Gui.A.Barcelos Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I'm starting with blacksmithing , so i went to a junk yard and i bought a giant screw, so i was trying to do something, but when i put it on fire, it became somewhat green and it's fire was green. There is a chance that it has zinc, or something like that? And it's dangerous?Sorry about my english, i'm brazilian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) Dont wory about your English, the Englishmen think we Americans have done terable things with their language. Add to that my terrable spelling and typing I bet falks will understand you much better than me ;-)most bolts have coating for the ones with a golden color most folks dont worry much in a well ventilated shop, when in doubt dump it in a bottle of vinigar for a week (makes a nice black woodstain too). Dont quot me on this but last time I put copper in the forge I got Grean flames... Edited July 28, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Welcome aboard Gui, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.Your English is fine, better than a lot of the guys with it as a first language. We're blacksmiths not English teachers. Well, I'm sure there are a couple English teachers out there but nobody is checking our posts for spelling and grammar.Green could certainly be zinc, copper alloys tend to make blue flames. Was there any white lacy smoke? How did you feel later that day? While it's not so toxic you have to run away it's sure not something to breath much of. Zinc is also not a heavy metal and will be metabolized and flush from your system as long as it isn't a large dose. Just stay out of the smoke and avoid heating it.What color was the screw when you put it in the fire? If it was sort of ash gray or shiny silver with a pattern to it like a pail it was almost certainly galvanized and not something to put in a fire. Chrome plating can be very toxic hexavalent chrome is a strong carcinogen and cadmium plated, (gold like jewelry) is VERY toxic. Until you know your scrap better, rusty is much safer than shiny.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gui.A.Barcelos Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 The screw was full of rust, black rust, and after 5 minutes that i removed it from the fire, it became white and green, it was a oxide or a salt. It was today, about 2 hours ago, and i'm fine, without health problems. The charcoal was somewhat green too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Looks like a hardware bolt from a power pole. Most deffinantly Zink plated (hot diped galvinised. The wite stuff is probbably zinkoxid. Need to give it a long soke in vinigar or use it as a bolt or stake. I have a bunch of them from the last icestorm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Green generally is copper in a flame. Copper salts don't play well in black smith forges. Looks like a hardware bolt from a power pole. Most deffinantly Zink plated (hot diped galvinised. The wite stuff is probbably zinkoxid. Need to give it a long soke in vinigar or use it as a bolt or stake. I have a bunch of them from the last icestorm. I like the idea of using it for a non blacksmithing application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Oh, they work great for blacksmithing aplications like bolting together a laminated stump ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Yeah, the white duff looks like zinc oxide. The black was probably creosote from the power pole, we used to see it on guardrail bolts used on the old creosoted posts. Use it for a bolt and you're golden, forging it is more trouble than it's worth.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gui.A.Barcelos Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks for reading our ramblings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 That's zinc oxide on the bolt for sure. Pretty heavy gal by the look of it too. I'm surprised you haven't at least got the mother of all headaches if you breathed any of that in. No rust, don't trust! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Whenever anyone mentions heating or welding galvanized material, the warnings come from all directions.I would rather see a much more "general" sort of warning, ... about proper ventilation, under ALL circumstances.Just sayin ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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