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good bye old friend


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15 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Avoid Be/Cu alloys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes; there are ways of working them safely; but unless necessary why deal with them?)

99% of the work I do is bronze casting and forging copper, I cast all my copper off it scraps into ingots and pull them out under the hammer

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Did your health problems start after the mercury incident?  Heavy metal poisoning can linger for many years if not forever.

If that is the case, if you were in the US you could be very well eligible for some sort of Workmen's Compensation disability pension.  I am sure that NZ has a similar benefit.  If you can link your health problems to a work related exposure don't be shy about applying.  It is a kind of insurance plan that you have paid the premiums on either through pay roll deductions or taxes.

Good luck and keep us informed on how things are going.  You're part of the family now.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

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Just in case some don't know what Be/Cu  is, It's  Beryllium copper, a ductile, weldable, and machinable alloy. In tools it mostly used for it's non-sparking qualities in hazardous (explosive/flammable) atmospheres. I have several hammers and end wrenches made from it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium_copper

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I just bought an AMPCO ball peen.

We made a lot of electrical connectors out of BeCu alloys at the last shop I was at. I did the heat treating of those items to harden them. I have quite a bit of it here in the form of scrap bar ends from the screw machines we ran.  It doesn't forge hot, it just crumbles. Annealed it works cold.  Polished it looks just like gold, and the color makes it easy to tell the difference from brass alloys.

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I had an engine drink a lot of Mercury out of a vacuum gauge and spray it out the exhaust when I was 19, I am 37 now,  apparently I have a learning disability since school, I cannot hold down a job but I have been smithing since I was 14 making all sorts of things but mostly sculpture witch has taken me as far as Korea and Japan, it was all done in that small shop in the photo.  I think in the last 15 years my health has gone down hill but it has been really bad since I was 10,

 

anyway we got some digging done with my friends digger 

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When I was in the USCG '64-'70 and stationed on light house's,one of my duties was to change the main light bearing material which was mercury. The first time I changed it the CO gave me a bucket and some cheese cloth to strain out the impurities. Not having any dealings with mercury, I held the bucket in one hand, while I took out the drain plug.

No one told me how heavy mercury is, so as soon as it hit the bucket it went flying out of my hand and all 50 pounds of mercury went down the stairs, all 133 of them. A couple of hours later, with a dust pan and fox tail brush, I finally had it all swept up and strained and back in the main light just in time to light it. As far as I know I have never had any health problems from that escapade.

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3 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

When I was in the USCG '64-'70 and stationed on light house's,one of my duties was to change the main light bearing material which was mercury.

Liquid Mercury is quite safe, you could  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.  

Someone I know xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

mercury vapour is the bad one

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From the MSDA sheet for Mercury:

Potential Health Effects
Eye: Exposure to mercury or mercury compounds can cause discoloration on the front surface of the lens, which does not interfere with vision. Causes eye irritation and possible burns. Contact with mercury or mercury compounds can cause ulceration of the conjunctiva and cornea.
 

Skin: May be absorbed through the skin in harmful amounts. May cause skin sensitization, an allergic reaction, which becomes evident upon re-exposure to this material. Causes skin irritation and possible burns. May cause skin rash (in milder cases), and cold and clammy skin with cyanosis or pale color.
 

Ingestion: May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive tract. May cause perforation of the digestive tract. May cause effects similar to those for inhalation exposure. May cause systemic effects.
 

Inhalation: Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract. Inhalation of fumes may cause metal fume fever, which is characterized by flu-like symptoms with metallic taste, fever, chills, cough, weakness, chest pain, muscle pain and increased white blood cell count. May cause central nervous system effects including vertigo, anxiety, depression, muscle incoordination, and emotional instability. Aspiration may lead to pulmonary edema. May cause systemic effects. May cause respiratory sensitization.
 

Chronic: May cause liver and kidney damage. May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Effects may be delayed. Chronic exposure to mercury may cause permanent central nervous system damage, fatigue, weight loss, tremors, personality changes. Chronic ingestion may cause accumulation of mercury in body tissues. Prolonged or repeated exposure may cause inflammation of the mouth and gums, excessive salivation, and loosening of the teeth.

