WmHorus Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 As some folks here know I only really work in Cable to make cable damascus, but I had an odd thing happen just now. Normall if I dont get all the grease out of the cable before I start heating it up to twist it it will smoke a little. Well it was doing this as normal and I thought nothing of it when I pulled it out to borax. Well it went back in the fire and a few minutes later I started noticing a yellowish tinge to the smoke coming from the cable, and I pulled it out and there was also a yellowish tinge to the borax. I stopped immediately and pulled everything out and turned off the forge and put the cable outside of the carport. I worry that the yellowish color might be Zinc Fumes, and I need someone with more experience to confirm or deny this. I am always very careful when I buy cable and I buy it from the same place and tell them it cannot be Galvanized cable that I am getting. Suggestions Guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Yup, sounds like it was galvanized cable to me, when you heat galvanized steel the zinc burns away, giving off yellow fumes which are really bad should you breath them in. Better put that bit of cable to one side and try again with a fresh, un-galvanized bit of cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 See I buy it from the same company every time and they know not to give me galvanized...grrrrrrrr yea i was just playing with it again to see if I got the same results and what I got was white smoke with green blue flames......Also made my eyes burn like crazy....Also the front of my forge now has a white color all over it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 White smoke, green/blue flames, burning eyes!!!.....chuck it immediately!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Galvanized, galvanized, galvanized. Most thingsstock I'd say soak, or burn off at a safe distance, but on cable, probably wouldn't even try. You may have already burned it off, but better safe than getting sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Yea I wasnt expecting it is all, the place i get from is usually so careful, and I did soak it in degreaser. so i dont know what happened. I havent run across this in quite some time why I usually dont worry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 If "degreaser" was going to remove Galvanizing, ... there wouldn't be much point in Galvanizing the steel to begin with. Most of the steel cable that's used to support overhead electric wire, ... or that's used used in other "static load" applications, will likely be Galvanized. I suspect that you're confusing "Cable", ... with "Wire Rope", ... which is less likely to be Galvanized. Generally speaking, ... a "cable" is made from TWISTED ( "cabled" ) strands of wire, ... while a "wire rope" is made by BRAIDING the wire strands. This is NOT a "universal truth", ... particularly with larger diameter wire rope, ... but it's a place to start. In this case, ... Rust is a "Good Thing", ... in that it indicates a product that's NOT been Galvanized.. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Well yes Cable to me is Wire rope since I use sizes from 1.5" to 2.5 inches and I have 2 chunks of 3" rope laying around as well. The palce I buy from specializes in wire rope rigging and twists all the rope in house. I am begining to suspect it was not galvanized because of the level of exposure yesterday I should have been sick as a dog lastnight and today and I feel fine. I do wonder if the degreaser is the reason for the white smoke and the odd colored flames at this point even though they have been laying in the shop for a couple months and are dry doesnt mean the chemical is off them. So I might just try again today and see if it all burned off since I was working at high temps..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefflus Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Do you have a uncharred sample to show us? Have you had a look and smell inside a degreased sample? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 I would have to reheat and untwist part of it to take a look at this point, and it is a 2 foot chunk of 2 inch rope....the degreaser was at the local auto repair shop and I didnt think about what else might actually be in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Yellow smoke is NOT galvy. More likely it's a different kind of lube or perhaps a stress strand burning out. Truth is grease or plastic stress strand smoke is FAR more dangerous to your health than zic oxide smoke. Unless you are sensitive to zinc smoke you have to seriously over dose on it to be in danger. Just avoid the galvy smoke but don't panic, it is NOT cause for a blind linear panic. Guys, yelling GALVY FUMES RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY! is counter productive, read "Chicken Little". You'll do yourself and others better service to hold your opinions till you actually know what you're talking about. What I don't see you preaching caution about is the danger of the other stuff found in cable and wire ropes. There must be a hundred different cable lubes, all of which yield dangerous fumes and smoke if burned. Then there are all the stress strips: various plastics, hemp, jute and some metal strips. These are in the cable to break and give warning before the cable itself reaches it's yield point. Of all the stuff you'll find in cables and wire ropes galvy is probably the least dangerous. The best rule of thumb to follow when you see smoke from your forge is follow President Clinton's example. "Don't inhale!" Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 LOL I didnt inhale I was holding my breath while I took it out and twisted it up, I went back to it today and there was a little smoke from it but not much as I started forgewelding it together.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I've seen galvanized fume go yellow from other stuff on the piece too---some of the old paints and both zinc and old paint are not your friend even more so when they team up! (and yes the piece definitely was originally galvanized before being painted) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I agree that in general plated metals are bad things to get hot but what to y'all do to remove plating other than burning it off. It's tough to find unplated bolts, etc. these days and plated ones often don't look good on a piece. You can remove it on a wire wheel but I'm not sure if that isn't just as bad, or maybe worse, than burning it off in the forge. At least in the forge most of the fumes should go up the chimney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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