avoid resonances - a sad story

[diymax62]

Just a short advice: I was building a pair of dipole loudspeakers, and I thinked to stop the panel resonances applying a foil of lead to the wood (1,5 mm thick).
As far as I start to work with, I noted a strange metallic flavour in my mouth, even if I worked with gas mask and gloves.
As far as I proceeded with my work, every time I had to make a hole, a drill, a cut, I started to note other kind of affections: irritated eyes and mouth and so on.
I thinked (wrongly) that puttting the lead inside a strong layer of epoxy glue was enough to avoid intoxication problems.
4 days ago I went to the decision to trash everything, now a couple of photo is all that remains to me:

(see attached files)

Make a favour to yourself: NEVER use lead to build something, there are so many non-toxic material to use (takeng into account that the sonic result was't so wonderful at all...).

About me, I'm happy to restart from the beginning, for the health of mine and mine beloved wife and friends.

Hope this will help someoone

edited: it seems I can't manage to insert an image to my message, please refer to the attached file, if someone interested I'll try to post more lately

[Cal Weldon]

I am wondering if you were inhaling the oxidized vapours. When I worked with the lead I oiled the surface and used mechanical fasteners not glue. Either way, thanks for the warning.

[auplater]

I've worked with hundreds of pounds of lead, (chrome plating anodes, etc.) with no adverse health effects (other than this abnormal craving to keep building speakers )

Seriously, unless you were ingesting the fines from drilling/cutting/machining it's hard to imagine how one could become contaminated with the metal. Many marksmen in the US "load their own" shells with lead shot from the melt. If fumes were a serious problem, seems someone would notice. All of the public rancour about "lead" is either unfounded or the result of poor hygeine practices by people without adequate handling skills.

John L.

[diymax62]

thanks a lot for the replay, Cal and John, from what you say it seems that probably I'm just too sensible to this material. Every time that I machined it (I never heated it, so I think I haven't breathe vapours) the dust irritate me a lot, and the same effect was given to me just touching it. As far from I trashed it the disturbs to mouth and eyes was stopped.
In electronics new world standard tends to avoid the use of the lead, both in components and in soldering metal mixture, so one can think that lead can be dangerous, but... we all know how many times an argument can be propagated just for business... )
Regarding my experience, I'll never user lead again, but, I repeat, probably it is a problem of mine. Maybe there can be a sort of test that one can do before manage this metal, I don't know...
Anyway, thanks again for the replay, they are both reassuring, in some way...
In any case, you're right John, probably the most serious health problem is this craving to keep building audio stuff, but I don't think that there can be a cure for this... )
a great salute

Massimo B.

[Shaun]

Originally posted by auplater
I've worked with hundreds of pounds of lead, (chrome plating anodes, etc.) with no adverse health effects (other than this abnormal craving to keep building speakers )

Well, do friends think you're slightly wacky? I don't mean certifiable, just marginally so one would hardly notice. I find that many of my friends in the electronics industry are just that bit more "fun". I think it's the lead...

[TroelsM]

Auplater: OK so It didn't kill you yet, but do you positively know that your blood doesn't contain elevated lead-levels?

To my understanding the "funny" thing about lead (and a lot of the others stuff that gets under your skin, - in the not so pleasant way...), is that most people can play around with the stuff for years without any harm.

THAT DOSNT MAKE IT SAFE!

When lead is well documented as being bad you should choose your words with more wisdom. OK so you are still alive, but that doesn't prove anything...

Some smokers are still alive, but that doesn't make smoking safe...

Link: http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/lead.htm

Google for more....

If I got it all wrong please do correct me.

Regards TroelsM

[auplater]

Originally posted by TroelsM
Auplater: OK so It didn't kill you yet, but do you positively know that your blood doesn't contain elevated lead-levels?

To my understanding the "funny" thing about lead (and a lot of the others stuff that gets under your skin, - in the not so pleasant way...), is that most people can play around with the stuff for years without any harm.

THAT DOSNT MAKE IT SAFE!

When lead is well documented as being bad you should choose your words with more wisdom. OK so you are still alive, but that doesn't prove anything...

Some smokers are still alive, but that doesn't make smoking safe...

Link: http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/lead.htm

Google for more....

If I got it all wrong please do correct me.

Regards TroelsM

I stated that when mishandled, lead creates problems, so I'm not sure what your problem is... and your understanding is not very deep

There are very few things in life that are truly "safe" if mishandled. Lead is no different. The housing article you referenced is a classic example of overreactive government intrusion. We all drive cars with CO spewing out the tailpipe. That's highly toxic as well, but we're not all dying of carboxyhemoglobinemia. Trees emit all sorts of VOC as a natural consequence of their existence, yet we haven't banned trees, or created regulations banning their use. So we make choices daily that may or may not be harmful.

I currently run a pediatric medical practice, have worked for many years with EPA, have been environmental safety officer in mega-corporations, etc., so I have expertise in this field.

Too many politicians who don't have a clue about REAL safety issues in the world are misleading those naive enough to think they're being protected with psuedoscience and drivel pronouncements and policies that are at odds with reality...

And no, I don't have elevated lead levels, in spite of handling the stuff daily.

(now climbing down off of my stump)

[phase_accurate]

Maybe it was not even the lead but the epoxy glue that caused the irritation while you were drilling.

Regards

Charles

[diymax62]

Thank you Charles for the advice, but no, it wasn't the glue (it's the one used to pose wood tiles), I start to feel this disturbs when I work with lead, before I used glue.
Sincerely I don't expected to have so many partecipation in this thread, my intention was only to tell to all passionate diyers that there are more reasonable choices to the lead (expecially new bituminous- plymeric materials).
Just consider that the sonic result wasn't as good as expected, panel resonance goes deep down, but was present and longer to fall down, and the sound was something deadly.
I hope that the tone will remain calm, maybe it's a delicate argument, I don't know, but please don't let this make this thread a place for a rough debatement, just remember that we share the same passion...
I felt the need to tell this story primarily because I was one step near to the finished work, and I thrashed everything. Maybe it was only to have some partecipation and support to my adventure...
Anyone have its own idea on what is dangerous and what is not, but sometime I'm afraid that our passion can be harmful for other beloved person: in the presence of doubt about the lead, I try to think if I'll shoud live with the thought of my son (or any other children) playing near my leaded loudspeakers... to thrash all was for me the only solution.
Thank you again Charles for your interest,
a great salute to all,

Max

[auplater]

I built a couple of similar OB's, similar to the "NoBox" style





These sound pretty good down to ~ 40 Hz or so... have them augmented with a sonotube 12" sub

John L.

BTW: Metal sensitivity is a well known hazrd... I've had to deal with several cases of nickel rashes, cadmium reactions, etc. over the decades I was in the metal finishing industry, so you may well be allergic to lead, etc.