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Safety Thread...Read pg. 3 |
Mr. Dale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 26, 2004
Posts: 300
From: a garage somewhere in Arvada, Colorado
|  Posted: 2006-01-19 08:51 am Permalink
I agree with G-man on all the chainsaw safety. Chaps and boots are a MUST. Hearing and eye protection all the time.
Keep all guards in place, I took one off of my grinder for better depth while smoothing out a tiki's chin, ended up shooting the grinder through my glove, across my knuckles and across the yard.
Cost me a days of carving time cause I couldn't use my hand. And I was trying to do it faster.
Tikis love blood......try not to donate.
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2006-01-19 12:53 pm Permalink
I think that it is great that you guys have started this thread. I do occupational safety for a living so this is my bread and butter. I would agree with pretty much everything that has been said so far.
The only one I would comment on is the respirator issue: the paper (or similar material) masks will work for most cutting applications if they are rated as N95. They have to be properly fitted to your face though. I actually prefer to use a cartridge respirator but that is my personal preference due to comfort. Also, if you do use a respirator take care of it; clean it after use and store it in a ziplock bag. If your cartridges start to get clogged replace them. If you are working with hazardous solvents, paint, etc. make sure that you have the right kind of cartridge. A combination cartridge that filters particulates as well as organic vapors will work for most of what you are doing.
When working with rotating power tools it is best not to wear gloves or loose fitting clothing. They can get caught in the tool and pull you into it, or the other way around.
Do not remove the guards from your power tools. They were put there for a reason. Table saws also use a kick back guard. I highly recommend keeping it on the saw. Some people remove it when working with easily damaged materials but you run the risk of getting a board in the gut.
I can't say enough about eye protection. What you use could pretty much be up to you as a matter of comfort. Goggles are best but they tend to fog and be uncomfortable. I use close fitting wrap around glasses. Faceshields are also great.
When using chemicals you also need to make sure that you wear gloves that are compatible with the chemical. Rubber surgical gloves are not compatible with all commonly used chemicals. Nitrile is compatible with most things but is more easily torn. Here's a good guide to picking gloves: http://www.ansellpro.com/specware/guide.asp
Sorry this was long post. Stay safe.
Oh yeah, none if this stuff should be considered adequate for determining the specific needs for you. You gotta do some work yourself.
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GMAN
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 14, 2005
Posts: 2994
From: My Island
| Posted: 2006-01-19 1:34 pm Permalink
Hey guys,
I ditch the safety glasses when using a grinder or another tool that sprays dust everywhere and use my motocross goggles. They work the best for me as they don't fog as bad, have a great seal around my face, and the elastic band fits more comfortably around my ears with my hearing protection on. The dang glasses hurt my ears. I'm sure ski goggles would do the same deal. If I use glasses, fine dust mixes with my sweat on the inside of the lenses and blinds me.
-Gman
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2006-01-19 3:47 pm Permalink
Not a bad suggestion Loki. The only disadvantage is that those type of goggles are not impact rated. Of course if you are using them to protect from dust or other light particles it shouldn't matter too much.
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tiki junkman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2003
Posts: 148
From: Kava Lava Lounge, Aurora, IL
| Posted: 2006-01-19 4:21 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-19 08:00, LavaLounger wrote:
Do not test aerosol foam insulation's cure rate by sticking your fingers in it.
LavaLounger
slow on the uptake
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HA! That foam insulation is a motha to get off. I was working with that stuff building a lava looking water fountain in my tiki bar this last fall. Needless to say, I also tested the drying foam cure rate with my finger.
tj
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Matt Reese
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 09, 2005
Posts: 1119
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2006-01-20 07:40 am Permalink
Just a thought. For me, carving or building things happens pretty far from the actual house. Because of that I make sure I have a phone with me. I try and put it nearby on a table or whatever ( I'm guessing it would be hard to pull out of my pocket with my fingers or hand injured). I love this thread and seeing people focus on safety.
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Loki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 04, 2005
Posts: 541
From: Boca Raton, FL
| Posted: 2006-01-20 08:14 am Permalink
Surf Tiki,
The advise on not wearing gloves while using rotating tools puts me in a conundrum. The glove saved me, but after it happened, i started thinking how lucky i was that the glove didnt get wrapped into the rotating wheel, just the thought made me cringe...what would be your advise on this? Wear gloves that fit tighter around the fingers?
Another lesson:
Wear boots or shoes at all times. When using chisels, they like to fall off the work benches. Instinct will kick in and you might try and grab it before it hits the ground. Bad idea, just let them fall. A sharp chisel will plunge deep into flesh. Feet are often targets for sharp chisels.
_________________
"He who does anything because it is the custom makes no choice."
[ This Message was edited by: Loki 2006-01-20 11:37 ]
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Monkeyman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 04, 2003
Posts: 2301
From: Vista, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-20 10:41 am Permalink
I know the truth of what you all are preaching all too well.
Feb 2005
Tablesaw- No Kickback Guard
I was wearing gloves
I was tired
Severed the ligament and chipped the bone. The nerves were amazingly intact but it no longer bends the way it should.
stupid, stupid, stupid.
_________________
[ This Message was edited by: Monkeyman 2006-01-20 10:43 ]
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2006-01-20 11:11 am Permalink
Tough call on the glove Loki. My gut says that you got lucky that the glove saved your finger instead of wrecking it. We only encourage people to use gloves (even the tight fitting ones) when working with hand tools.
