Trouble breathing while forging

J

JoshEarl

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
197
The last two times I've used my forge, I've had a weird sensation in my chest, kind of a tightness like when you have a chest cold.

I'm worried that I'm breathing something in that I shouldn't be.

Does anyone know if you can feel it if you're breathing in the bad stuff from the Inswool liner? I have it covered with Satanite, but it's possible that there's a small crack somewhere.

I forge in my garage with the door partway open. I do not feel any other sensations--no dizziness or lightheadedness that might point to carbon monoxide...

Suggestions? Dire warnings?

Josh
 
Josh,

Do you have fans moving the air out? Is your partially opened garage door a roll up that blocks ventilation from the top? Do you have any galvanized fittings on your forge? Do you have pictures of your setup that you can post? If you are getting these feelings, you should stop forging in your garage until you get it figured out...

Eric
 
I get the same thing if I forge hunched over the anvil while swinging my right arm on delicate work. Just a tightness in and between my pecs. Try standing up straighter or raising the anvil to a better working height. Also relax and remember to breathe.:p:D
 
Josh, don't take any chances with that crap!!!
Upgrade to a solid body forge as soon as you can and wear a dust mask till you do!!!!!
You only have one set of lungs dude!!!!!
 
JoshEarl said:
I forge in my garage with the door partway open.
Click to expand...

Josh, I think this statement may be the key. I too forge in my garage, but only with the door fully open. Even then, I try to have a fan blowing from behind the forge and aimed up at the ceiling. This helps to remove the hot air AND keeps a certain amount of fresh air circulating.

It can be tuff forging in cold weather, but if ya gotta do it when its cold, ya still gotta be safe. Go to Wally-World or somewhere and get yourself a Carbon Monoxide monitor (usually less than $30). If that monitor goes off, you ain't getting enough fresh air. That stuff will sneak up on you and kill you as dead as a doorknob.

Think "Fresh Air" and "Heat Removal". You won't be good to anybody if you are "hammer-dead". Trust me.......... It ain't the Satanite fibers that is causing your problem. Those little fibers that you breath take a little time to clog up your "innards". They may take a little time, but they will eventually take their toll.

Take care of yourself................... Robert
 
RUJOCO said:
I get the same thing if I forge hunched over the anvil while swinging my right arm on delicate work. Just a tightness in and between my pecs. Try standing up straighter or raising the anvil to a better working height. Also relax and remember to breathe.:p:D
Click to expand...

You know, I'm wondering if this is the problem. I make straight razors, and I spend a lot of time hunched over doing delicate work.

I'll try forging with the door open also, and maybe see what happens when I wear my mask. The main reason I keep the door part way down is to keep out the bright sunlight when I'm working before dark. It's hard to see how hot things are if the sun is shining straight in...

Thanks for all the cautions, guys. I'm trying to be smart and safe. I never grind without my mask on, and I feel naked without safety glasses... :eek:

Josh
 
efleming said:
Josh,

Do you have fans moving the air out? Is your partially opened garage door a roll up that blocks ventilation from the top? Do you have any galvanized fittings on your forge? Do you have pictures of your setup that you can post? If you are getting these feelings, you should stop forging in your garage until you get it figured out...

Eric
Click to expand...

NOOOO galvanized fittings. I got my forge from Darren Ellis, and it's properly made. :)

Josh
 
Get checked out by a DR.Could be nothing,could be asthma or another serious respatory problem.Better to know.
 
Josh,

You need an exhaust apparatus to remove those fumes.

Having the garage door open will, more often than not, not have an effect on removing fumes. There needs to be a pressure difference between the garage and the outside-- a negative pressure difference to be specific.

Even if the wind is blowing it will either blow into the open garage, or blow against the walls of the other side, and will do nothing to remove exhaust.

You need mechanical ventilation; even if it is just a wall-mounted exhaust fan.
 
This has nothing to do with who built the forge!
How does the flame of your forge look. Is there alot of yellow in it?
I am assuming that you are using propane. If the flame is not properly adjusted you are getting alot of unburned propane being ejected into the air with a high pressure regulator. After a little exposure to this you will get where it is hard to breath. Lets just say been there and done that, thought it was going to kill me before I realized what was happening. Just one more thing to think about when it comes to proper ventalation, (something you can't get to much of, VENTALATION ! Also check all connections for any leaks!
 
Set everything up like you do to forge, except do not light the forge.
Then pound a bucket of sand, or something, for the same length of time. If you are symptom free that's your answer, it is the forge gases!
Cheers Ron.
 
Dixieblade57 said:
This has nothing to do with who built the forge!
How does the flame of your forge look. Is there alot of yellow in it?
I am assuming that you are using propane. If the flame is not properly adjusted you are getting alot of unburned propane being ejected into the air with a high pressure regulator. After a little exposure to this you will get where it is hard to breath. Lets just say been there and done that, thought it was going to kill me before I realized what was happening. Just one more thing to think about when it comes to proper ventalation, (something you can't get to much of, VENTALATION ! Also check all connections for any leaks!
Click to expand...

I understand that there could still be something wrong with the forge. My point in mentioning where I got it was to say that it wasn't built by a rube (me :D) and that the maker would not have used galvanized anything.

The reason I'm puzzled is that I've used this forge at least 30 times with no issues, but the last two times I've noticed this symptom. Nothing has changed as far as I can tell.

There is some blue flame coming out of the front of the forge, so propane fumes seem like a possibility.

I think the first thing I'll try is making sure the door is wide open, then work backward from there.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I like my lungs and would prefer to keep them for as long as possible.

Josh
 
cowboyfromhell said:
u guys ever think he chest muscals are just getting tighter?
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Sore muscles won't kill him though, but inhaling gasses will, if he doesn't make sure what is really happening. Better to check the stuff that will kill him first, and then worry about whether or not it's just muscle soreness.
 
All of the suggestions are very valid and should be checked out thoroughly. Then after you have made sure you ain't breathing anything nasty, you could try some stretching for your shoulders and chest. After you stretch out those muscles. Take a few long slow beep breaths, trying to push the air down in to your legs as you inhale. Then slowly exhale, pushing all the air out.
Sometimes as we work on something that takes a lot of concentration, we just don't breath deep enough to keep the muscle tissue supplied with O2. Lactic acid builds up and the muscles start to cramp. It can feel real nasty almost like a heart attack. This can happen to people even when there in good shape.
As said make sure you have good ventilation first. No sense taking really big breaths of bad air.:eek:
 
Had your heart checked?

Same thing happened to me any time I excerted myself, They found an artery 90% blocked. They fixed the artery that fixed the problem.
 
Never, ever seek medical advise on any knifemaking forums. There is a 99% chance that you will get wrong info. That just happened here a couple months ago.

It's makes about as much sense as asking your family doctor for heat treating info on 52100.
 
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Raymond Richard said:
I'd get the ticker checked out.......
Click to expand...

Well, I'm 28 and have had a recent checkup, and I'm otherwise in excellent health. :)

As I've been thinking about this, I realized that in the past I may have actually kept my garage door open all the way. The two times I had this problem were both with the door half closed. The propane fumes theory is leading the pack for me right now, and I'm going to try leaving the door all the way open again. The reason I closed it these last couple of times was that my forge sits about 3 feet from the opening, and it can be hard to see what temperature the metal is at when the sun is out. It basically shines directly on my forge and anvil.

I have a second door also, so I might try opening that one all the way and keeping the one closer to me partly closed.

The other thing I was wondering is if maybe I had gotten a gulp of oil fumes. I use my tongs for heat-treating, so the first time I forge after a quench I get some smoke coming off the tongs...

Josh
 
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