carbon nano tubes / cutting steerer

neeb
neeb Posts: 4,473
edited January 2009 in Workshop
I'm about to cut about 5mm off the steerer on my Look HSC5SL fork. I know I have to use a special untoothed hacksaw blade. I've heard about the potential health risks from carbon nanotube dust, and while I'm not going to get in a panic about it (I'm sure any risk from a single exposure is tiny) it doesn't do any harm to be careful. Any tips in this regard? Wear a mask? Do it under water? :D

On the other hand, perhaps the HSC5SL doesn't contain CNTs anyway, as it is a fairly old design? I know the dropouts at least are "Very High Modulus" but I think perhaps they predate the use of CNTs in bike frames & forks. Does anyone know for sure?

Comments

  • gundersen
    gundersen Posts: 586
    just a silly question - what are you on about?
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    the majority of structural components won't use CNTs, but you still don't want to breathe the CF dust in.
    I like bikes...

    Twitter
    Flickr
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Easton use CNTs. Just tape the area to be sawn with masking tape to stop the fibres tearing and saw with a damp blade. Hoover up all the dust, even wear a mask if you're worried.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Thanks for the tips.
    just a silly question - what are you on about?
    If you google "carbon nanotube" and "asbestos" you'll get the info; some recent recent research they did with mice suggests that carbon nanotubes, which are used in some carbon fiber components, can cause similar changes to body tissue that asbestos can (in huge quantities, over a long length of time). Nothing to worry about, but something to take into consideration of you are doing anything with carbon that is likely to cause lots of dust, e.g. sawing a steerer.
  • Dissapointed....I was thinking this was going to be a discussion about Buckminster Fullerene atc.
    17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Dissapointed....I was thinking this was going to be a discussion about Buckminster Fullerene atc.

    Well, we could start.. :wink:

    Apparently carbon nanotubes are just buckyballs extended into tubes, with a semi-spherical half buckyball at either end. I thought that was pretty cool.
  • Take the tape and wet blade precautions, but have somebody else there with a hoover at the same time working as a form of extraction.......