Question for the old timers

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Have you ever heard of covering welds with asbestos paste after welding a seam on a stainless steel drum to slow the cooling of the weld to prevent warping?Trying to see if I am being fed a line of BS.Thanks in advance.
Reply:Asbestos paste is used to keep areas that you do not want to get burned from damage. Less polishing afterwards. Remember that you have to clean up and dispose of the asbestos paste also.These kinds of paste's have very specific uses. It is usually to protect something else in the weld area.As far as cooling the weld I do not think it would be wise.The paste would burn, and how many secends it would take to apply the paste would make it too late anyway. The weld SHOULD cool slowly.Also think of the fumes and smoke.You really can only control warping by keeping the heat to a minimum by using the TIG welding process which has the lowest heat input, OR by attaching alluminum clamps or blocks to the area to get rid of the heat.The order,spacing and timing of the welding is also used to prevint warpage.
Reply:May or may not be bs, but I am pretty sure you can't get away with it nowadays. Asbestos used to be used for a lot of things, but is pretty rare now. We used to wrap stuff in asbestos blankets to slow cooling, but I haven't seen one of those things in twenty years.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jolly RogerMay or may not be bs, but I am pretty sure you can't get away with it nowadays. Asbestos used to be used for a lot of things, but is pretty rare now. We used to wrap stuff in asbestos blankets to slow cooling, but I haven't seen one of those things in twenty years.
Reply:I think a heat absorbing paste may be used adjacent to the joint to help control distortion.http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+SearchI don't slow cooling will help with distortion, and with SS you want fast cooling to help prevent carbide precipitation.
Reply:The big 'A' is still around and used, but much less liberally than in the past. The trend is to get rid of it anywhere, but the risk is often overblown. (I will stop before the flames start, but the majority of money spent pulling asbestos is wasted)There are replacements that are dead-on equivelant for any application you want (blankets, battes, loose, powdered, etc), and sometimes superior. Generally silica and ceramics (which the manufacturers swear arn't asbestos and arn't in any way related. Really. There's no relation. None..... Buying this?)
Reply:I agree that the asbestos risk is overblown like a lot of other stuff the government gets involved in. As long as asbestos is in place and undisturbed it is no problem. When you move it and stir up the fibers and breathe them is when the problems start.