[TheForge] Re: File Making

[Larry Brown]

Speaking from the other side or the Arthur Kill, and being 49 I remember 
all sorts of nasty stuff on the beaches over the years, being cleaner in 
more recent times. NJ has and had tons of nasty chemical companies along 
the eastern NJ boarder with Staten Island and NY and we had or have the 
world's biggest dump in the marsh along the river.

  I remember working in Whitte ship scrapyard when I was 18 that cutting 
sometimes gave some foul odors, usually on the older stuff that had been 
soaking or on the bottom the longest. I think the guy who repaired the 
holes in the bottom of the barges by welding plates between the ribs had 
very little left in the way of vocal cords.
I thought it might be the salt absorbed into the metal. I have some pieces 
of WI from old docks and a few just foam when heated. I found that steel 
and WI are both affected and have seen what looks like a crust near the 
edges after the piece cools when you torch cut it. Might be on the surface 
or from within

Larry BRown

At 09:26 AM 3/20/2008 -0400, you wrote:
>Speaking of fumes, much of the wrought iron I pulled out of Raritan Bay in 
>Perth Amboy gives off a fume that is really nasty.  You get the tiniest 
>whiff and everything inside you says "NO!".  I have learned to steer clear 
>of this.  Put the iron in the fire awhile and let whatever noxious things 
>that are there burn off while giving a respectful berth.
>
>What I could not quite figure is what those noxious things may have 
>been.  The fumes are most acrid - very harsh on the nose, and  something 
>of a singular sensation (please, no lapsing into "A Chorus Line").  I also 
>notice the occasional strange blue flame.  Not like copper, but not like 
>anything else either, of which I am familiar.  Any ideas?  This iron has 
>lain in the brackish-to-salty waters of the bay for at least 50 years, 
>closer to 100 in most cases I would imagine - old ship graveyard.
>
>         -Andy
>
>Larry Brown wrote:
>>Thanks for the information in the post, I always try to stay away from 
>>the fumes as it stinks, but the cyanide information is really good to be 
>>aware of. Don't use it much, got the can 2nd hand and have had it 20+ yrs.
>>Larry Brown