If you watch "American Choppers" there was an episode where one of the employees was wearing Mechanix gloves and got his hand wrapped up into a drill press when the bit caught the gloves. It was not pretty.
NOTE: Our machinists sometime wear thin nitrile gloves when working. I do not consider these a hazard as they tend to tear very easily and would not result in pulling you into the tool. However, they do not offer much in the way of protection.
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JohnnyP
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2005
Posts: 1689
From: Attica, MI
| Posted: 2006-01-20 4:14 pm Permalink
Here are a couple of my stupid things.
About 15 years ago I was cutting Plexiglas with a Skilsaw without safety glasses. Since I was using the wrong blade for the material the Plexiglas shattered. I received two pieces of the fragments in my left pupil. These had be surgically removed while I was awake to watch the doctor dig at my eyeball. The good news is I completely and fully recovered. I shudder to to think of the other possibilities.
1. I ALWAYS wear my safety glasses now, I have several pair so one is always within easy reach.
2. I was using the wrong saw to cut this material. Use the correct tools.
The other was recent. I was holding a piece in my hand and doing some free hand work with a die grinder with a Kutzall bit. This aggressive bit dug into the wood and took a walk across the piece and over the back of my hand. It left a nice bruise and hundreds of little tears in my skin. Again I was fortunate as everything was shallow and superficial. Be sure to think of where the tool will want to go if it catches and keep your hands (other body parts) out of the way.
Think safe.
JP
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Loki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 04, 2005
Posts: 541
From: Boca Raton, FL
| Posted: 2006-01-31 09:16 am Permalink
I am bumping this one last time to get any last ideas before i compile all the info on one post. so if you have any other tips, safety concerns please post.
_________________
"He who does anything because it is the custom makes no choice."
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tikigap
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jan 19, 2006
Posts: 834
From: Arlingtron Virginia
| Posted: 2006-01-31 10:52 am Permalink
I'm a novice carver, but not a novice with tools in general. I'm pretty safe usually, especially with scary, ominous power tools, such as an angle grinder with a chain saw blade on it.
I just recently bought one. Never used it before. This thing is DANGEROUS to say the least. I cannot emphasize DANGEROUS enough in this type face.
I ripped it out of the box and fired it up, (without a blade on it, and without reading the directions, of course). Ok, that worked - nothing flew off or anything. Then I realized that the shaft-nut could have come of or something, so I set the tool down, and read the instructions. This thing spins pretty fast.
It says in the instructions that one should NEVER attach a chain saw blade to the tool. So I attached the chain saw blade to the tool, and tightened everything up real nice, and I couldn't see the harm in at least trying it out.
I got out a scrap piece of wood and clamped 'er down, and fired up the angle grinder and went into the wood. Real nice! Just ate it up! My hand got a little irritated by the flow of wood chips from the blade directly to my hand, so I thought I should wear gloves, but after reading this thread, I see that gloves are probably a bad idea.
Then I put the tool down again to contemplate what I had just seen. If that were skin or bone, it would have been catastrophic!
So I went to show a buddy this bad-ass tool. After plunging into the test article, he reached over and unplugged the grinder exclaiming that he feared for his life after seeing what it could do. I gave no thought to the fact that he had just unplugged it, and that the grinder does NOT have a momentary switch on it. Once it's turned on, it stays on: no finger control required. That's a bad design wether I'm using a chain saw or regular grinding wheel.
I didn't think of checking the switch the next time I plugged it in, and off it went! Across the bench, down to the floor, spinning at 14,000 RPMs and grinding up everything in sight. Luckily my curious son wasn't holding the tool or I wasn't holding it improperly (I wasn't holding it at all - but that's a whole nother level of stupidity).
I'm going to buy a momentary-floor-switch that the tool plugs into so I have to be standing on the switch before it goes again. I was really lucky to learn this lesson without pain or death or other serious injury.
Now I know why they said to NOT, NEVER, EVER hook up a chain saw to it. The lawyers made them say that so they wouldn't be liable. Do other angle grinders have momentary switches? Maybe I just bought the wrong kind.
TikiGap
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Loki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 04, 2005
Posts: 541
From: Boca Raton, FL
| Posted: 2006-01-31 11:04 am Permalink
Oh, that is a frightening story...my grinder has a switch that can be pushed up to lock it on. I don't have a paddle switch. During my close encounter, when i dropped the grinder, it was still buzzing away...
_________________
"He who does anything because it is the custom makes no choice."
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2006-02-02 06:31 am Permalink
Loki,
When you put it all together into a single post I would include the thread on wood toxicity as well.
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chisel slinger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 23, 2004
Posts: 263
From: columbus,ohio
| Posted: 2006-02-02 09:03 am Permalink
I still find it hard to talk about, but, last year while sanding with my angle grinder, it skipped off the wood and landed in my crotch area. needless to say I was in shock, I fully expected my willie was laying on the ground or somewhere in my pants leg. I ran into the house expecting the massive flow of blood to begin, wondering how I was going to explain this to the 911 operator, and my wife. luckily everything was intact, and I was only bruised. the crotch of my pants was sliced open, but tangled and stopped the sanding disc.
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