Shop Safety

[herr_oberst]

We all like to work out in the garage. The recent thread about the engine hoist and the boat-shoe clad toe got me thinking.

What sort of precautions have you put in place in your garage for emergencies?

I keep a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit,

I try and keep my garage clean and neat, not only because I like the way it looks, but I hate tripping over ***** when I'm trying to get ***** done.

My lighting is adequate, but I could use more...

I've got safety glasses close by the tools where I need 'em.

I have paper towels handy, for spills, cleaning and wiping but they could be used to stanch bloodflow in an emergency.

What else you got?

[unclebilly]

Safety glasses all the time.

Running water or eye wash squeeze bottle.

Cell phone in pocket in case you need to call for help.

And because I live on a farm, kids in tractor cab with me, not running around where I may not see them.

[ckelly78z]

I just super cleaned my garage, swept all the floors, re-arranged things to make it neater, and easier to find stuff. I was attempting to re-route a cable TV line when I got careless, and used a bucket to stand on 9 stiches in my finger later, I now have a sturdy 3-step ladder in the garage to use. I only weld/grind with no vehicles in the garage and bare concrete floors.

[Joe Bob]

Back in HS, some moron from the Optimist boys home was using a power drill in shop class. He had long hair.......zap! No mas! Safety was my word after that.....

[wdfifteen]

Good thread!

Fire extinguisher, gloves, and glasses here. The eyewash thing is a good idea, for some reason I never thought of it. I have steel toed boots but I don't always wear them in the shop.

I'm not safety minded enough, I've had several close calls.

1. battery exploded in my face. No glasses on
2. radiator hose on overheated car exploded - fortunately it shot hot water at my chest and not my face. Again, no glasses.
3. lathe nearly pulled my hand into it when I was polishing a shaft
4. taking a rusty muffler clamp off - the bolt sheared and sent the ratchet straight into mouth, broke off a tooth
5. ton and a half rotary actuator landed on my foot. Steel toe booths saved me.

[Joe Bob]

Coleman fuel is NOT a good barbecue starter.....ask me how I found out.

[Joe Bob]

Lighting is very important.....since my Lasik surgery my low light level visual acuity is in the dumpster. High powered LED flash and shop lights are used every time I am under a car. I almost missed a brown recluse spider while inspecting a barn find.

Even WITH safety glasses I took a steel filing in the eye.....two weeks with a patch after an ER visit and follow up with an eye surgeon. Yes, they give you two eyes at the hospital but depth perception is under rated.....be safe out there. I wasn't even the file user, I was stupidvising my daughter.....

[J P Stein]

Before you shut off the light & go in the house, stop and take a close look around......smoking shyte will get ya.

I didn't do that but was well insured.

[Charles Freeborn]

In 30+ years of (wood)shop full time business I've only had a few "incidents", none serious. In addition to all of the above (I pretty much wear safety glasses full time) and hearing protection when just about anything is running, the biggest factor to not getting hurt is concentration and fatigue. If you're head's not into it 100% go do something else, like read a book...

[1990C4S]

I have got to the point where I don't feel right doing certain tasks if I don't have safety glasses on. They are generally required (unless I can't find them) for grinding, drilling brick, and sawzall work.

On the flip side, my table saw was 'deeply discounted' as the previous owner lost the tip of his finger on it...

The best way to be safe is to use your brain. Think before you do and you won't ever use the first aid kit Especially on the compound saw and and the table saw.

I also separate welding/grinding from woodwork. The sparky metal stuff gets done where I work. Sawdust gets made at home.

Fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, iodine, band-aids, and tampons (for the gruesome lost digit scenario). And a cell phone.

[Joe Bob]

My Dadz had a buddy that worked in his Father's butcher shop. Lost his right hand while cutting meat with a band saw. He eventually became a stellar basket ball player with his "off" hand and a prosthetic.....

[unclebilly]

I am also learning to work with gloves on to avoid skinned knuckles... Every so often, I forget and give myself a nasty scrape...

[Baz]

Cannot emphasize this enough!!!!!!!


Always remember to bring some CASH when you drop your unit off at Fast Fred's!

[fastfredracing]

What he says !

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Have at least 2 fire extinguishers at key, easy to reach, close to work area points. Get the big canisters not the little ones for you car. Cheapest insurance you'll ever own. Confidence in a crisis is critical to beating it.

[Jeff Higgins]

You guys have clearly never heard of the Safety Squint.

Urban Dictionary: safety squint



Seriously, though, a lifetime spent working in some very hazardous shop and hangar environments has taught me the value of putting safety first. I can't even remember how many of our guys have been saved from serious injury, or even death, by making safety the first thing they consider. It's not just protective equipment, or a clean and tidy shop, or approved procedures - it's an attitude. A real mindset one must adopt to always be safe first. Even if "this will only take a second"... and your safety glasses are across the room - take two seconds and go get them. Every time. The little gremlins in our garages are laying in wait for that "...just this once...".

[masraum]

When I had a garage/shop, I had a drawer in the toolbox with 4-6 pairs of safety glasses including one of the ones like you might use in a high school or college chemistry lab that doesn't really protect from projectiles but keeps chemicals out of your eyes when you're spraying things.

It was not unusual for me to have gloves depending upon what I was doing.

Using several of the power tools, especially the 12" compound miter saw, I wore my shooting ear muffs. The "sing" of the blade while cutting was high pitched and obnoxious with the motor sound to go with it. With the hearing protection, it was soooo much nicer.

I also had a cheap respirator that I picked up from HD. It was so much easier to breath in than one of the masks that looks like a hospital mask because of the one-way valves.

I also took the safety shield off of my table saw. Wait, that's wrong, but I did. I did however use a pusher stick and was very, very careful to keep myself away from the moving blade.

[Por_sha911]

-Use the right tool for the job. Trying to save a few steps to get it done quicker usually means a) something gets screwed up or, b) someone gets hurt.

-Use sharp blades when cutting. A dull blade forces you to push harder and have less control. Bad things happen.

-Never let your wife rush you into finishing a job. Shortcuts usually mean cut shorts.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

-Use sharp blades when cutting. A dull blade forces you to push harder and have less control. Bad things happen.

+1

Spend a touch of coin. It's not that spendy.

[Eharrison]

If you're going to spot weld a large area (like new fender flares) use a full time dark welding mask. An auto darkening mask does not turn on quick enough. The pain the next day from welders eye was unbearable.

Don't keep oily rags or wiped up fuels for long. Also part 2 always have a fire extinguish available.