Shop safety, more than basics

Alden Cole

Alden Cole

Well-Known Member
I recently got four stitches for my stupidity. I was snapping the tip off of a blade I messed up and had already sharpened when the tip broke, the blade I was holding in my right hand sliced through my leather glove and into the back of my left hand. About a week after getting those, I cut my thumb pad working with a sharpened folder. Now I am switching my standard policy to sharpening as the LAST thing I do before the knife hits the books. This leads me to a couple questions and maybe people can chime in with things that don't seem dangerous, but actually are.

I have a three speed grinder. When I am changing gears I often do not unplug the machine. That is a terrible idea right? Should I just get a foot pedal so that two things need to be bumped before the grinder turns on and my hand gets crunched?

What about the heat treat oven? Do we all turn off the power before reaching in? I've heard that you can get shocked from the coils, so I always try to remember to turn it off.

After cutting myself a couple times this month, I'm trying to find other things that I would not have thought of as being dangerous. Thank you!
 
To quote my Grandfather....right after I got a shirt sleeve ripped off in the PTO shaft of a hay baler..... "Ed, There's traps everywhere for a man!"

The answer is simple in concept, but often difficult in practice....If you're in too big of a hurry to be fully conscience of what you're doing, and considering the associated risks/dangers....then you likely should not be doing it.

To this very day, 40+ years later, I still hear my Grandfather's voice/words, when I am doing something questionable.
 
Alden Cole said:
Do we all turn off the power before reaching in?
Click to expand...
No, especially when treating multiple blades. Just have to be careful and pay attention to what you're doing.

Like a lot of blacksmiths I know say, everything in the shop can burn, cut, crush or otherwise injure you. (and if it's a customer, many will add: and get you dirty)
 
Yes, I can add 1 thing, the #1 thing that will get you injured in any work environment. Cluttered or poorly set up work areas are the biggest cause of accidents. This is my experienced opinion having reviewed thousands of accidents and near misses in a manufacturing facility in the last 10 years or so. Accidents are often attributed to "x" activity or equipment. I would propose that while the sleeve gets caught on the end mill or the grinder cuts the leg, it's the unnatural set of conditions that surround that are the root cause of the accident. Don't work while standing on stacks of garbage. Don't reach past the machine cuz you got a box of junk on the bench, etc. etc. You guys would be dumbstruck by how many people have hit themselves in the head with a cordless drill when it grabs and rotates in the last year. Sounds almost impossible don't it?
 
Jon Buescher said:
I had a flammable substance distilling in my garage once and lost a gasket, spilling purified flammable stuff onto open flame. I have never attempted that stunt again
Click to expand...
Yeah that's why I'm not going to risk a plastic bucket for quenching either. I got little kids, too.

After my gas is done I'm probably building a charcoal forge.
 
I was thinking they're on the 3rd story, looking at the guy on the bottom right....but I could be wrong.

Beat me to it....and I'm only on my 1st guinness...
 
tkroenlein said:
Cluttered or poorly set up work areas are the biggest cause of accidents
Click to expand...
X2 on that comment. If you've worked in a shop very long, things get piled up & cluttered. Mine does about every day. Personally, I can't work that way, I've got to stop and clean, even if it's only one machine or an area. In my normally muddled state of mind, I find I can concentrate better with a clean shop.
If it rotates it's dangerous, particularly if it has lots of energy and has rough edges. Case in point - 6" wire wheel on a bench grinder. Those things can kill you in an eye blink. A while back, I got careless and had the wheel grab a small pointed piece and roll it around the rear guard and shot it directly into my chest. Fortunately I was wearing my leather apron and it didn't penetrate. Otherwise I might not be typing this - damn that hurt.
And as I ranted on a recent post - little thin disks (cut off disks) that rotate over 10,000 RPM will explode launching bone cutting shrapnel.. Next time you shape a blade with a cutoff disk, use the right protection.
There are 50 ways of losing a body part in a well stocked shop (or is it a 100) - and boy do I get nervous when people visit who have no clue what they are looking at, or how to use it... (did I hear somebody say liability insurance?).
 
I think my biggest reminder on shop safety was when I had a piece of wood eject from my table saw, hit the garage door, ricochet off the ceiling and then stick in the back wall. All in about 1/2 second. I've used a push stick ever since.
 
Always being mindful of what you’re doing is important with all things in the shop. Most HT ovens do have a disconnect switch so when the door is opened power is cut to the coils but verify that with your oven before taking my word!
 
Here's one from many years ago. There was a fella that need to cut a part with a 3" cut off tool. He didn't want to set the part down to hook the tool up to the air line so he squatted a bit and stuck the tool between his thighs and stood up to pinch it tight. And then with his free hand he grabbed up the air hose and shoved the quick coupler on, with predictable results.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top