Dusty Devil Dale Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I had a very bad experience yesterday, that I want to share as a warning. I was grinding on a steel plate to use as a backer and holder for clay birds on a rifle target. I was repeatedly placing a bird on top of the metal as a template to mark the high points to be ground off. I made the mistake of setting the bird on very hot (from grinding) steel. It turns out, the bird was not clay pottery, like in the old days, but rather, they are a plastic composite material. The bird quickly melted and it produced a noxious whitish yellow smoke which temporarily blurred my vision, and instantly gagged me, preventing me breathing. I became light headed and dropped to my knees, then I began vomiting and gagging/choking. I was home alone, and I honestly thought I was going to lose consciousness - - And the scary part is that I was doing the work outside with good ventilation. The fumes only really hit me for a couple seconds ! If I had been indoors and closed in, I am fairly certain I would not be writing this. I slowly recovered, but my vision was badly blurred for about a half hour, and I was very sick for a couple hours, with a racing heartbeat, muscle cramps and nausea. I recovered over a period of several hours, and am normal again now. All that was from heating one clay bird. I tried to look up a Material Safety Data Sheet for the White Flyer birds. I couldn't find anything. Many plastic based materials emit nerve-afflicting gasses like Phosgene when burned. It is possible that may be what I experienced. In any case, it was very bad stuff to be exposed to. I wanted to pass this along for the benefit of other target-builder cowboys, but in particular for those who might be storing clay birds inside your home or attached garage. In case of fire, I strongly recommend against it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Never knew this. Weird that it would have plastic in it and be advertised as biodegradable. Thanks for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokestack SASS#87384 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 They have sulfur in them. That is what caused your problems. Glad you’re OK now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 1 minute ago, Smokestack SASS#87384 said: They have sulfur in them. That is what caused your problems. Glad you’re OK now. Ahhh. That makes sense and anwers the biodegradable issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy Eeyour Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 This may provide more question but see FAQ 1 and the last. http://whiteflyer.com/faqs/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 10 minutes ago, Smokestack SASS#87384 said: They have sulfur in them. That is what caused your problems. Glad you’re OK now. Possibly it was Sulfur dioxide from oxidizing the material. That would certainly fit. But the melted material also left a resin like residue that was quite hard to scrape off the steel plate. Between you and me, my curiosity is satisfied. I am just not going to heat a clay bird ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 12 minutes ago, Lazy Eeyour said: This may provide more question but see FAQ 1 and the last. http://whiteflyer.com/faqs/ Very helpful. Thank you. Sounds like it was SO2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 4 hours ago, Dusty Devil Dale said: But the melted material also left a resin like residue that was quite hard to scrape off the steel plate. Sulfur melts into a brown sticky liquid at about 240 deg F. Then when it cools, it hardens into a resin type form - almost plastic feeling. When sulfur comes in contact with open flame or even higher temperatures, it combusts to create sulfur dioxide. That combines with water (like in your mucous membranes) to make sulfurous acid, or if highly oxidized, sulfuric acid. Sulfur dioxide is an immediate eye and lung irritant and will suffocate a person. Ancients called sulfur - brimstone! There's no plastic in clays. Lignin, which is a tree produced glue, is used to hold the biodegradable pigeons together. Pitch is used to hold the non-bio clays until they break. Glad you didn't get a worse dose. Severe lung damage can occur. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 wow - did not know this , i appreciate the info and am very happy you were well enough to deliver it , i cannot tell you how many times folks have thought to toss these bits into a burn barrel and im so glad it never happened , i will pass this along to some who need to know as well as those that dont , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Quote the bird was not clay pottery, like in the old days The old days you refer to are really old. The fired clay (pottery) bird was replaced by a pressed pitch-and-limestone bird in the 1890s. In the last 20 years or so, the bio-degradable birds have been slowly gaining ground on pitch bird usage. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 no wonder it takes me forever to cook one. Even then the are pretty tough to eat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Likely better boiled. Thanks for the heads up Dusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Tom Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 DANG!!!! Glad you're OK. Irish Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Pepper Kid, SASS #60463 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attica Jack #23953 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Glad to know that. I drill a small hole in the edge of my clay pigeons so I can hang them with a big paper clips. Never had a problem........yet. Guess I will be doing the drilling outside from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 26 minutes ago, Attica Jack #23953 said: Never had a problem........yet. Guess I will be doing the drilling outside from now on. My bet is that you could very safely continue drilling them indoors. Just don't let the bit get super hot - which I don't foresee happening if you are paying attention. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attica Jack #23953 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Heck, I am too broke to even pay attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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