Flame Resistant Fabrics

[epicfail48]

I only need it to be somewhat flame resistant so sparks from grinding won't set it on fire when that steel dust starts to glow and flicker sometimes.

I was thinking of denim and spraying it with some of that fire retardant spray.

I really liked that foil covered material, thought that would be a good choice and easy to clean.

JL................

Did some looking, apparently that foundry fabric is aluminized aramid. Found the jackets at Grainger, for $350. Personally, id just as soon grab a denim jacket from goodwill for grinding tasks

[dian]

not shure how much of the stuff you need. curtain is different from machine cover. i would try this.

spark resistant fabric: take some linen (or get cotton bed sheet from op-shop). soak in 10-30% waterglass. preferably let dry in the final shape. it will get a bit hard*, will be water, dust and spark resistant. not much to loose, before spending money on silicon or some space-flight material. if your in a hurry condition with co2.

*will tend to keep its shape

but above all, put the grinder in a corner.

[loose nut]

How flame-resistant do you need it to be? Trapped in a crashed racecar flame-resistant, or just wont catch fire easily flame resistant? Cause plain old denim is surprisingly flame-resistant for a basic fabric, but wont compare to Nomex. That said, if all you need is protection from an incidental hot bit hitting you it could be enough

Depends on where you are and what your doing. I worked in an oil refinery and for the last 15 years the company switched over to Nomex for all field employees, very pricey. The main reason being that there could be flash fires, large and small and Nomex will not catch fire with exposure to flame (it carbonizes and stiffens) but as I stated earlier heat will carry through and still cause burns, hopefully milder, unless there is a thermal barrier layer to protect you. Cotton blue jeans are somewhat flame resistant but will still catch fire and that is the main problem. If you are caught in a fire even momentarily the real damage is from the clothes you are wearing burning not the fire itself. Most people don't have the ability to stop and roll on the ground or as in a refinery if you are on a tower or vessel at height there isn't any place to do that so once ignited you burn up. Nomex stops the clothes from catching fire and tries to minimize the burn damage, somewhat. Racing car drivers wear much thicker Nomex with a thermal barrier layer underneath since they are at a great immediate risk then an industrial worker.

P.S. Nomex is hot to wear.😰

P.P.S. as a demonstration, for us, a piece of Nomex was held against an OX-Acet flame from a torch (high and direct heat) and it DID NOT ignite but the material crinkled and shrunk up and became stiff. Eventually it crumbled away.

[JoeLee]

Might consider welding curtain material, but if you want something smooth and flexible that will catch and extinguish sparks, maybe a good weight of smooth cotton canvas.

I have some of that welding curtain plastic, it's pretty stiff stuff.

JL..................

[JoeLee]

not shure how much of the stuff you need. curtain is different from machine cover. i would try this.

spark resistant fabric: take some linen (or get cotton bed sheet from op-shop). soak in 10-30% waterglass. preferably let dry in the final shape. it will get a bit hard*, will be water, dust and spark resistant. not much to loose, before spending money on silicon or some space-flight material. if your in a hurry condition with co2.

*will tend to keep its shape

but above all, put the grinder in a corner.

I don't need much....... one sq. yard would be enough to do what I want.

I found some vinyl material in the shop. It would probably suffice but the back side has that felt fuzzy stuff on it. Not sure about it being safe, even though it would be on the underside.

JL.................

[Corbettprime]

Just for giggles and grins, get some clear vinyl sheeting from your wifes/girlfriends favorite fabric store. Available in several weights/thicknesses, very inexpensive.

[loose nut]

Get some fibreglass fabric, auto body stuff thicker if possible. Maybe from a fibreglass boat builder. We used that to control sparks and for heat insulation while welding. It doesn't burn but will melt if exposed to high heat like direct contact with a torch flame.

[JoeLee]

Get some fibreglass fabric, auto body stuff thicker if possible. Maybe from a fibreglass boat builder. We used that to control sparks and for heat insulation while welding. It doesn't burn but will melt if exposed to high heat like direct contact with a torch flame.

I have some of that fiberglass cloth. It's nasty stuff to work with. Breaks down, falls apart and goes everywhere. Unless it's coated with rubber like in a tarp form.

JL.....................

[JoeLee]

Just for giggles and grins, get some clear vinyl sheeting from your wifes/girlfriends favorite fabric store. Available in several weights/thicknesses, very inexpensive.

That's pretty much what I have here. Had it laying around the shop and never gave it a thought.

This is vinyl like what you would for seat covers, car roof tops etc. Has that fuzzy white stuff on the back side. I put it through the flame test and it wouldn't ignite. Just melted a little and stunk some. I guess this is the stuff to use. I will make a custom fit bib / apron to cover what I want to protect on the machine. Will probably have to do it in two pieces to allow the table to move with out bunching the material up. Maybe some velcro to secure it around the column etc. I'll have to play around. Just like putting way covers on your mill !

JL...............

[reggie_obe]

That's pretty much what I have here. Had it laying around the shop and never gave it a thought.

This is vinyl like what you would for seat covers, car roof tops etc. Has that fuzzy white stuff on the back side. I put it through the flame test and it wouldn't ignite. Just melted a little and stunk some. I guess this is the stuff to use. I will make a custom fit bib / apron to cover what I want to protect on the machine. Will probably have to do it in two pieces to allow the table to move with out bunching the material up. Maybe some velcro to secure it around the column etc. I'll have to play around. Just like putting way covers on your mill !

JL...............

Sounds like some type of synthetic.
Worst case scenario, do you want to be inhaling fumes from smouldering plastic?

[boslab]

Think at the end of it, aramid, nomex, ceramic and all that you may be just as well off with some old fashioned leather, aprons, jackets or whatever, spark proof , cheap
mark

[elf]

How about a bigger dust collector/vacuum?

[JoeLee]

Think at the end of it, aramid, nomex, ceramic and all that you may be just as well off with some old fashioned leather, aprons, jackets or whatever, spark proof , cheap
mark

Yes, I've come to that conclusion.

JL................

[loose nut]

I have some of that fiberglass cloth. It's nasty stuff to work with. Breaks down, falls apart and goes everywhere. Unless it's coated with rubber like in a tarp form.

JL.....................

But it does the job.

[JoeLee]

How about a bigger dust collector/vacuum?

the problem with a dust collection system for the T&C grinder is that everything is in the way, guard dust chutes etc.
And every time I change position of the grinding wheel / head every thing has to be moved and re-positioned and most of the time I just can't do it, again, everything is in the way.

I do have that nozzle set up I made last year that can be positioned directly under the wheel, it works pretty good for dressing, get probably 80% of the dust and grit but not all of it and sometimes it's in the way when grinding so I have to move it out of the way and just let the dust go. I don't like sucking sparks directly into that plastic hose either.


If someone has some pics they would like to share I would love to see them.

It was a real tight fit making this work, but it was the best I could come up with.



JL.................