From the MSDA sheet for Mercury:

Potential Health Effects
Eye: Exposure to mercury or mercury compounds can cause discoloration on the front surface of the lens, which does not interfere with vision. Causes eye irritation and possible burns. Contact with mercury or mercury compounds can cause ulceration of the conjunctiva and cornea.
 

Skin: May be absorbed through the skin in harmful amounts. May cause skin sensitization, an allergic reaction, which becomes evident upon re-exposure to this material. Causes skin irritation and possible burns. May cause skin rash (in milder cases), and cold and clammy skin with cyanosis or pale color.
 

Ingestion: May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive tract. May cause perforation of the digestive tract. May cause effects similar to those for inhalation exposure. May cause systemic effects.
 

Inhalation: Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract. Inhalation of fumes may cause metal fume fever, which is characterized by flu-like symptoms with metallic taste, fever, chills, cough, weakness, chest pain, muscle pain and increased white blood cell count. May cause central nervous system effects including vertigo, anxiety, depression, muscle incoordination, and emotional instability. Aspiration may lead to pulmonary edema. May cause systemic effects. May cause respiratory sensitization.
 

Chronic: May cause liver and kidney damage. May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Effects may be delayed. Chronic exposure to mercury may cause permanent central nervous system damage, fatigue, weight loss, tremors, personality changes. Chronic ingestion may cause accumulation of mercury in body tissues. Prolonged or repeated exposure may cause inflammation of the mouth and gums, excessive salivation, and loosening of the teeth.

Personal Protective Equipment
Eyes: Wear appropriate protective eyeglasses or chemical safety goggles as described by OSHA's eye and face protection regulations in 29 CFR 1910.133 or European Standard EN166.
 

Skin: Wear appropriate protective gloves to prevent skin exposure.
 

Clothing: Wear appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin exposure.
 

Respirators: A respiratory protection program that meets OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.134 and ANSI Z88.2 requirements or European Standard EN 149 must be followed whenever workplace conditions warrant respirator use.

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It's still used occasionally in the US, but most patients choose composite or porcelain fillings, both because they want to avoid contact with mercury and because they prefer a material that looks more like the parent tooth.

The FDA ruled a dozen years ago that the amount of mercury in amalgam fillings doesn't pose a significant health risk, especially since dentists no longer mix it up from liquid mercury and metal powder (usually silver with some copper, tin, zinc, etc). Those dentists who do still use amalgam fillings get the material premixed in single-use capsules.

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Earthworks are finished, that spot is a lot  bigger than it looks in real life, I got them done for free for repairing the digger trailer for the guy, I need to get the hammer and it’s anvil moved into the spot, and I am doing a deal on repairing a compactor for another guy who has a mechine to move it.

 

someone drew me this plan for a way to hold the hammer to its foundation with bolts rather than have to lift it over studs. Getting power to the shop is going to be a pain, I wired up the old shop and ran 16mm2 cables underground from the house but this is too far from the house to do it, I will probably run an over head line to the power. We don’t have 110 volts, everything is 240v witch is nice.

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You can buy cast in place female anchors and not have to invent your own. That particular plan has a couple flaws. #1 is the pipe is way too long, it'll flex when you tighten the bolts and break the bond with the concrete, not to mention vibrations in use. #2, It's just a nut, there isn't much depth of threads so when vibration loosens the anchor bolts it might strip the threads. #3 Being welded to the bottom of the pipe means concrete is going to foul the threads and you won't be able to run the screw through.

If you must make your own I highly recommend you use rod couplers rather than bolts, they're much longer and less likely to strip. No need to make the pipe socket so deep, 4-5" should be plenty and you can weld a bushing in the pipe on either side of the rod connector to keep it in place. That prevents heat from welding directly to the connector from damaging it's heat treat. 

Make sure you have room on the underside of the connector for the bolt to pass through and get silly with grease. Keeping concrete from fouling the threads is as easy as welding a cap on the bottom of the pipe.

