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So, I broke a Tungsten bucking bar, in half.

CubedRoot

Well Known Member
Well, this is the first time I have ever seen this. While working on my flaps the other night, I was happily riveting the top skin to the spar, and I noticed that my bucking bar felt....weird.

I keep it wrapped in athletic tape to make it easier to handle, and to keep it from scratching my surfaces on the non-bucking ends. But after about 20 rivets or so, I noticed it felt "floppy". After un-wraveling the tape, my heart sank just a tiny bit. One of my favorite tools had given up the ghost...

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Here's what it looked like with the tape on, and slightly "floppy":

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And a close up shot of the break itself:

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This was from an Isham took kit, so I sent off an email to see if this might be covered under some sort of warranty. I sure hope so, considering these things are $130+. It kind of looks like there is some contaminants in the tungsten when it was made as you can see the specks in the photo.

Has anyone else ever had one of these expensive tools break on you like this?
 
No , but have you ever dropped it on a concrete floor? I'm told that they could break if dropped.
 
Broken

I've got one that looks just like that! I dropped it and it broke in half. As it turns out, the halves are still heavy enough to buck smaller rivets and I've found them quite useful for tight spaces on a number of occasions during my build. It does suck to have to buy a new one tho...
 
Tape up the broken end and now you have two at $130 each. Most people jump at the chance to double their money or investment !! :D
 
Tungsten is more brittle than your average steel. I knew that this was a possibility before I bought mine. Every time I've dropped it I cringe hoping it only breaks in two pieces.
 
A lot of guys wear tungsten wedding bands, if needed they have to be broken off the finger with a ring cracker. Breaks but you can?t cut it.
 
To be serious - if you do keep them as two bars be very careful if you dress the broken ends. Tungsten is not a nice metal from a toxicity point of view.
 
To be serious - if you do keep them as two bars be very careful if you dress the broken ends. Tungsten is not a nice metal from a toxicity point of view.

Mike is right! In dust form it is very toxic! It is a heavy metal.

Also from a metalluric perspective, That bar looks very porous! Lousy job in creating the bar with lots of voids creating a (or many) fragile region(s)!

What puzzles me is how they can get (what appears to be) a smooth outside finish with such large interior voids!?! Is it coated with another material?

I am sure you dropped it a time or two and that worked on the fragile structure of the initial makeup. It finally gave up! If properly poured, it should take being dropped a number of times.

P.O.S. Is my opinion! You are owed a new one from the vendor. All you should need to do is provide them with this picture, IMO.

:eek: CJ
 
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