ATF and sometimes it can be hard to tell what's OK and what's not. Specially as you are out in public on a forum with it it might be wise to err on the side of being discrete, (Be Discrete was the motto of a bagpiping club I once knew)

I myself *never* do anything I might get in trouble for---had my son in law the LEO fire the black powder cannon last time he visited...or admit to it in public...

Hole in the ground forge and a hot cut will work. I make big hacksaws using a bow saw frame and a metal cutting bandsaw blade cut a tad short for extra tension---cut trolly rail in two with that. I consider it part of my exercise program and ifn you were to see me you'd say I could use a whole lot more exercise!

[matt87]

Don't forget what a self-important backdoor, non-elected, legislating body the ATF can be. Shoelace is a machinegun, donchayaknow...

[J. Bennett]

I wouldn't use t-mite for cutting. They make little "pens" with t-mite. Cool little toy. A good intro to the proper use of t-mite. Jerry

[fat pete]

YouTube - Fun with thermite

[shaun]

thermite is amazing, i saw it eat through 4 inches of plated steel with ease, verry dangerous stuff, but cool.....:P

[Dodge]

Woodwalker,
Have you considered renting a O/A rig, or even a gas powered cut-off saw for an afternoon? Can't imagine it being that expensive, and it would be much more accurate, albeit not as much fun
Just my $0.02

[tetnum]

i have been messing around with thermite seince i was 9 and its a really bad idea in general

but if you must my recipe is
2/3 alum powder (go out and buy a new coffee grinder pack is with alm foil flakes and run it for 30 min DONT USE FOR FOOD EVER AGAIN! bad stuff happens)
1/3 black iron oxide not red (FeO) {scale} [same method for grindeing as before]

be careful