[CR] Brazing follies

(Example: History)

Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 07:36:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Colin Laing" <colin_laing@yahoo.com>
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR] Brazing follies


As an expert on the subject of inhaling fumes from brazing, here is my 2 cents worth....

No matter how careful you are, you breathe in a certain amount of the poison and this goes also for bronze brazing also..I used quite a large amount of these products over 55 years of frame building , making thousands of frames.Even the bronze-flux contains Boric Acid, a main ingredient of ROACH KILLER..and the Silver solder flux is about ten times worse.Obviously, when making a meager living at the trade, it is very easy to forgo safety but quit for the day when the head-aches become unbearable.

My solution was to actually run to work and back, my mind worked out that what went into my lungs, could be easily blasted out again..It seemed to do the trick and I became a Champion Marathon runner as a side bonus.,UNTIL, I became too old to do the constant running ( bike riding and racing didn't give the same effect)..I located the workshop behind my house.and this was a mighty error, although I had the same filter system as before, I didn't have the energetic burst after work. By the time I turned 70, I came to realise that my muscles were wearing thinner, I put this down to old age and also lack of constant exercise.NOT SO..visits to various doctors culminating with a Neuro Surgeon told me I had indeed MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY and I blame this on the constant input of chemicals to my brain.

I was by then 72 years old and began to look back at reasons for this scourge when NORMAN TAYLOR popped into my mind...his illness before death was pretty close to the symptoms that I have., so maybe that's why most older frame-builders go slightly crazy later in life ??

My answer was to get rid of all my equipment and tools,,,thereby not giving in to the many would-be customers begging me to make them " one last bike"

Use up the supply of rods by all means, make as much money as possible, build a following, build a reputation,,,,but in the end, it's NOT worth it..believe me. Colin Laing Arizona USA