Fibres sticking out of an old radio coil ?

[Jolly 7]

Here's an old coil from a broken KB Rhapsody valve radio. Does anyone know what these fibres are ? Could they be asbestos ?

[G6Tanuki]

Doesn't look like asbestos to me, it looks like the unravelled fabric braid that you found covering a single thin strand of rubber elastic that was typically used to prevent coil cores moving after alignment.

[Sideband]

I would think that there would be absolutely no reason for any manufacturer to use asbestos in the construction of an I.F coil. When the coils were aligned some manufacturers used a rubber strand to hold the core in place. Sometimes this was covered in a woven fabric, probably silk or cotton so that is most likely what it is.

[dazzlevision]

In TVs made by KB in the period 1962-65, they definitely used coloured wool to stop IF coil slugs from moving.

[paulsherwin]

Agreed, I can think of absolutely no reason why a manufacturer would put asbestos in an IFT.

If you have a microscope, you can examine one of the fibres.

[Silicon]

Touching the fibres with a hot soldering iron might tell you if it is cotton, plastic or asbestos.

[MotorBikeLes]

I think asbestos string would be very good for keeping a slug from "crawling", but equally sure it has not been used for that.
That looks nothing like asbestos.
Les.

[Boulevardier]

I have dim memories of (aged 14-ish) trying to “improve” performance of a Fidelity Florida. This had IF xformers with formers made from (at a guess) paper or perhaps fabric formed into a tube and varnished for a bit of rigidity. There were no threadings in the formers, and the “threads” were formed by thin pieces of elastic thread (like sewing elastic or thin elastic bands) fed into and down the formers lengthways. When the cores were inserted they were screwed into the formers as usual so that they forced “threads” into the elastic which was forced against and gripped the smooth inside bore of the formers. A pretty cheapskate arrangement that I hadn’t come across before and haven’t since.

Unsurprisingly, the arrangement wasn’t very stable or lasting, and attempts at realignment were nightmarish. But then, it was a 1960s Fidelity!

Mike

[murphyv310]

Hi.
Seems to be a number of threads regarding asbestos these days.
Perhaps a balanced sticky thread should be put up so members can reference to where asbestos is likely to be encountered and the possible risks plus of course where the danger is miniscule and not what to do with the product.
A good idea or not?

[Jolly 7]

Thanks everyone for all the replies. I snipped off a couple of the fibres and put a flame to them. They all burnt away completely. My mind is now at rest 🙂