The dangers of Hardox

**Mouldy** · 14th June 2005, 12:08

So the welding gives of UV rays dangerous to humans, witch I knew, But how come people are having effects when only welding Hardox and not other materials? I have safely welded Mild steel, Stainless steel and Aluminium before without causing physical damage to myself.

Does anybody know what the chemicals used to protect the surface of Hardox are? I can only presume its the surface treatment of the material as apart from that isnâ‚¬â„¢t Hardox just another form of mild steel but made slightly denser due to the pressure applied when making it?

**maddox** · 14th June 2005, 12:58

The alloying elements have a lot to do with the mechanical strength.You cant get normal mild steel as strong just by applying the same treatment. Its all in the grain and crystaline structure.

The surface coating. Looking at the color I gues its a modern leadfree variation on the good old anti rust paint. Whats exactly in that paint, no idea. But its never a good idea to breath fumes of burning paint.

**anukhet** · 14th June 2005, 13:37

Mario, to be honest Ive never welded anything in me life and would only probably do it if I were wearing the equivalent of a full asbestos bodysuit with absolutely no way of seeing out OR I would do as I usually do......dont go within a mile of it

But as far as welding hardox (or anything for that matter) is concerned....
The effect the fumes from the coating and the hardox itself will vary from person to person irrespective of whether they are protecting themselves or not. What do you do when you finish welding? You take the protection away to admire your handywork of course thus exposing yourself to any residual fumes. This can only have a detrimental affect on skin, lungs etc.

....and as far as the aging properties of UV light, the reason why Mike doesnt suffer any ill effects is that its too damn late for him

**maddox** · 14th June 2005, 14:24

Karoline, Im to young to escape the dangers of the aging effect..

**grant_ploughbot** · 14th June 2005, 15:29

Well, when welding hardox or any material for that matter, whether it says on the website or not, its a well known fact that goos ventilation is needed, espeshiaclly in surface hardened materials such as hardox. I have nitrite coated mild steel, and welding that gives similar effects, such as head aches. But, as for burning, a full set of overalls should be worn. I know you wore your T-shirt Dave lol, which, with the high setting of the welder that you were running on will cause burns much easier.
Thats the highest setting you have run the welder at before, and that is why the burns are worse than ever before. I set the welder, and i turned it up from what i used last and got minor tanning on my arms, so thats that problem.

**anukhet** · 14th June 2005, 17:19

.....and having never been near anything like a mig/tig/arc/oxy welder is the reason why Im still so young looking and beautiful

Seriously, the effects of UV radiation on the skin are well known but not so well known are the effects of heat and chemicals. Also what many people forget is that they can get indirect exposure to UV and IR wavelengths from reflective surfaces (and that includes light coloured as well as shiny surfaces).

**anukhet** · 14th June 2005, 17:37

I forgot to mention this - http://www.wisegeek.com/is-welding-dangerous.htm http://www.wisegeek.com/is-welding-dangerous.htm

Going completely out on a limb there could be another problem with being dazed or disorientated afterwards. A slight inner ear infection even if you cant feel an earache as such can cause some dizziness if you have had your eyes focussed on something for a while.

**babeth** · 15th June 2005, 10:44

The only really dangerous material I ever worked with was thinner during Art Class at high school. Our teacher would scurry around opening as many windows as he could and we would try to close them again behind his back because we just loved those fumes.
The same stuff was used at my dads job (printing press) to clean all surfaces with. 3 young lads had to clean a certain workroom, forgot to use proper ventilation (hadnt listened to those old geezers), and then drove home in one car. A few hours later the police found that car neatly wrapped around a tree a few kilometers away from their work. It seems they had gone straight from high to nirvana without even noticing the transition.

Morale of this little story: Everything you use can be dangerous. Use your head, not your nose.