B&Q "composite" handling instructions

[Mike Barnes]

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?

[BigWallop]

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.

[David Hearn]

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

[Mike Barnes]

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.

[Ian Stirling]

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

[Andy Dingley]

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.

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

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

sponix

[Andy Dingley]

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

[Rob Morley]

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

[Rob Morley]

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.

[The Natural Philosopher]

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

[The Natural Philosopher]

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