How not to burn your shop down

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flatgrind8

Joined
Aug 30, 2009
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Ok I am going to be working out of my 14'x24 building it has a wood floor that I painted in a good floor Paint.I plan on using backer board under and around my grinder along with a water bucket.I can buy a real dust system right now any ideas or suggestion will be appreciated.
 
no matter what kind of shop or tools you are working with, you should always have a good fire extinguisher handy. Have one for electrical fires, chemical, grease, oil.... etc... basically for any type of fire that might happen in your shop.

Most knife makers have all of the above possibilities.
 
Hire a local kid to sit on a stool and watch you work. It is a good thing when he says,"Hey mister, do you know your pants are on fire?"
 
Lol listen to Stacy, he knows his stuff.

Also make sure you keep a bucket of water close by that you can get a foot into. My leather shop apron keeps my pants from catching fire but my shoes still burst into flame once in a while.
 
Just stock removal, I take it? What do you mean by "real" dust system? One that sucks up hot sparks? I have a very good wood shop dust collector, but I'm wondering how it could be made into a metal shop dust collector, if that is what you are talking about.

I don't know of fire resistant paint, unless you are talking about the epoxy typically used in garages. What do you mean by "backer board"? The concrete-like 1/2" thick stuff used under tile?

What about the walls and wall/floor joint? Most often, there is exposed framing there.

One big question would be whether you could still insure it.

I'm asking because now that you mention it, I might be looking into these questions myself. Right now I'm in a concrete building, but I will be outgrowing it with a power hammer.
 
Ceramic tile on the floor and the wall behind the grinder or screw a layer of galvanized sheet metal to the floor and wall.
 
You can't lay a lasting ceramic tile floor over wood. You would need to use the concreteous subflooring first anyway. That's exactly what it is for. Glued down and attached to the framing with proper fasteners, that very fire resistant subflooring may last indefinitely. You could always put tile on top of that, but that's expensive, and beyond the means of most DIYers. MHO, but I've been a builder for 20 some years.

Sheetmetal floor? On the walls, maybe, but that's awfully expensive compared to sheetrock, which again, is very fire resistant.

I'm certainly not trying to pick on you, Sir.
 
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Tractor Supply Company sells a very thick Horse Stall Matt that's right around 4x8 for $38 roughly.. been a while since I bought mine but I know from experience they only smoke when you drop a 1500 degree knife on them. Maybe a few of them strategically placed, comfortable too.

If I had my floor to do over again I would not have concreted my forging area. I think it would have been great filled with granulated limesone or mason sand.
 
cpirtle - Build a 2" high frame (flat 2X4s ) arould the anvil area and fill with 1" of crushed limestone rock. When it gets dirty looking, shovel it all into a wheel barrow and take it outside to wash off with the hose. Let dry and put back around the anvil. To keep the frame in place, use construction adhesive to hold it to the concrete floor.

Flatgrind - Go to the lumber yard ( Home Depot/Lowes ) and look for cement board siding. It comes in 4X8 sheets @ $30 each. It is perfect for the walls where sparks fly. I don't see any reason it couldn't be used as a flooring under the grinder area, either.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...NT_ID&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1


Several years back I was grinding with my Trend Airshield on. I was hogging hard on blade profiles. Even though it was a cold winter day,I noticed it was getting hot in the shop, and stopped to take off the hood and wipe my face off. That is when I noticed that my jac-shirt was on fire.
 
I made knives (2000+) for 10 years in a small wood floor shop. Never had a fire.

I use a Grizzly dust collector, but ditched the bag and run the exhaust out through the wall. Works great!
 
After I have done any kind of grinding its my standard practise to always stay at the house for a minimum of a half an hour before leaving for any reason, then step back into the shop and do a smoke sniff test before leaving the house. If I have any kind of uncertainty I will delay and stay until I am satisfied.
 
bladsmth said:
Hire a local kid to sit on a stool and watch you work. It is a good thing when he says,"Hey mister, do you know your pants are on fire?"
Click to expand...

Had some students at the college inform me once,... only it was my hair not my pants. LOL

HEY PROFESSOR, "YOUR HAIR'S ON FIRE!"
 
I have a cement floor, but all the walls and the workbench in my shop are wood. Plus, it's a log building; lots of fuel for a bad spark. Once I get the new grinder in place, I'm going to screw flashing down all around it on the bench and also going to do the wall behind the grinder. I'm hoping to make a spark bong with a 5-Gallon pail and a shop vac, but at first I will be using an ammo can with water under the platen to catch most of the sparks. I guess I could also get a smoke detector out there.
 
I know that I could never get insurance for my shop. Infact, if they knew I was a bladesmith with a forge and a kiln, they would cancel my house insurance, too. A friend of mine was almost denied house insurance.... and his shop is about 100yds from the house! They just don't understand the trade. If you ran a welding or a ceramic/pottery shop they'd be fine but knifemakers are a liability, I guess.

Rick
 
cementious board of any kind would be helpful, personally I like the idea of the tractor supply mats very ergonomic..

fire extinguisher, bucket of water just under grinder strategically placed..

and for a dust/spark collector you can hook up a shop vac just under your grinder with a flared funnel connected to vac, 1/2 way filled with water, the extra mile would be to add a HEPA filter.... and or vent it out the wall/window from the blower end..

I would be wary to quench in a shop with a wood floor, regardless of the underlayment..
 
If your going to use sheetrock make sure its 5/8" type-x. It may be fire rated but an amber will still burn the paper. I like the tile backer board better. Our Home Depot and Lowes has 4x8 sheets of Hardi Board that may work OK. I'll have to take a lighter to it .
 
Metal sparks have gotten my wooden bench top a smoking. Dont know if they stay hot enuf in the air to hit the floor, but watch that table top and shelf underneath.
 
I really like sheet metal commercial siding for inside walls.
It's cheaper than sheetrock & won't degrade like the paper cover of sheetrock/drywall will
If you ding it, it's more resistant to damage.

Make sure your electrics are good.

Keep Aluminum dust, steel dust & wood dust seperate

Beyond those things mentioned, I think work practices are important.
Read up on the OHSA rules.

Quenching oil should be absolutely impossible to topple over.

Keep dirty rags policed up, industrial specs call for closed metal cans

No flammables in glass containers that can be dropped.....

that sort of thing.


I once started dirty rag smouldering & smoking with an odd spark, & was lucky to have smelled it.
Had I already left, or been wearing my mask then, or had a stuffed up nose, I would have burned it down.
 
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