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I Forge Iron

Safety question


VandalEvil

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Good morning guys.

I picked up a coil spring from a junkyard from some random car. I'm still pretty new, so I can't tell if it's "a good one" or not, but I'd like to make a couple punches from it. I should have maybe looked more closely, but it has some kind of either paint or enamel coating, and I thought before I stick it in fire I'd reach out and see if anyone has any thoughts. I figure it will just burn off and everything will be cool, but I'don't rather not die from fumes of some burning enamel coating just because I didn't ask. I'm including a pic.1479561586787-947388307.jpg

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 My mechanic recently gave me two big cool springs with a practically identical finish to yours. Turned out to be a pretty thick layer of powder coating. 

 Burning that off would have put a whole lot of nasty into the air that I did NOT want to be breathing,  so I decided to strip it off chemically. Methylene chloride (Zip-Strip and the like) isn't the nicest stuff in the world, but with gloves and a good VOC respirator and working outside on a breezy day everything worked out fine.  (I did a lot of this kind of stripping when I worked in the art restoration studio, and no, I was not working my way through college.)  Thick layers of powder coat may require multiple applications of stripper. 

One quick tip: if you're making punches and the like, just cut off the length you need rather than trying to straighten the entire spring. Shorter pieces fit in the stripper tray better, anyway.

Safety note: do NOT skimp on your mask and gloves when working with these chemicals. A dust mask and surgical gloves will not cut it.  If you're not willing to buy the right gear, consider finding someone to sandblast the springs for you.

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Let us know when you get your first $100000 medical bill and how that affects your life.   Having bought my first house from a widow with two young children whose husband had electrocuted himself accidentally. I will weigh in on the safety side.  BTAIM I would use the "bonfire in the back 40" method of paint striping for modern paints on metal.  Old paints may often be lead based and keeping lead out of the environment is a *GOOD* thing.

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Erring on the side of safety, I cut off a very small piece and burned it from a distance outside in the breeze. The coating bubbles and boils out before burning off, which leads me to believe it isn't paint. Not wanting to try burning it any further, I used a wire brush attachment? (not sure what that's actually called) for my angle grinder and it stripped right away. I'll pay more attention next time I pick some up and not grab the coated ones...

 

It does seem like all of them would have some kind of anti-rust treatment though, right? Anyone familiar with car coil springs that knows of anything specific to avoid? As I mentioned earlier, I'm pretty new, and absolutely not at all a mechanic. I have a junkyard pulling some leaf springs for me this week, but they have a kajillion coil springs that cost basically nothing, a good source of metal if they work out.

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Myself I'd go with a stripper rather than sanding or wire brushing the mystery coating off. With a stripper you KNOW you have a haz mat and have directions on how to handle and dispose of it where brushing or sanding you are grinding the mystery stuff into fine dust and it WILL spread out. Do you want mystery dust in every nook and cranny in your shop, want to wear a dust mask every time you work in your shop?

Just my 2 cents, I'm a safety first guy. If there's anything worth overdoing in your shop it's safety. There ARE reasonable limits where safety gear actually becomes a hazard so keep alert and keep your thinking cap firmly on your head.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Safety sure. Spring coils are painted with ordinary black paint.

Some fancy 4wd springs may be powdercoated. Easiest way to know is hitting it with a hammer. Powder coat will crack and peel off. If you only need a short piece to make a punch, cut off the desired length and work it cold with the hammer all around. No need to swing your arm above your head with a 2 kilo hammer, just tap tap all around. 

Powder coat will come off, paint will not come off that well. If you don't want to burn it off in the forge, make a fire outside and burn a few at the time. Paint bubbles before it burns, so no surprises there. If you have a weed torch you can hit it with that, or if you really want to be free of hazards, sand blast it clean with a pressure washer and a sanding attachment. Works a treat and no dust. 

 

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Lets see coil springs from cars:  I've run into a number of different coatings: nothing, rust, tar, paint, powder coating and plastic.  I try to source the nothing or rust ones but sometimes a coated one will be just the right size/price.  For starting bladesmithing I suggest getting a low miles/unused one and slitting it up two opposing sides to give you a dozen or s ")" pieces that you can forge a bunch of knives from learning the working properties and heat treating properties of that *1* steel.  Far faster than jumping around from steel to steel and never being able to figure out what works and what doesn't for that steel.

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I've never run across a powder coated spring myself and didn't powder coating would take the flexing but there's a lot I don't know. I'm a build a fire in the back yard guy but I live a few hundred feet uphill from the nearest neighbor and there's always a breeze blowing here. If I ever pick up a piece that's powder coated I'll try the hammer trick.

My comment only regarded sanding, grinding or brushing coatings off, it came up so I replied. However I suppose sand blasting is even worse unless it's done in a cabinet and there's still the dusty sand in the cabinet to contend with.

Frosty The Lucky.

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23 hours ago, Frosty said:

Myself I'd go with a stripper rather than sanding or wire brushing the mystery coating off. With a stripper you KNOW you have a haz mat and have directions on how to handle and dispose of it where brushing or sanding you are grinding the mystery stuff into fine dust and it WILL spread out. Do you want mystery dust in every nook and cranny in your shop, want to wear a dust mask every time you work in your shop?

Just my 2 cents, I'm a safety first guy. If there's anything worth overdoing in your shop it's safety. There ARE reasonable limits where safety gear actually becomes a hazard so keep alert and keep your thinking cap firmly on your head.

Frosty The Lucky.

I'd be sanding it wet Frosty.

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Sand blasting with a pressure washer is the safest method you can use in your backyard.  Not super fast but nothing becomes airborne due to the water in the sand. I would stick it in the slow combustion wood heater in winter or lite an open fire ...  we are not talking radioactive material here :)

 

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after sand blasting with a pressure washer a lot of the dust will be there in your yard when it dries out, yes some springs are powder coated ( I know someone from a major spring making company here )somewhere that does sand blasting ( should be shot blasting due to silicosis )should have ways to deal with the dust rather than you washing it down the drain or leaving it in your yard

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Sure can get carried away can't we? Using a pressure washer sand blaster would limit dust and it wouldn't be hard to trap the spray say blast on a straw bed or do it on a rainy day.

How about wet tumbling? A little water soluble oil and a tumbler, no dust at all and you can get food grade water soluble oils.

I think before I went to this much work I'd just buy new.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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Now after all this work of building fires and burning stuff off, hammer the daylights out of it, grinding on it then straightening it just to make a punch how about buying a new piece of steel you know what it is and save your time, lungs, eyes etc. and maybe be able to see your kids grow into middle school at least.  Sometimes Free is very expensive.  Just my  2 cents worth. 

I was in auto parts the last 13 yrs of working covering most brands and I don't remember powder coated coil springs and as  someone said I doubt that the coating  would take the flex a coil spring gets everyday.

 

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