Shop Tools ... misuse edition ....

[Sixpac440]

We have an oven at work we use for heat treating, welding steels and occasionally making pizza. It will go up to 2200°F or so.

I had a oven rack with some surface rust on it and rather than clean it up with a scotch-brite or what ever I chose to burn it off in the oven at 1600°F.

It got pulled away in the press room for a bit, came back opened the door and was greeted with a molten aluminum waterfall hitting the floor! The floor and an errant glove caught on fire ... POOF!! I responded with ... S#!T ... grabbed the fire extinguisher conveniently placed above the heat treat oil barrel and with a few short, light bursts and I was standing in a cloud of noxious smoke.

There were 2-3"x 3" blocks of aluminum in the oven.
Fact * Aluminum has a melting point of 1,221°F!

This could have been very bad ....

Notice my signature .... not today Dumb@$$!

 

[paul_probus]

Actually, it depends on the alloy of ally. When I was taking an oxy-fuel welding course, the teacher demonstrated aluminum soldering and brazing and I was intrigued by the ally brazing. Went to the local welding supplier and found that they had a small kit, wire, flux, instructions. Took it to work where I worked the night shift at a manufacturing utility plant and to pass the time, I would practice welding, since I could not leave the plant and after I finished PM's. Tried to braze a couple of pieces together and found out the particular alloy I was trying to braze had a melting point only 10 degrees higher than the brazing material. As soon as the brazing wire melted, so did the two pieces I was trying to braze. Actually made a very nice looking weld that did not hold up to bending it with my hand. :laugh: Talked to the teacher about this, he used the same braze wire and flux and all, but apparently he used a different alloy than I used. :doah:

Paul

 

[Harleys Papa]

:laugh: We have an oven at work too, doesn't get that hot though but someone had turned the heat up :doah: I put a small push cart in there with some parts to warm up before adding a resin glue to them, came back in the usual time to find the plastic wheels melted right down to the floor of the oven :doah: Normal temp we use is between 325 and 375 but someone had turned it up to 500 ut: