iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Lichtenberg warning

Started by dogone, April 23, 2021, 11:48:56 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

dogone

    Just read about a death in Winnipeg , Saskatchewan. A man was doing lichtenberg engraving and was electrocuted . Fire department warned about the danger of the process.

Ianab

It's one of those things that you shouldn't do unless you completely understand what you are doing. 

And anyone that really understands what's going on, wouldn't do it.  :-\
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

HemlockKing

Good thing I just use a blow torch for my wood burning on crafts although not quite as fancy looking  ;D

A1

Ianab

Quote from: HemlockKing on April 24, 2021, 05:14:03 AM
Good thing I just use a blow torch for my wood burning on crafts although not quite as fancy looking  ;D
See you understand the process you are using. You know not to set yourself or your shop on fire.  ;D
Playing with some Jerry rigged high voltage electricity and damp wood is a whole other level of scary. A blow torch wont jump to your body via a puddle of water on the floor. 10,000 volts will.  :o
 
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

WV Sawmiller

   I have a guy that does mine. He uses a transformer out of a microwave. I have warned him many times to be careful but I suspect he is not nearly as careful as he should be,


This is some of his work.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

doc henderson

that is way too close to the truck!   :)
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

firefighter ontheside

Yeah, wood is not a good conductor of electricity.  When you're putting enough power to it to make it conduct, its definitely dangerous.
Woodmizer LT15
Kubota Grand L4200
Stihl 025, MS261 and MS362
2017 F350 Diesel 4WD
Kawasaki Mule 4010
1998 Dodge 3500 Flatbed

doc henderson

yes it follow the path of least resistance, so make sure you are not in that path.  sadly, it is too cool to ignore.   8) 8) 8)   :o :o :o   :) :) :).  the higher the voltage, the more excited it is to go somewhere, anywhere.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

kantuckid

Back in KS we used to do what we called "light bulb worms" in this neighbor/farmers old sheep lot which had night crawlers down in the old manure from years ago.
 110v cord with a lightbulb to tell us it was hot. They come out a flying but made me a bit nervous in wet weather :D
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

firefighter ontheside

So we just had training on burns this morning.  One of my guys said that they ran a call not too long ago where a young man was doing this very thing.  He was in full arrest on arrival and we were able to bring him back, but then he arrested again and did not survive.  
Woodmizer LT15
Kubota Grand L4200
Stihl 025, MS261 and MS362
2017 F350 Diesel 4WD
Kawasaki Mule 4010
1998 Dodge 3500 Flatbed

kantuckid

Our technique (if we had one?) included unplugging the wire before entering that area and fetching worms. I/we sold worms to a bait shop in Topeka, KS when in ~ 6-7th grade. Got not much for a whole quart of earthworms worms-no dirt! Also could not be sewer worms-the green juicy ones. ;D 
I can easily live w/o that litchenburg stuff? 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

terrifictimbersllc

How difficult to get insurance to cover lichtenburging?
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

petefrom bearswamp

I have no clue as to what this process is.
Can someone explain?
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

doc henderson

it is a wood burning kind of technique to make a random patterns in wood.  it is a fad, like epoxy.  best to watch a you tube video.  High voltage.  follow the path of least resistance in the wood.  

Lichtenberg Burning Art Start to finish - Twilight Mist - YouTube
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

YellowHammer

It's basically getting a high voltage transformer, wetting the surface of a board with an electrolyte, embedding a couple electrodes, and then throwing the electricity to it, creating a spark that burns the wood into patterns.  Just imagine the Frankenstein movies where they fed the the lighting through the bolts in his neck.

Many people homebuild their equipment, and end up electrocuting themselves.  It can be done safely, but as with any homebuilt equipment, it can be very dangerous, also.

A sad experience we had a couple years ago was when we had a young highly tattooed couple, with ear piercings and smelling of all kinds of "smoke" came in to buy some wood for this process.  They had just started selling pieces made with the process, and were telling me that they had "discovered" that if they held the insulated electrode with some pliers or other insulated tool, they could steer the design around the wood, much like holding a pen that fired lightning.  That got our attention real quick, as well as a few other customers who all chimed in to tell them they were playing with the wrong technique, and it was deadly if done wrong.  We told them they needed to stop.  They said they knew what they were doing, and since they didn't look like the poster children for electrical safety, we cautioned them several times that the process they were using was very dangerous, and since they seemed like nice people, we wanted to keep them as customers.  I maybe overstepped and started lecturing them on how to not get killed, but they kept telling me they knew what they were doing, and it wasn't that dangerous, because ...."they had already been hit several times and they were OK...." :o :o :o  So I came off the ceiling when they told me that I started laying into them, saying they were lucky to be alive.  They ignored me, a best as I could tell.  

Anyway, they bought their wood, and we all looked at each other and said they were nice people, but we'd never see them again.  We never did.  I don't know the reason, it may have been me lecturing them that ran them off, it may have been they moved, but I'm pretty sure they got "hit again" and I hope survived it with enough brain cells intact to start doing something else.  At least I hope so.      
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

kantuckid

I find it interesting but IMO as a wood lover I'll stick with woods natural grain and inherent beauty. Working wood without juicing it up is fairly dangerous. :D
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

firefighter ontheside

As I learned in burns training yesterday, the same burn pattern can show up on people who have been struck by lightning.  Apparently the term Lichtenburg was first used for these cases before it was used to describe the burn pattern on wood.
Woodmizer LT15
Kubota Grand L4200
Stihl 025, MS261 and MS362
2017 F350 Diesel 4WD
Kawasaki Mule 4010
1998 Dodge 3500 Flatbed

Don P

A coworker got hit by juice flowing out of a RF glue machine on a wet track of glue, pretty well scorched the end of his finger, luckily that was all. I had accidentally done lichtenberg gluelines while dialing in the power on it a time or few. Gave me a whole new respect for high current and good conductors (like us!)

21incher

Years ago after  the blackout in Canada caused  by lightning blowing  transformers I worked with GE to develop  a system  to dump excess voltage from lightening. It was basically  a really big electrode about 4 feet from a large grounded metal ball in a large steel enclosure.  When voltage exceeding the air gap distance caused by lightning happened it would  just jump the gap to ground and protect the transformers. After  the  voltage  dropped everything went back to normal.  They used an 175,000 volt generator to test it and it was amazing to  watch the discharge from another building through a camera.  Wish people  would  stop making  YouTube videos about  stuff like this because  many viewers  are doing  it now after watching videos without  knowledge of what can go wrong. 
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

WV Sawmiller

Quote from: doc henderson on April 24, 2021, 06:40:32 AM
that is way too close to the truck!   :)
Why? ??? 

Had to display them for the picture somehow.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

olcowhand

Quote from: firefighter ontheside on April 25, 2021, 09:34:40 AM
As I learned in burns training yesterday, the same burn pattern can show up on people who have been struck by lightning.  Apparently the term Lichtenburg was first used for these cases before it was used to describe the burn pattern on wood.
That pattern is reminiscent of scarring I saw on a dead Heifer's hind leg years ago. She was found under a dying Apple tree, which also bore evidence of having been struck during the previous night's storm. The boss told me to harvest what salvageable meat we could get, but it was all "well done" up into her front quarters, so we buried her. A side note, the boss and I were under another tree about 100 yards away when the storm blew in the previous evening. I had long hair at the time, and the boss looked at me and mandated we make a dash for the truck. I was later told that my hair was standing up....
Although I agree with Doc's comparison to Epoxy as a "fad", I think the personality type that is attracted to this practice may be a little different (I'll suggest that many get a "charge" out of wielding dangerous power....). I'm not a phycologist (or any "ist"), but many of this type of personality can be easily recognized. I'll not elaborate further.
Steve
 
Olcowhand's Workshop, LLC

They say the mind is the first to go; I'm glad it's something I don't use!

Ezekiel 36:26-27

Thank You Sponsors!