In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?

--
Mike Barnes

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?

Mike Barnes

Never seen it myself, but would think with your description of where in the
store it is, that it could be an alloy containing things that give off fine
dust or something similar. The extra handling care could be when the
material is being cut or adding chemicals to it.

You would really need to read the label to get all the facts correct though.

BigWallop wrote:
"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?

Mike Barnes


Never seen it myself, but would think with your description of where in the
store it is, that it could be an alloy containing things that give off fine
dust or something similar. The extra handling care could be when the
material is being cut or adding chemicals to it.

You would really need to read the label to get all the facts correct though.

Not like the "composites" they use in F1 cars etc - ie. carbon fibre
type stuff? Aren't these quite fragile if bent in the wrong way etc?

Or am I completely wrong?

D

In uk.d-i-y, David Hearn wrote:
BigWallop wrote:
"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?

Mike Barnes

Never seen it myself, but would think with your description of where
in the
store it is, that it could be an alloy containing things that give off fine
dust or something similar. The extra handling care could be when the
material is being cut or adding chemicals to it.
You would really need to read the label to get all the facts correct
though.

Not like the "composites" they use in F1 cars etc - ie. carbon fibre
type stuff? Aren't these quite fragile if bent in the wrong way etc?

Could be. When I sawed it it went very easily, producing surprisingly
fine dust, and what looked like fine (longitudinal) fibres breaking away
from the body of the material.

I bought only because it fitted my decorative purposes, but it seems
like quite serious stuff, whatever it is.

--
Mike Barnes

BigWallop wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to

Never seen it myself, but would think with your description of where in the
store it is, that it could be an alloy containing things that give off fine
dust or something similar. The extra handling care could be when the
material is being cut or adding chemicals to it.

You would really need to read the label to get all the facts correct though.

I would suspect it's glass reinforced plastic of some sort.
Nylon, or polyester, or...

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 11:20:36 +0100, Mike Barnes
wrote:

Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite".

Composite means "some stuff in other stuff" or "reinforcement in a
matrix" to be posh. If the reinforcement is stiff (e.g. carbon fibre),
then you get a high stiffness or high strength material. If the
reinforcement is simply a powder, then you get something that's
primarily cheap. If the reinforcement has short fibres (cotton fluff,
asbestos) then you get a bit of extra strength and a ot of extra cheap.

I would guess that this material is a mineral filler powder, maybe a
short fibre, in some plastic resin. There's probably a dust hazard if
you machine it.

On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 13:27:13 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:

I would guess that this material is a mineral filler powder, maybe a
short fibre, in some plastic resin. There's probably a dust hazard if
you machine it.

If that is the case shouldn't they have a MSDS available?

sponix

On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 12:39:44 GMT, (s--p--o--n--i--x)
wrote:

If that is the case shouldn't they have a MSDS available?

Probably - B&Q are generally pretty good on such things.

In article , "Mike
Barnes" says...
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?


Probably a glass fibre reinforced plastic - so the dust from cutting
it will give you silicosis and if it breaks it will have nasty jaggy
edges.

In article , "Andy
Dingley" says...
On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 11:20:36 +0100, Mike Barnes
wrote:

Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite".

Composite means "some stuff in other stuff" or "reinforcement in a
matrix" to be posh. If the reinforcement is stiff (e.g. carbon fibre),

Carbon fibre isn't stiff, it just has a high tensile strength.

BigWallop wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In my local B&Q warehouse there's a section with metre lengths of
various bars, rods, tubes, etc, in various materials such as steel,
aluminium, and brass. Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite". The composite items have an additional red
label saying "Take great care when handling this product", or words to
that effect. It's not clear why special care is required, and I didn't
consider it worth my while trying to find a member of staff to ask.

Does anyone know what this "composite" is, and what sort of care you're
supposed to take with it?

Mike Barnes


Never seen it myself, but would think with your description of where in the
store it is, that it could be an alloy containing things that give off fine
dust or something similar. The extra handling care could be when the
material is being cut or adding chemicals to it.

You would really need to read the label to get all the facts correct though.


Probably a resin/glass compoisite. You can get sharp shards and dust and
splinbters off it.

Rob Morley wrote:

In article , "Andy
Dingley" says...

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 11:20:36 +0100, Mike Barnes
wrote:


Also some hard white plasticy stuff identified on
the label as "Composite".

Composite means "some stuff in other stuff" or "reinforcement in a
matrix" to be posh. If the reinforcement is stiff (e.g. carbon fibre),


Carbon fibre isn't stiff, it just has a high tensile strength.

True, but a carbon fibre _composite_, is incredibly stiff if moulded
appropiately, for its weight.