Originally Published: April 28, 2018
In September of 2015 my husband got a BRAND NEW made in Germany “P & K Lie” truing stand to make bicycle wheels (a very important tool for his business, his bicycle and bicycle trailer building and design work.)
And then we tested it for Lead:
It turned the BRIGHEST red when tested with LeadCheck swabs – quicker than I have EVER seen anything turn before – including other brass. I suspected it might have lead (as so many tools do) but I had no idea how bad it would be… The little knobs that you need to touch multiple times when making just one bicycle wheel — massive amounts of bioavailable lead.
lessons reiterated/re-learned:
- NEVER let your kids “play” in your husband’s (or wife’s) workshop!
- NEVER let your kids play with adult tools that are not intended for use by children!
- ALWAYS Insist that the adult using tools like this WASH THEIR HANDS FREQUENTLY — and/or use gloves for their work!
- If you work in industry BECOME an advocate for the design and manufacture of lead-safe / lead free tools and equipment.
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#CantEscapeIt
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When I followed up and tested this with an XRF instrument (in 2017) the yellow brass components were positive for lead (Pb) at 33,200 ppm and for cadmium (Cd) at 648 ppm.
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Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children
Photos “in situ” (in Len’s workshop)… his goal is to recreate some of the components out of other metals (starting with the knobs and other elements that need to be touched most frequently as a part of the normal operation of the tool.)
Thank you for posting this excellent article. It’s precisely what I needed to know. I had seriously considered purchasing this P&K Lie wheel building/truing stand, but was concerned about the brass components. I learned only recently that brass is commonly alloyed with lead to improve its machinability, and I was concerned that the brass used in the manufacture of this tool would be no different. Well, it is different – you have demonstrated that it contains especially high levels of lead, unusual even for brass.
Hi David!
Thank you for commenting.
We did buy the machine (which is why we had one we could test). My husband (Leonard Rubin – who you may know as he co-authored Sutherland’s) uses it with gloves and is working on replacing the leaded brass components with hand machined lead-free components one-by-one as he gets around to it, as (from what I understand) it is one of the best machines for the intended purpose out there.
Tamara
Tamara, has your husband considered Plati-Dip or Rustoleum “Grip”? He could possibly cover the knobs on the truing machine in this type of material until he can replace them.
Amy
Hi Amy! Thanks for the idea. I will ask him. In general I don’t like Rustoleum brand products because they have products with unsafe levels of Lead. Here’s link with one of their recalls:
https://tamararubin.com/2018/09/recall-lead-paint-recall-august-30-2018-rust-oleum-countertop-coating-in-black-satin/
Tamara
Wow, what a fascinating article! Thanks so much for writing this 🙂 Just a question though, since I am also thinking of buying one of these stands..but am VERY conscious of looking after my body.. Would a simple solution to this issue not be to just wear some mechanic’s gloves when using it? Having not used/seen one of these beautiful looking stands ‘in real life,’ I’m not sure if this idea would work, or if it would make dealing with the dials etc difficult. Any input would be much appreciated 🙂 Whilst not as aesthetically beautiful, I am thinking now that a Preciray truing stand might be a better idea. Many thanks and hello from the UK!
1.) Preferrably *disposable* ones — do they don’t simply accumulate and expose you to aggragate significant levels of the Lead microdust!
2.) Somebody really needs to make a set of replacement LEAD-FREE components for this great popular stand (ideally, it really should be a free upgrade from P&K Lie!).