Forgot to wear leather apron...

You know when I posted up on that thread I completely forgot about setting my shorts on fire while using the table saw with an abrasive blade on it. Yea I know not the smartest thing at all, but I do not do that anymore.
 
I caught myself on fire a few years ago while welding. I was working at a place building oil rigs. Sitting on the deck welding up a manhole, I didn't notice for a bit because the deck was already so hot just from the sun, then I realized part of my leg was a good bit hotter than it should be. Got a second degree from that one, and no I never sit down while welding anymore. Also caught my pants on fire while watching a forging demo. Guy was showing me how to weld damascus, a piece of slag shot out and got caught in the fold of my pants leg. This one wasn't to bad, just a small hole. I suppose now that I am ramping up my forging I should invest in leather apron as well.
 
Raymond Richard still holds the record for setting things on fire when angle grinding. About four years ago he was grinding and welding and noticed that it was getting smoky. Looked up and the entire barn was on fire. Lost his shop...tools....trucks...nearly everything.
 
bladsmth said:
Raymond Richard still holds the record for setting things on fire when angle grinding. About four years ago he was grinding and welding and noticed that it was getting smoky. Looked up and the entire barn was on fire. Lost his shop...tools....trucks...nearly everything.
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I almost did this a year or so ago. Be careful with angle grinding. The sparks go farther than with anything else and it can take a while for something to catch. When the fire broke out, it had been almost a half hour since I had touched the angle grinder...

-d
 
From long experience grinding, cutting, burning and welding steel, I wear Carhart canvas shirts when doing this work. These have a very hard finish and unless you shoot a hard stream of sparks at them for quite a bit of time, they will protect you and the hot stuff bounces off. Any material that has a soft finish or any synthetic material, the sparks stick to them and in short order they are on fire. My favorite way to light myself on fire is using a cutting torch and having the frayed cuffs on my jeans light off. It gets rid of the frays and you look like a good ole boy with the high water pants. It is kinda funny when you only light up one and have a high low look, so it is best to do both legs at once. I have a complete set of welding leathers, but, unless I was going to do some air arc gouging or heavy duty close proximity welding I never wore them. With any air arc you can "armor up" all you want, but it seems that you always get burned somewhere.

I once had to air arc a piece out of what was basically a big bowl and to top it off because of the service I also had to wear a special hood that fed me supplied air. I was covered in leather and some sparks still managed to get me. I hate air arcing.
 
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Go with flannel the next time; it gives off a terrible smell, possible alerting one to the fire and it also puts out a nice blue flame which is a good indication of combustion.

Don't forget the fire extinguishers guys.:thumbup:
 
bladsmth said:
Raymond Richard still holds the record for setting things on fire when angle grinding. About four years ago he was grinding and welding and noticed that it was getting smoky. Looked up and the entire barn was on fire. Lost his shop...tools....trucks...nearly everything.
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That sucks, but I think I'd rather let him keep that record for as long as possible.


Fred.Rowe said:
Go with flannel the next time; it gives off a terrible smell, possible alerting one to the fire and it also puts out a nice blue flame which is a good indication of combustion.

Don't forget the fire extinguishers guys.:thumbup:
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I'm not old enough for flannel yet, I'd rather not smell the fire...:D
 
I wear a down vest in the winter. When the sparks start burning through it I smell the burning feathers.
 
bladsmth said:
I wear a down vest in the winter. When the sparks start burning through it I smell the burning feathers.
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We need a picture of this vest; look anything like the surface of the moon?:)
 
deker said:
You haven't lived until that angle grinder slips off the edge of a workpiece and the stone goes through your shirt....ask me how I know :) Of course, because I'm a "go big or go home" sort of guy I did it with a 4HP, 6000RPM, 7" grinder with a 5" cup stone on it....while demonstrating in public.-d
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You mean like when you are using a .040 X6" cutoff wheel at 10,000 rpm and it grabbs in the steel jerks the grinder out of your hand, bounces off the floor before hitting your shin and leaving a deep 6" gash requireing 15 stitches to close it up?
 
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