When you run the rebar don't make a simple box as drawn, run it across, corner to corner in addition to one course boxing the anchor pockets. The diagonals will work well in they slope some going across.

Frosty The Lucky.

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6 hours ago, Frosty said:

That particular plan has a couple flaws. #1 is the pipe is way too long, it'll flex when you tighten the bolts and break the bond with the concrete, not to mention vibrations in use. #2, It's just a nut, there isn't much depth of threads so when vibration loosens the anchor bolts it might strip the threads.

They are about 35mm bolts or threaded rod they won’t be snapping in a hurry, I could use socket nuts for extra thread engagement, In would weld on a lot more steel to the frame, I can’t find anything suitable locally for concrete anchors   

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The LED vs. Fluorescent discussion reminds me of some hard lessons I've learned as an electrical contractor.

First off, the technologies are often discussed as though all the products on the market are consistent.  They aren't. It's critical to understand that there will always be an intersection point between acceptable performance minimums, and maximum marketability.

With some exceptions, fixtures marketed for "back of house" purposes like residential garages/shops will be "value engineered" to meet the needs of that budget-conscious market.  

By now, most people know how fluorescents can misbehave.  However, it's been my experience that the same is not true for LED fixtures.

One of the sneakier problems LED fixtures can have pertains to inrush current.  Lots of people are familiar with how some electrical devices like AC motors can draw up to 125% of their running current while starting.  An array of poorly-engineered LED fixtures can draw 600% of their running current while starting.  All of this happens in the span of a few milliseconds, which is plenty of time to trip a circuit breaker.

My company installed LED lights in an indoor  riding arena at a residential address.  The calculated load of thirty odd LED fixtures was roughly 8 amps.  HOWEVER, the combined inrush current on these fixtures was over 50 amps!  This meant that we have to run a 60A circuit to a fuse block, equipped with 15A fuses, which tied to the installed lighting circuits.  This is because fuses take longer to blow than the inrush current lasts.  While this solution worked for the riding arena, it could have resulted in an unworkable situation for a shop where equipment is running when the lights get switched on.  Moreover, most electricians don't have test equipment capable of taking accurate readings on a millisecond basis.  The manufacturers don't reliably present this information either, so an electrician will get blamed for screwing something up.

Another misconception about LED fixtures is that they last a long time.  It's been my experience that LED fixtures suffer a higher infant mortality rate than other lamp types, regardless of price point.  Failures seem to be evenly split between drivers and lamp arrays.  On larger jobs, roughly 2% of my fixture package will need replacement before everything works properly.  Warranty replacements within one year will average another 1% or so.

Back when fluorescent was the dominant light type, infant mortality was exceedingly rare.  Warranty replacements were about the same at 1% or so.

That being said, I doubt the root cause of this is all due to the technology.  "Just in time" shipping has become the logistics standard for virtually all light manufacturers.  At first, this meant a shift away from large warehouses full of finished lights.  Now, this often means even the largest manufacturers won't even buy parts to build the lights until they're actually ready to make the customer's order.    The overseas makers of the parts, do the same thing.  The end result, is that everything is always late, so time-consuming Quality Control stuff like "burn in" get's skipped.  

"Burn in" is just a test running the device (or a sample of devices) for a period of time sufficient to reveal obvious failures.  

In today's market, I suspect that fluorescent fixtures would have a slightly better infant mortality rate than LED, because unbroken new tubes tend to work perfectly out of the box.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Everything has come to a standstill, the country has been covid free for a year but we are having an out brake and it a lock down time, i don't know for how long, i had a truck load of gravel and new springs for my power hammer which were coming but i don't know when i will see them, everything's shut for a week which could turn into 6 weeks 

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I wish I could trade you circumstances!  We were transitioning to regular classes for vaccinated individuals at our University and now we are back to mandated masks, social distancing and classes being held out on the quad where possible.  The next state over they are looking into getting refrigerated semi trucks for overflow morgue facilities...

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