Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[bjacko]

I have been very lucky. I helped my father build garages and sheds from asbestos sheets in the 1950's, which often had to be cut with a cloud of dust and lots of sneezing etc. Later after I came to Australia I worked on a number of DIY projects involving asbestos sheets which had to be cut, shaved ,filed etc and have never suffered for it. I still have an 8x4 sheet of thick asbestos sheet tucked away at the back of my garage which I have marked in big letters to alert people it is asbestos. There is asbestos in my house with sheets under the eaves and the chimney for my gas heater. The water main in our street was changed from asbestos-cement to plastic about 3 years ago.
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1938 Morris 8 Ser II Coupe Utility (Pickup)
1985 Rover SD1 VDP

[Ray White]

How my Dad escaped asbestosis I shall never know. After WW2 thousands of 'pre fabs' were put up to house people who had been bombed out. These places were made of asbestos sheeting and my Dad was employed for a while assembling them. Maybe because the work of cutting the panels was done outside - and I expect they only had hand tools - he avoided breathing in the dust.

As I mentioned earlier he went on to work for a Company that made cylinder head gaskets but that was. done inside where the risk was, presumably, far greater.

Talking about working with hazardous materials; my Dad stayed with that engineering firm and besides running their garage (which serviced a large fleet of vehicles) he worked with fluoride; another nasty substance ...but somehow he still managed to avoid getting ill.

As it happens he built the first machine that produced ptfe (plumbers) tape. I saw that machine; it was a masterpiece of hydro/pmeumatic engineering and earned the Company so much money they continued to send Dad a nice Christmas box for 25 years after he had retired.!!!

My heart goes out, however to anyone who has contracted asbestosis. One of my Dad's work mates was dying from the disease and could no longer play the saxophone in a 'big band'. He kindly gave me the saxophone - a genuine 1927 Beuscher jazz instrument - which I still have to this day.

[Rootes75]

A chap I used to work with was previously in the Navy, in the 50's/60's. He was an Engineer and was employed when running up a ship and trialling. he told me that they were forever using asbestos based materials as heat protection or sealing etc. He contracted Asbestosis from that and passed away within a month of diagnosis. He was a lovely chap.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ray White]