Safety first -_-

[milkbaby]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cohoes-fire-inferno-sparked-by-amateur-bladesmith-mayor-says/

Morse said John Gomes, of Cohoes, apparently was trying to bend metal in an attempt to imitate the History Channel television series "Forged in Fire" when he started a barrel fire in his backyard that quickly spread.

..."trying to bend metal"... "barrel fire"...

 

[JTknives]

What's a "barrel fire" and he was just trying to "bend metal" ?

 

[matthewhoffman]

Speaking of safety ... I was lucky enough to notice wisps of smoke in the workshop. It appears that errant sparks from the grinder found their way to grind dust/saw dust behind the work table and set off a bit of a smolder. Scary! I'm going add wheels to work stations so I can move things and clean thoroughly and often! I can only imagine the mounds of flammable stuff behind the grinder.

 

[JTknives]

In my last shop I had a potential problem. My grinder bench was 3/4" plywood and my grinder base was plywood. well there was a tiny gap between them. i was doing a days worth of grinding and sparks and grit built up between the plywood and started burning. I was lucky enough to notice the smoke coming out between the plywood. But yeah safety first, if you think being safe takes to much time just think how much time it will take to rebuild you shop and get all new equipment

 

[Geoff Flato]

I keep two fire extinguishers (a 10# co2 and a 20# ABC) at each door of the shop. I've had to use one of the Co2s. Cheapest insurance you could own.

 

[Randy3000]

I too have a fire extinguisher handy. I think a main source of fires have been knocking over a flaming quench tank, it's well worth having a stable base and an all purpose fire extinguisher handy.

 

[scott.livesey]

i would say barrel fire is 55 gallon drum filled with wood scrap on lit.

 

[Teppojutsu]

Just like at work wait 30min to do a final smoke check before you leave.

 

[BearPawBlacksmithing]

Just like at work wait 30min to do a final smoke check before you leave.

I too wait about a half hour before leaving. It's pretty amazing but high carbon steel dust smolders quite well, without making a puff of smoke

 

[John Blazy]

Just like at work wait 30min to do a final smoke check before you leave.

I too wait about a half hour before leaving. It's pretty amazing but high carbon steel dust smolders quite well, without making a puff of smoke

I was just going to mention that too. I never leave my shop after welding or grinding, especially using my cutoff wheel on my chopsaw that I mostly use for cutting wood for crates. My scrap wood box is right under the saw, so I slip a huge pc of cardboard under and behind the saw when cutting metal, then check it every ten minutes after. That sounds bad as I write this, so maybe I need to get a dedicated chopsaw for metal and set it up somewhere else, (unfortunately just as hazardous).
Bummer that the article paints such a bad picture of a bladesmith doing something "he saw on TV", but he really must have been a dumb***. Look for heavier use of disclaimers on "Forged in Fire".

 

[navman]

Was watching Forged in Fire last night (it's entertaining and I swear Wil's hair gets more and more luxurious). Noticed they added a pop up screen at the beginning of each episode warning that the participants are trained and experienced and that the activities shown should not be tried at home. Coincidence?

 

[Kevin McGovern]

I always wait a half hour before closing down. Also, and I shit you not, every 6 months I take a leaf blower to my shop. Of course I vacuum regularly, and run a vac under my grinder and have an air cleaner. Still, I am amazed at how much dust I blow out with the leaf blower. I wear a full face respirator and run an exhaust fan out the door and I still can't see the door from the back of my 13 foot shop when it gets going. Just crazy.