Terry Z
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2012
- Location
- Gurnee ILL. USA
We machine this often and the question has come up from upper management if this is a health issue to machine. Does anyone have any solid information on this? Thanks
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Machining 12L14 Is It Hazardous
- Thread starter Terry Z
- Start date
- Replies 88
- Views 16,970
The only health issue comes later - after you get used to making beautiful parts easily with this material, and then go cut some off-brand 304, or something similar. Then the health issues start: headaches, ear aches from people losing their religion, misc aches all over from people throwing things, and pains in the wallet from having to buy more (and more expensive) tooling.
Hope this helps.....
Hope this helps.....
L Vanice
Diamond
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2006
- Location
- Fort Wayne, IN
Here is a generic MSDS for steel, including leaded alloys. http://www.russelmetals.com/en/Locations/Documents/Material Safety Data Sheets/MSDS - Steel.pdf
Don't breath steel dust, don't swallow steel dust, keep it out of your eyes, etc.
You can ask your steel supplier for their MSDS.
Larry
Don't breath steel dust, don't swallow steel dust, keep it out of your eyes, etc.
You can ask your steel supplier for their MSDS.
Larry
rons
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Location
- California, USA
It's better that the question is coming from management than the people cutting the stuff. There might be a difference if you are machining it dry versus with coolant.
In my experience it is one of the easiest metals to work with.
Gobo
Titanium
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2013
- Location
- Oregon, USA
The Europeans have been thinking about banning it for some time, but have not. Probably because there is no cheap alternative. I spoke with the rep of a small steel producer at IMTS a few years ago, and they were trying to come up with a good replacement, to no avail. The fact that they want it replaced makes me think there must be a reason.
FredC
Diamond
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2010
- Location
- Dewees Texas
Using 360FC brass would be more likely a health threat. As it is about 3% lead and 12l14 is only 1%. Machinists are a lot more likely to cut brass dry and possibly make dust.
We use cutting oil in all our machines and I asked Mobil about the oil holding the lead in suspension or any other threats and they said no way. You guys using coolant need to ask the manufacturer if lead will dissolve in it.
If a person was a real worry wart you could use plain 1117 and machine almost as fast with a very good finish, that said I do not worry and specify 12L14 when ever I can in my shop.
We use cutting oil in all our machines and I asked Mobil about the oil holding the lead in suspension or any other threats and they said no way. You guys using coolant need to ask the manufacturer if lead will dissolve in it.
If a person was a real worry wart you could use plain 1117 and machine almost as fast with a very good finish, that said I do not worry and specify 12L14 when ever I can in my shop.
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Search the archives, it's been hashed around before.
The present forum can't be bothered, they are all posting about:
1. ED
2. Finding wimin online
3. Viagra and alternate methods
4. Tongue biting
5. Knees
6. Arthritis (and sub-section "Lumbago")
7. Feet
8. Loss of friend/dog/cat/lizard
9. Hemmoroids
10. Eye glasses/lasix
11. Current genitalia, and what you want to do with it, and/or modify it.
Maybe the board will get back to answering Machining questions, but I highly doubt it.
The present forum can't be bothered, they are all posting about:
1. ED
2. Finding wimin online
3. Viagra and alternate methods
4. Tongue biting
5. Knees
6. Arthritis (and sub-section "Lumbago")
7. Feet
8. Loss of friend/dog/cat/lizard
9. Hemmoroids
10. Eye glasses/lasix
11. Current genitalia, and what you want to do with it, and/or modify it.
Maybe the board will get back to answering Machining questions, but I highly doubt it.
Last edited:
TDegenhart
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2011
- Location
- Geneva Illinois USA
The reason is management doesn't want a word like asbestos, cadmium, lead or any other such materials attached to their name regardless of whether the application was safe to use or not. Prime example is cadmium. Wonderful stuff to use in silver for power contacts. The form used in contacts is cadmium oxide which is safe. I watched workers at a silver manufacturer handle powdered Cd-oxide with their bare hands with no problems. Its been outlawed by a number of countries including Japan. The replacement is Ag-SnO which is inferior in performance to CdO.
Same problem with mercury preservatives for medicines. Perfectly safe but the word mercury scares the bejeebers out of people.
Whatever you do, don't walk on the linoleum, it will causes cancer.
Tom
dgfoster
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2008
- Location
- Bellingham, WA
Another way to answer the question is to ask management to find as single documented adverse health affect related machining 12L14. That will keep them busy for a good while as I do not think they will find one.
Denis
SIP6A
Titanium
- Joined
- May 29, 2003
- Location
- Temperance, Michigan
Today we have seen the downfall of the "Largest Manufacturing Technology Community on the Web".
SIP6A
Titanium
- Joined
- May 29, 2003
- Location
- Temperance, Michigan
Yep, it's hit bottom.
I have suggested to "Fearless leader" to form one more forum,
(maybe even get rid of one down below that get's no traffic)
entitled "The off topic rumpus room".
To no avail.
There will be all the off topic crap, every moderator can simply
move the whole thread there, instead of wasting time editing,
locking, etc.
How would this solve these problems ?
Simple, the "off topic rumpus room" forum only has (3) pages,
after this point, they fall off the back end, no archiving
all the blathering.
Think of it as a trash can, get's emptied automatically
as posters blather on more....the threads get pushed to the back page sooner.
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As far as I know the European thing wasn't about machining the stuff, it's making it is the problem, adding lead, most ends up in the slag so slag heaps get contaminated, then consequently runoff gets into groundwater etc, the stuff in the steel isn't going very far but in a steelplant it gets everywhere, in the extraction ducts where it concentrates over time, all over the floor so becomes airborne, etc etc, at one time there was a somewhat dubious belief that consuming milk would get it out of your system (they'd tell you anything to keep production going) you were issued with tickets to exchange in the canteen, a ticket was equal to 1 pint of milk, I kid you not, 2 tickets were given daily!, many got lead poisoning, many died as a result but that was ignored, the site where the furnaces were is permanently contaminated with lead, cadmium etc
Mark
Mark
dgfoster
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2008
- Location
- Bellingham, WA
Interesting story. Can you provide documentation of when and wherethis happened?
Denis
Denis
Yes indeed, it was the Albion steelworks located at Briton ferry, South Wales
I have quite an exhaustive list of family that worked there, the furnace making the leaded steel was the k open hearth, the place was run by DuPort steel, it took the local authority over 10 years to clean the site, lead being the Main contaminant, it also spread out to the lower Swansea valley reclamation project, there's even an unofficial grave there, a man fell into a slag pot, there wasn't anything much left so the pot was buried on site, it's still there.
(I was in school with his son)
There are records of the above at the national archive of Wales.
Mark
ewlsey
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2009
- Location
- Peoria, IL
I'd say it has far more to do with the rapidly aging demographic of this site, and machining in general.
SIP6A
Titanium
- Joined
- May 29, 2003
- Location
- Temperance, Michigan
While I don't completely disagree with you, I would say it has more to do with how the sight is being run (or not run) and all the most talented people walking away. There are several people that I met on here and we have taken our discussions off line and don't post here.
ewlsey
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2009
- Location
- Peoria, IL
That's my feeling as well. The claim is that the site continues to grow, but the quality seems to be suffering.
