Beryllium rods?

Someone is selling a few "beryllium copper rods".

BERYLIUM RODS (composition 1. 58 Bery; 0. 28 Cobalt; 0. 12 Nickel, and other elements)7018, 7025(334), 7032(113), 7054, 7095. N658864267F302 55

ASTM, B196, C172 alloy (alloy 25)

Each bar is 24" long and approximately 2" thick (heavy stuff).

C172 alloy is described at

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Each rod should be approximately 30 lbs.

I am curious if these rods have any value at all, if so, what is their use, and how much could they sell per lb.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970
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I have no idea what the alloy was, but beryllium-copper tools were used around the shipyard where there were explosion hazards, like around fuel tanks, flammable gasses and the like. One of my techs needed some channellocks, all Shop Stores had were the B-C versions. They were lighter than the steel versions. The alloys are used other places, usually where there's a need for a corrosion-resistant spark-free material. Beryllium itself is nasty stuff, a cumulative poison with bad effects. The local atomic workers are still fighting the government on that from when the arsenal was producing bomb pits. Not something to buy to stick on the shelf for an odd project or two in the future. For most uses, it would be classified as haszardous waste.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Thank you. I also read that it was not sparking. I will probably stay away from it.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970

I am surprised that the government is selling the stuff. It is not particularly dangerous to possess or handle, but it is very dangerous to work on. Almost any tool that you put to it will create a plume of microscoptic dust, dust that is very dangerous to about 5% of the human population. Beryllium can cause an incurable lung disease. My wife's lungs were ruined by the stuff.

Vaughn

Reply to
Vaughn Simon

Thank you. My wife would have an instant heart attack if I bought beryllium rods and she learned about toxicity of berillium.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970

Vaughn,

Can you tell us more? I'm somewhat intrigued by your comment of only 5% of the population being troubled. I've been under the impression that it is toxic to all.

I've worked with beryllium copper since the late 50's, but not very much. It's a super good alloy for certain applications, as you likely know. Makes wonderful springs. In the early years, we machined it with no concern, just as asbestos was handled with no concern. Makes me wonder what the future holds for me!

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

Coupla links...

Scary, but not THAT scary.

Reply to
Pete Snell

It is in your genes. Some people's bodies react to beryllium with an inappropriate immune reaction. If you get even a microscoptic amount of beryllium in your lungs, this cam cause an incurable scarring of your lungs.

The most dangerous operations are grinding and polishing on the stuff. I used to use sparkproof tools on the submarine in my Navy days, simply handling the stuff is not a problem. If you worked for the government or a government contractor, you are probably covered by special legislation. That does not help my wife, she was exposed in a dental lab.

If you are really worried, there is a blood test.

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If you have no symptoms, (persistant cough, weight loss) I would probably find something else to worry about. But I would not work with that shit for anybody! They recently found several OSHA inspectors that have the disease just from occasional casual exposure in workplaces that presumably were mostly working within OSHA regulations.

Vaughn

Reply to
Vaughn Simon

I know I have some beryllium "brazing" rods. Trouble is, they've lost their labels, and I can't tell them from others. Is there a simple test to identify?

Reply to
Jordan

try grinding them, if your lungs scar, they have berillium!

(just kidding)

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970

All the beryllium tools I've seen are more "brown" than "gold" colored, is that useful at all? They were beryllium-bronze tools - not sure if that's what your rod would be made of.

Then again, brazing rod is pretty cheap - if you're that worried, maybe find a safe way to dispose of all the suspect stuff, and buy clean?

Dave Hinz

Reply to
Dave Hinz

Ignoramus9970 wrote in news:d2joru$mmb $ snipped-for-privacy@pita.alt.net:

BeCu is a fairly common alloy. You can be sure that there is some in your house. I've machined loads of it, C172 cuts similar to 360 (half hard) brass. It is used in RF connectors for the center contacts. It can be heat treated and retains its "spring" so its ideal for making slotted and crimped contacts. It's also used in fibre optic connectors, and as someone else mentioned for non sparking hand tools. The amount of Beryllium in C172 is fairly low, and machining it is not especially hazardous. To be on the safe side it's best not to do any machining that creates dust such as grinding and buffing. A few years back there was a shortage of BeCu and companies were paying big bucks for it. I'm not sure what the going rate is for it today.

Reply to
D Murphy

Thanks... I could not find the going rate for it, either.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970

Sorry, but that is old information. Low percentage beryllium alloys are indeed dangerous. In the case of my wife, she was working with tiny castings, a few of which contained beryllium up to a maximum of 3%. Her lungs are ruined for life. There has been lost of misinformation on this in the past because:

1) There can be decades between exposure and symptoms. ("Been using the stuff all my life and never a problem") 2) Most of the population is immune. (are you feeling lucky?) 3) Overoptimistic spin by the alloy manufacturers. (you can guess why) 4) Disinformation from the government (Lots of beryllium in nuclear weapons and they needed workers during the cold war.)

Good advice, the amount of dust that is dangerous is invisible to the eye, and it tends to hang in the air. It will go right through a paper filter mask.

Vaughn

A few years back there was a shortage of BeCu and

Reply to
Vaughn

If I read those specs right, these rods are 98% copper and only 1.58% Beryllium. That's the standard BerylCo alloy for making springs. You machine it like copper to the dimensions you need (or stamp it out of sheet which I'm more used to) and then heat treat it to form the spring. Before you heat treat it, it works like copper so you can form any shape you want. When you heat treat it (450 deg. 45 minutes as I remember, but look it up) the beryllium migrates to the grain boundaries, locking them and forming a spring. Very hand stuff and ubiquitous in the electronics industry. All the spring contacts that hold the boards in you computer are made from it.

Jim

Reply to
Jim McGill

Thanks!

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9970

But he does not machine it or even get it out of the device it is part of.

Reply to
John G

Dont tell your wife that they use berillium copper in many switches and electrical contacts. You probably have berillium copper in many parts of your house.

John

Reply to
john

Thanks for the tip. I definitely will not mention that (I am only half kidding).

Reply to
Ignoramus9970

Ignoramus9970 wrote in news:d2koor$l1b$ snipped-for-privacy@pita.alt.net:

Call these guys. They are right off of 90 by RT83.

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Reply to
D Murphy

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