Asbestos in Modern Wadding?

[islandmike]

Hi,

I just bought a new kit from Estes, (Outlaw) and put it together last night. Good times.

Just in learning about rocketry though, i've come across discussion of asbestos.

As a former heaver smoker, I'm really trying to avoide additional risks, and I'm wondering if modern wadding (like from the new kit I bought yesterday) would contain asbestos?

Could someone let me know? Thanks!

[CJU]

Hi,

I just bought a new kit from Estes, (Outlaw) and put it together last night. Good times.

Just in learning about rocketry though, i've come across discussion of asbestos.

As a former heaver smoker, I'm really trying to avoide additional risks, and I'm wondering if modern wadding (like from the new kit I bought yesterday) would contain asbestos?

Could someone let me know? Thanks!

There is no asbestos in wadding. Could you imagine the lawsuits if there was? :eek:

[Bob Kaplow]

There hasn't been asbestos in wadding since the early 60s. The current Estes stuff is flameproofed Charmin. Quest uses parade float decorating tissue that is already flameproofed. other common wadding materials (crepe, dog barf, fiberglass, etc) are all asbestos free. I don't think it's legal to put asbestos in anything any more.

[ghrocketman]

No asbestos in any currently produced wadding....probably has been none since the 60's.

Not true that it's illegal to put asbestos in anything, but it's use has been SEVERELY limited, like that of the useful, but inappropriately maligned, pesticide DDT.

I'm pretty sure that 99.9% of asbestos is used in military applications, and as a whole about .1% of what used to contain asbestos now does.

Some things just have no decent substitute for them; like lead in aviation AV100LL gasoline.

[islandmike]

Hey guys,

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I'm looking forward to a little 3-2-1 this weekend!

Cheers,

Mike

[Shreadvector]

You *will* want to keep away from the exhaust cloud from most composit motors as it is quite an irritating choke-fest.

[Doug Sams]

As a former heaver smoker, I'm really trying to avoide additional risks, and I'm wondering if modern wadding (like from the new kit I bought yesterday) would contain asbestos? Good for you, Mike. How long on the wagon?

Next week will mark 6 years cig-free/nicotine-free for me. Hoo-rah!

Doug

.

[Bob Kaplow]

You *will* want to keep away from the exhaust cloud from most composit motors as it is quite an irritating choke-fest.

Actually, Fred, it's great for clearing my congested sinuses!

[Bob H]

Good for you, Mike. How long on the wagon?

Next week will mark 6 years cig-free/nicotine-free for me. Hoo-rah!

Doug

.Good for you!

I have been smoke free for 28 years now after having smoked for 20 years before that.

At the time that I quit, cigarettes were accepted in the workplace and in all public buildings so I was subject to temptation everywhere but the price had just gone up to 70 cents a pack and I didn't want to pay that high price for something that was just making me cough all the time..

[rokitflite]

From what I remember being told (more than 25 years ago) it is some type of borax solution that the wadding material (toilet paper) is treated with so that it will not hold a flame.

[stefanj]

You can make a fireproofing solution suitable for making wadding by stirring borax (3 tbs.) and boric acid (7 tbs.) in a quart of water.

Boric acid powder is available at drug stores.

Why make wadding when you can get "dog barf" (fireproofed cellulose insulation) really cheap? Paper wadding is better for small rockets, and even when I use dog barf I put a layer of paper in their first, to act as a sort of cup.

I made several years worth of paper wadding using a roll of cheap paper towels.

* * *

There was a Centuri launch pad that had a fibrous asbestos blast deflector. It was the flat wooden box style launcher. I remember picking off and rubbing the crumbly stuff.

[Solomoriah]

I use crepe paper in my bigger rockets, and the Estes stuff in the smaller ones. This lets me get by with just the Estes wadding that comes in the Wal-Mart engine packs.

[Bob Kaplow]

|Why make wadding when you can get "dog barf" (fireproofed cellulose insulation) really |cheap? Paper wadding is better for small rockets, and even when I use dog barf I put a layer of |paper in their first, to act as a sort of cup.

Why make paper wadding when you can get pre-treated crepe paper or float tissue paper?

|I made several years worth of paper wadding using a roll of cheap paper towels.

I remember some stuff Bunny made years ago. It was as stiff as cardboard, and not very useful.

|There was a Centuri launch pad that had a fibrous asbestos blast deflector. It was the flat |wooden box style launcher. I remember picking off and rubbing the crumbly stuff.

Not sure if Centuri every had anything like this, but you've described my launcher form my 1963 Estes starter set. I still have it, asbestos pad and all.

[Ltvscout]

|There was a Centuri launch pad that had a fibrous asbestos blast deflector. It was the flat |wooden box style launcher. I remember picking off and rubbing the crumbly stuff.

Not sure if Centuri every had anything like this, but you've described my launcher form my 1963 Estes starter set. I still have it, asbestos pad and all.
They did. I have one in my collection.

[Bazookadale]

Originally Posted by Bob Kaplow
|There was a Centuri launch pad that had a fibrous asbestos blast deflector. It was the flat |wooden box style launcher. I remember picking off and rubbing the crumbly stuff.

Not sure if Centuri every had anything like this, but you've described my launcher form my 1963 Estes starter set. I still have it, asbestos pad and all.



They did. I have one in my collection.

I have the Centuri launch pad too, and I blame that asbestos pad for all my health problems now - where is my lawyer ;)
http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/catalogs/centuri65/65cen6.html