Goofs & Blunders You Should Avoid.

<Dusts off his ragged, abused bio-chem major hat> Pretty much anything which oxidizes readily can catch fire or explode in dust form. Note that this includes many forms of iron and aluminum. It has to do with mass-to-surface-area ratio. Oxidization is a heat-generating reaction (exothermic, to use the $5 term). If you have a big mass to absorb that heat and little surface area at which the reaction can happen, you don't get much except for the formation of an oxide film (i.e., rust or patina). When there's no place for that heat to go internally, all it can do is go out into the environment. In a pile this can quickly become a fire. Floating around airborne, this can go "boom!" Just yet another reason to keep your workspace clean!

[edited for clarity, 12/6/2016, 6:13 pm CST]
 
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I have to show my stupidity in action in case anyone else attempts this.
I did not have sufficient kerosene to totally immerse the burning tip on my spark eroder so resorted to trickling it on with a spoon.
Whoops, bad move, it got hot enough to hit its vapor point and ignited.
The fireblanket made short work of the flames but not before they had melted all the solder joints and burnt off the insulation.
Luckily the coil is untouched so a rebuild will be quick.
burnt-eroder.jpg
 
As a total newbie, I have a completely honest question. Why would one use a volatile, flammable liquid as a coolant for a tool that has an open ignition point (that is, the spark)? This seems like an open invitation to danger. Thanks!
 
The kerosene works extremely well as long as the ignition point is kept submerged.
I have burnt out at least 6 broken taps, made a couple of tabbed washers in 1.2mm stainless with no problems.
The fault here was mine in only dribbling the liquid over the contact area which was 12mm in dia.
The liquid is not only to cool the point but to flush debris away.
 
Liquid kerosene will not burn. Like gasoline, and diesel, it needs to be mixed with oxygen to support combustion. Gasoline appears to burn, because it vaporizes easily, and that is what you see burn when you toss a match in a bucket of gas. Unless it is a super hot day, you can toss a lit match in diesel or kerosene, and chances are the match will burn a few seconds, then go out. You need the vaporization of the fuel to get the flames. That's what Savarin caused by slowly adding kerosene to hot metal with sparks.
 
And a lot of automotive fuel pumps are submersed in the fuel tank and the fuel flows right over the commutator and brushes.

David
 
For much the same reason, cooling. Which is why you really shouldn't make a habit out of running your fuel tank low. What isn't used in the injection system is sent back to the tank, so there is a constant flow. The pump is never "dead headed".
 
A friend and work associate passed away last week . While at the wake yesterday some stories were told that were long forgotten.

A young GMI student was working at our plant and was in the Forge Shop one day. He decided that if he was to learn, he needed to help. Sounds like a plan so far. Bob, my deceased friend. asked the kid to help him. Now, one peculiar thing about Bob, he was a stickler for doing things to the letter. You really needed to watch how you said things around him. Ok, Bob asked the kid to hold a large pin while he pounded it into the hole. Before anyone could caution the kid on choosing his words. he yelled to Bob, got it, when I nod my head go ahead and hit it. Without hesitation Bob did just that, he hit the kid right on the head. Not hard, but enough to let the kid know he said the wrong thing. I don't think that kid will ever forget that day.

That is a true story people, you just can't make those things up.

"Billy"
 
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