A red flag moment...

[Newoldstock]

I have this big sheet of Bakelite.

I was cutting it just a few moments ago when that uneasy feeling hit me...
This is awful nice cutting and no fluff....
No woody smell from the filler.
No glass or canvas.

Then the sun glinted off something as I held the piece in my hand.

I took out my Eyeloop for a closer look and I could see some fine fibers in it.

Now without actual testing you never will know but this part you see here was carved from a 1 inch thick board of high quality electrical grade black Phenolic.



And Probably 10% asbestos filler.

SO I just thought I would pass it along as tip.
If its free and scrap and old as the hills...
If its too good to be true....

You might want to think twice before you bring it home and turn it to dust.

I just spent the past hour washing my workshop with the garden hose.

Here's a nice air filter adaptor I made from it last summer.
Notice now in hindsight you can see there is some sort of filler in it.

I just never gave it any thought untll now.

 

[metal man]

well now ya know :thumbsup: just have to be careful when messing with old stuff ya never know what you may find .

 

[Bikerscum]

I grind phenolic all the time at work, I thought it's a paper based material?

:shrug:

 

[red423]

Thats funny, so did I...............used loads of the stuff going back to the late 60's. Except for the cough and the half gone lungs, I'll be ok.........just kidding, I always thought it had a paper fill??????????????

 

[Outlaw Ace]

I have a big old 3/4" thick slab of the same material I'm afraid, was a buss bar insulator of some sort and it's very cool looking. Good to know it's best to toss it.:doah:

 

[Newoldstock]

@##$$%%^

The only thing that pisses me off more than this computer ( stupid key board I hit two keys and everything vannished ) is rework.

This Bakelite was made sometime between the mid 30s and 50s I think.
I read up on it tonight and it was common to add asbestos to the premium stuff for electrical equipment.

SO I need to rework this project so that does not need such a thick spacer

 

[Newoldstock]

I have a big old 3/4" thick slab of the same material I'm afraid, was a buss bar insulator of some sort and it's very cool looking. Good to know it's best to toss it.:doah:

Yup.
Spot on brother.

The chunk I have seems to have been a backer for an old knife switch.

The DOHHH factor.
Ever seen any CCL switches or Starters?
All them had huge Absbestos isolation boards between the phases and the contactor parts all had so much asbestos in them you could actualy see it in the cast plastic parts (likely also Phenolic but could have been an epoxy ).
Long story short CCL was bought by Sylvania at some point.
Then they vannished from history with leaving a trace on the internet.
I have a couple size 1s here I should take a pic of.
Wonderful long lived bullet proof.
And toxic if you broke them up

So many years working in those old switch rooms, I wonder how many % asbestos I am now and at what point I will become fire proof

 

[Outlaw Ace]

Yup.
Spot on brother.

The chunk I have seems to have been a backer for an old knife switch.

The DOHHH factor.
Ever seen any CCL switches or Starters?
All them had huge Absbestos isolation boards between the phases and the contactor parts all had so much asbestos in them you could actualy see it in the cast plastic parts (likely also Phenolic but could have been an epoxy ).
Long story short CCL was bought by Sylvania at some point.
Then they vannished from history with leaving a trace on the internet.
I have a couple size 1s here I should take a pic of.
Wonderful long lived bullet proof.
And toxic if you broke them up

So many years working in those old switch rooms, I wonder how many % asbestos I am now and at what point I will become fire proof

Yes, I worked in a very old building that had them but they were no longer being used but remained on the back wall. The building was razed two years ago but a contractor went through and removed probably a ton of copper, it was 100,000 square foot building with lighting everywhere so there was plenty.

 

[metal man]

well if ya cut it wet the dust isnt a issue just be careful messin with it
but then i still think lead solder is good stuff :doah:

 

[deejaaa]

well if ya cut it wet the dust isnt a issue just be careful messin with it
but then i still think lead solder is good stuff :doah:

true. it's only bad if breathed. won't get absorbed when held. will last a lifetime if not overheated.

 

[toomanytoys]

true. it's only bad if breathed. won't get absorbed when held. will last a lifetime if not overheated.

Cut it in a well ventilated area and wear a respirator. My last house still had abestos above the furnace and abestos wrap around half the dust work joints.

Maybe I'm careless about my health, but I wouldn't worry about it cutting some chunks of it outside awhile wearing a nice respirator!

We still have tons of the insulator boards around the mine. Not sure what they are made of honestly, a red/brown fiber board. Some of our old oil switches are very old.

My grandfather worked with the stuff for 25 years. He said it was practicality raining dust and chunks of it on the job sites. He had some minor breathing problems years later but that may of been more caused by the 3 packs a day he smoked.

 

[Havasu Dave]

Cut it in a well ventilated area and wear a respirator. My last house still had abestos above the furnace and abestos wrap around half the dust work joints.

Maybe I'm careless about my health, but I wouldn't worry about it cutting some chunks of it outside awhile wearing a nice respirator!

We still have tons of the insulator boards are the mine. Not sure what they are made of honestly, a red/brown fiber board.

I always understood the carcenogenic effects of asbestos was measured in years of exposure to very high levels. I wouldn't sweat a 10% content, and if I were grinding any fiber, I'd use a dust mask. Unless it's power brushing steel, then I just use my reading glasses, and pretend I didn't see those 70's safety films with pieces of wire sticking out of an eyeball.

 

[Newoldstock]

I always understood the carcenogenic effects of asbestos was measured in years of exposure to very high levels. I wouldn't sweat a 10% content, and if I were grinding any fiber, I'd use a dust mask. Unless it's power brushing steel, then I just use my reading glasses, and pretend I didn't see those 70's safety films with pieces of wire sticking out of an eyeball.

Asbestos is white, and Askeral yellow.
They're enough in old NOS to kill as fellow.....

Now all jokes aside.
Take the threat serious.

At one time we had the best cancer center and burn center in Canada right here in the nickel city.
On account of all the men burned up in the smelter complex and exposed to things .

 

[metal man]

i see we are taking the threat serious nos . just its not something to be scared of if you understand the risk and how it must be handled . its like the floor tiles in my old school every one freaked when they learned they were Asbestos been there from like the 50s . if your not sanding them or snorting the dust there is no danger even when striping them for new wax its done wet so no dust .

i say respect dangerous things dont fear them , learn how to work with them and be safe .