cadweld safety

[101010]

When you guys cadweld , using one shots and multi-shots ,What kind of safety gear do you wear . Are goggles and gloves enough. Do you wear a shield? Is a welding jacket needed?

 

[barbeer]

I have Cadweled in shorts and a t-shirt before, that does not make me right. Especially when you see things like this.

Cadweld's words:

Proper protection should be utilized to avoid contact
with hot materials.

from this.

 

[101010]

face shield and leather apron it is then. thanks

 

[Fulthrotl]

When you guys cadweld , using one shots and multi-shots ,What kind of safety gear do you wear . Are goggles and gloves enough. Do you wear a shield? Is a welding jacket needed?

i usually use leather gloves, and a face shield.

if you haven't done a lot of cadweld, couple things to think of.... moisture is
a huge safety hazard when doing any type of exothermic welding.

if there is any moisture in the blocks, or in the strands of wire (think 500 mcm
buried in dirt), and you fire the shot, 1/2 second later, there will be a burping
sound like an old coffeemaker, and a **fountain** of molten metal will come
out the top of the block, about three feet up in the air. it's about 3,000
degrees, and will burn thru anything.

any material you are wearing is going to be more material they have to pick
out at the burn center. first and foremost, do not be in the path of weld
material. do not depend on any safety equipment to protect you from weld
material. it's thermite, for all practical purposes, and will smoke thru cast iron,
copper, or my tennis shoes before you can say "oops".

if i've got wet cables to shoot, i'll do a couple test shots with scrap wire that is dry,
to heat up the blocks nice and toasty, and then clamp them around the
damp wire and leave it for 10 minutes before dumping the shot and firing.

be careful..

 

[dbuckley]

I'll just point out that it is the inability to stop thermite once it starts that makes it the destructive mechanism of choice for very secret materials like encryption key cards held in places where you might not get much time to destroy them. Looks like an oil drum - pop the cards and stuff and hit the striker, and off it (unstopably) goes.

 

[KentAT]

Use the CADWELD PLUS with the remote ignition box. Ignition control box has a 6 ft. lead wire, and can have an optional extension lead for 15'.

http://www.erico.com/public/library/fep/LT0414.pdf


Kent

 

[brian john]

I have Cadweled in shorts and a t-shirt before, that does not make me right. URL]

I am sure this is not the only thing that DOES NOT MAKE YOU RIGHT!

 

[Doug S.]

Use the CADWELD PLUS with the remote ignition box.

I like that. Much better than the BIC.


I still have a nice scar from were I brushed across the mold with my bare fore-arm. The skin just slid right off.

Did I mention that along with a mask and gloves, I wear long (cotton) sleeves whilst cad-welding now?

Doug S.

 

[ohmhead]

Well a few tips we clean copper wire with fine steel or brass wire brush and dry it with a pvc heat gun next we clean mold wipe it out and heat it with a pvc heat gun dry it out .

Install wire in mold put welding sleeves and gloves face shield ya know all the good stuff to be safe .

Next pour in the load or charge what ever you need for that mold 115 or 150 load .
Hook up the electric igniter or use the old spark gun .

But that post that said water & moist or wet wire thats why we use a hairdryer on the wire !!!
Plus if you heat it up it looks better meaning the cad weld connection when you open up that mold after a shot, if you do it cold it pits and looks like crap . take care be safe

 

[electricalperson]

the boss doesnt allow us to cadweld only him. but ive done it before and if your not careful your going to have trouble. they make one shot molds that make it easier than the carbon molds. its pretty fun to do this just make sure you use the proper size shot for the mold or it wont work right