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- - Soldering safety (http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/off-topic-discussion/205883-soldering-safety.html)

Good grief, I work in the front office of a body shop, so I'm exposed to all sorts of nasty fumes/dust. etc. The guys all say that there's no such thing as an old body man, presumably due to all of that exposure. I walk through and smell all sorts of things, none of which can be healthy.

Anything with lead in it is BAD NEWS, just be extremely careful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgburg (Post 1682699)

When soldering or working with ANY metal, always position yourself UPWIND OF YOUR WORK.

Even heating galvanized metal is just as bad, if not worse than, breathing the fumes from lead-based solders.

Know your work-pieces and connecting compounds and the effects that heating these items, separately or connectively, have on surrounding people, pets and materials.

Also, as an additional safety tip, be sure of the surface(s) around and near the work-area.

A few years back, a neighbor managed to burn down his house using a MAPP Gas torch and solder, working on some piping, when the insulation near the work-area caught fire and immediately "torched" up a race-way from the basement to his attic...house was fully engulfed within 10 minutes and all the Fire Dept. could do was stand there and watch (roof had 5 layers of shingles on it and they started burning like nobody's business...) and keep it from jumping over to our place and the other homes in the neighborhood.

:cool:

What was the insulation? Styrofoam? I thought the cellulose based stuff was treating to be fire retardant.

I've worked on some roofs like that. Good lord, you cut out a skylight and there it is: 4 or 5 layers of petroleum based Roman candle (potentially). Amazing when you think about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012 (Post 1684263)

I don't know the type...while we were standing outside our place and ended up talking with the guy that started his house on fire...all he kept saying was, "The insulation started on fire and it went "WOOSH!" and up the race-way!" He never said what, exactly, he had for insulation.

My guess is that it might have been (obviously) some non-retardant cellulose-based or, judging by the age of the homes in the area, it could have been just plain old newspaper and such...

Regardless, he certainly didn't practice anything close to "proper site preparation" before he started the job...

Damn DIYers! :rolleyes:

:cool:

It is amazing the flakey working habits of some people. I always have a spray bottle handy when I'm soldering around framing. The soldering blankets work pretty well as does scraps of cement board, hardy board, etc.

I don't weld in the garage of my warehouse space cuz of all the sawdust under tables, in nooks and crannies. I do it out on the driveway. I'm tucked around a corner so it's easy to hide the light from my neighbors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012 (Post 1685246)

does scraps of cement board, hardy board, etc.

This type of product has alot of airholes in it and can explode when heated. Trust me:)

Hmmm . . . . maybe that explains the flying shards of conctete and fiber.

No but hey, hasn't happened yet but that's something to beware of all right.