Carbon fiber safety

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Harald1966

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
269
Can someone tell me how to cut carbon fiber boom tubes in a safe way?

As you all know, carbon dust is not recommended in your garage or kitchen. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Although i agree with Tom 100% I also kinda believe in the occasional reality check.....if you were cutting say 100 pieces of Carbon Fiber a day, 5 days a week, i would certainly be more concerned..but..... :)
 
I use a dremel or hi-speed cutter. Wear a mask and setup your work bench so that you can place a shop vac next to your cutting area. You may want to cut it outside if you do not have a vacuum. If you can smell the CF as you cut, stop and figure out why... your body will NOT breakdown CF in your lungs, once it's there it's yours forever.
 
68Bud said:
I use a dremel or hi-speed cutter. Wear a mask and setup your work bench so that you can place a shop vac next to your cutting area. You may want to cut it outside if you do not have a vacuum. If you can smell the CF as you cut, stop and figure out why... your body will NOT breakdown CF in your lungs, once it's there it's yours forever.
Click to expand...
Off course, mask and goggles.

I am going to do it out door.

I'm not doing the vacuum deal.

I read about a guy that did that in the garage. A few days later his wife was vacuuming the carpets in the house. After a while they got sore throats, and he was asking if there could be a connection... :rolleyes:

Can I use an angle grinder with cutter disc, you think?
 
Harald1966 said:
68Bud said:
I use a dremel or hi-speed cutter. Wear a mask and setup your work bench so that you can place a shop vac next to your cutting area. You may want to cut it outside if you do not have a vacuum. If you can smell the CF as you cut, stop and figure out why... your body will NOT breakdown CF in your lungs, once it's there it's yours forever.
Click to expand...
Off course, mask and goggles.

I am going to do it out door.

I'm not doing the vacuum deal.

I read about a guy that did that in the garage. A few days later his wife was vacuuming the carpets in the house. After a while they got sore throats, and he was asking if there could be a connection... :rolleyes:

Can I use an angle grinder with cutter disc, you think?
Click to expand...
Actually I'd think a band saw would be better-look at one -the teeth are pointing down and thats where the dust will go. A dremmel or grinder with a cut off wheel will throw the stuff all over-they run at a much higher speed. To eliminate all dust use an inexpensive spray mister on the band saw. Do your clean-up while it's still wet=no airborne particles.

Glenn
 
Tooth blades will leave an edge that needs a lot of clean up. Diamond grit wheels and blades cut CF best but get yourself a good respirator as it makes a fine dust. If you must do it in a shop or garage I would set up some sort of exhaust sytem to move the air near your cut work out of the building. It is not hard to make a small down draft table to pull the dust down away from you and into a vac or outside.
 
glenng said:
Actually I'd think a band saw would be better-look at one -the teeth are pointing down and thats where the dust will go. A dremmel or grinder with a cut off wheel will throw the stuff all over-they run at a much higher speed. To eliminate all dust use an inexpensive spray mister on the band saw. Do your clean-up while it's still wet=no airborne particles.

Glenn
Click to expand...
Carbon epoxy laminates will trash a toothed bandsaw blade in a heartbeat... if you intend to use a bandsaw, a carbide or diamond grit blade is the way to go. Either option is an expensive proposition, but so is using multiple toothed blades. As Bill inferred, if you plan on a lot of cutting, the health concerns are paramount. For just a few pieces, common sense takes precedence.

Been working with the stuff for over 25 years, both in aerospace and the hobby industries.
 
Find a local archery shop and see if they will cut them for you on their arrow saw. Additionally, they will have a surplus of short pieces of carbon tube laying around.
 

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