Clean hands?

A lot of interesting detail there, in the instrument division clean hands are essential as acidic skin oils made metal and glass items corrode and made food for fungal attack on glass. I know that engineering means greasy hands and dirty hands but gloves can help. Remember some people have an acidic constitution, others are neutral.

In one case I had to let a bloke on probation go because he had sweaty hands and would drink 2 pints of ale during the dinner break and his fingers left marks on everything. This all meant re-cleaning and double the work.It seems the drinking made his skin acidic !

We could not use prophylactic hand cream as that too would affect the components. Frequent hand washing was the answer and in some cases the process provide that anyway.

Clive.

A work mate once told me, the real competition , is not how fast you work, or how accurate you work, as with out those two, no one will employ you. The real competition is working and not getting dirty, Keep a rag handy to regularly wipe your hands and some paper towels handy to wipe down the machine tool handles etc. Then only use cold water for the hand washing. I always have clean hands apart from repairing old grungy things.

Washing soda is safer, kinder and just as good.

You boys are a pair of wimps. Boiling Aqua Regia dissolves absolutely everything in under 20 seconds. It's so good you'll never ever have to wash your hands again. Result!

Just don't get it in your eyes - it might sting a little...

Dave

Lots of useful hand cleaning info but would anybody care to reccomend a barrier cream they find works well and available in the U.K. I don't suffer with skin conditions on my hands and would like to keep it that way particularly as I am just starting again with machining etc. I have used Orange Swarfega for a good while and am going to start wearing some sort of gloves. I remember from my Post Office Telephones days that we used a barrier cream in the workshop but that technology will have moved on in the last 40 odd years hence this request 😊

Aqua Regia is the only thing that will dissolve gold apart from Mercury. Both methods the gold can be recovered.

The story of the research Tech who did not want the Nazi's to get his gold dissolved it in Aqua Regia until after the war and then recovered it!

I think that 'research tech' was Niels Bohr Clive and the gold was in the form of 2 Nobel Prize medals given to him for safe keeping belonging to Max von Loue and James Franke. As you say the gold was later recovered and the Nobel Foundation later recast the medals.

regards Martin

Try washing up liquid and some granulated sugar, works a treat !

Mike

Orange Swarfega now contains natural cornmeal, used to be micro polymer!

Haven't you learned to do porridge in the microwave in the bowl you will eat it from? Zero waste.

Real men use cookers, not microwaves

It was George de Hevesy

**LINK**

I worked with a chap who was always spotlessly turned out, his boiler suit seemed to be tailored in Savile Row and his shirt and tie were faultless and hair always neat. We had to replace a kiln element one day and he got covered in dust the same as me, when he returned to work after lunch he was one again immaculate. Another colleague would start the day freshly turned out but by the end of the day he would always be filthy.

Mike

Try this https://www.justgloves.co.uk/Hygiene-Infection-Control/Hand-Cleaning-Sanitising/Barrier-Creams-Moisturisers/Derma-Shield-Barrier-Cream.

Trevor.

It's not the hand cleaning that's a problem, it's how to avoid an a***e-kicking from SWMBO after I've machined cast iron and washed my hands in the (utility room) sink leaving numerous rust marks which the recommended baking soda treatment doesn't remove.
I've tried explaining that a utility sink is just that, but to no avail. Instead it is suggested that I use 'my own' plastic bowl & tip the water outside.
Needs must when the devil drives.

I use Somersets Handguard which seems to do a pretty good job as a barrier cream. You can get it from the shop bit of their website - somersets.com. They also do a good shaving oil which I used to use but I became lazy and went back to an electric razor. Now there's a debate - electric or a real razor..........

Gold also dissolves in sodium cyanide solution. This is how most of the worlds fine gold is extracted from ore.

Real, it's much quicker.

Mike

Another vote for real razors...

Always fancied a cut throat shave but always feared it would end like that if I was driving, I used to go to an Italian barber who always used a cutthroat for the final tidy up, had to change to a replaceable blade version after HIV/AIDS made an appearance. Will probably stick with Gilette.

Mike