ANST - leather armour construction ... safety concerns

j'lynn yeates jyeates at bga.com
Thu Jun 11 12:59:23 PDT 1998


pardon but my "fire safety hackles" just rose up and would ike to say a few words 
based on past near-disasters experienced and related  ...

> ... Then we get a turkey tin and straddle it across two stove burners.  

thin aluminum, easily melted ... bad choice!.  see suggestions below for safer options

> ... Put in a big ol chunk of wax and fire up the burners to medium.  After it's all
> melted, use tongs to set your piece of leather in there.  You have to hold
> the bugger submerged throughout the process.  Boil it.  I won't give you a
> time to boil it but rather to boil it till all the little bubbles quit
> coming out of each section of leather.  

flamables on stove-top ... always a *bad* idea

> ...                                         Your house will stink so wait til your wife
> is away and tell her the water heater went screwy on you but you fixed it.
> Wear gloves.  Work with someone who can spell  you if you get tired or
> catch fire (thx Jovian).  Don't move the turkey pan til the wax hardens up
> after you're done working.

"stink" implies improper ventilation ... not sure, but being a hydrocarbon, aren't these 
fumes flammable in the proper concentrations?  what does this stuff do to your lungs?. 
 as for gloves ... wear *long* ones - or a heavy shirt with gloves over the cuffs (to seal 
skin from molten wax and bind the fabric away from flame)
 
with these considerations in mind, i would suggest that a better solution would be a 
propane fired burner outside and well away from the house.  the thick aluminum pots 
(would not waste my stainless on this work ..) would be a much safer environment 
than a "turkey pan" (deeper and more secure).  if you need a shallower / longer / wider 
option, a aluminum "fish fry pan" would work (also thick aluminum, but oval and 
shallow .. about same dimensions as the turkey pans).  if you need more heat, you 
can get 2-3 burner propane burner setup (they will work real well for a group field 
kitchen ... and are always welcome when the event cooks are looking for more heat) 

no matter what you do, make sure you have a good sized (and charged!) extinguisher 
rated for thsi class of potential fire near to hand.

'wolf

... When we hunt, we all function with one mind
... - Boingo, Pedestrian Wolves
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