dickb Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I have seen a few videos showing a blacksmith making bottle openers from open end wrenches so I bought a handful at a garage sale. Some are chrome or nickel plated and some are not plated. How safe (unsafe ?) is it to burn the plating off. Is there a safe way to dissolve it off. I don't want to mess around with muriatic, sulfuric, nitric, etc, etc Or should I just use the plated ones to add ballast to my toolbox ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Toolbox; I only buy unplated rusty wrenches to forge. If there is a chrome plater nearby you can ask about having them strip the chrome off them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 If you're forging outside point a shop fan at your forge and stay upwind, the chrome will burn off of a wrench in a few seconds. My smithy has always been open air, a 20' lean-to on the side of my woodworking shop. I have a big fan hanging up that blows over the forge in the summer. An indoor forge or gas forge may not be a good idea but I've forged lots of wrenches into do-dads with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 14 hours ago, TwistedCustoms said: If you're forging outside point a shop fan at your forge and stay upwind, the chrome will burn off of a wrench in a few seconds. My smithy has always been open air, a 20' lean-to on the side of my woodworking shop. I have a big fan hanging up that blows over the forge in the summer. An indoor forge or gas forge may not be a good idea but I've forged lots of wrenches into do-dads with no problems. This sounds like you are saying ok to poison your neighbors by putting that poison in the air, as long as you can avoid poisoning yourself ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 1 hour ago, Steve Sells said: This sounds like you are saying ok to poison your neighbors by putting that poison in the air, as long as you can avoid poisoning yourself ? Steve the amount of "poison" released into the air from burning the chrome off a hand full of wrenches is miniscule compared to the poison produced by operating a lawn mower for half an hour. If you spent as much time at the forge as you spend being critical of others just imagine what you could accomplish! I know you posses some knowledge that others can benefit from but taking a simple issue and expanding it beyond the realm of reason does no one any good. If we didn't want to poison our neighbors in any measurable way we would't be burning any fossil fuel, including coal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 TC, I know the EPA would disagree, to the tune of $20,000, how about your states EQA? Or the person who takes your advice and poisons themselves or some one else? Chromium compounds are nasty and insidious, let's revisit this a couple of decades from now and see how your luck holds up. We all have welded and forged galvi, Papa Wilson had to, caught up with him. Cromium compounds are worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 TwistedCustoms, you have no idea what I do in the forge, but you are advocating some illegal Hazmat issues. Maybe me giving a mild hint isnt enough so I will be clear. It is not responsible and not helping anyone by telling them to ignore Hazmat. If you wanted to help you would tell them how to safely remove the plating, or not to be so cheap and get proper material in the first place, rather than complain at me for doing my job. Now you need to learn something about posting manners as well as hazmat material disposal, I aint playing today, and I am tried of people like you playing at making my life harder. fyi SO2 and CO2 are natural emissions, while Chrome and Nickel are not. but the point is, it does not matter if we think its no big deal, we have proof it is not safe, it has been covered in this section of the forum before, you not agreeing does not matter to anyone. This is not a private message its a public and often referenced forum that others try to learn from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 There are many things that people may choose to do in their shops that they will not advocate publicly for safety, liability, ethical, etc reasons. In many cases experienced people know the dangers and know the methods to mitigate them or are willing to assume them for themselves; but new people may not be aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: There are many things that people may choose to do in their shops that they will not advocate publicly for safety, liability, ethical, etc reasons. In many cases experienced people know the dangers and know the methods to mitigate them or are willing to assume them for themselves; but new people may not be aware. Well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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