Safety flash!!!

I was the safety officer at a boat company for a while, so I think I can chime in. We had several spontaneous combustion incidents like this. It's not uncommon. Acetone and solvent rags SHOULD NOT be tossed in your garbage can if they are not completely dry. To be extra safe in your shop, get a separate metal can with a lid and keep it away from your grinder. Paint cans work good for this.

We almost lost the company on a few occasions when teak oil soaked rags spontaneously combusted. In both cases they were mildly saturated with teak oil, wadded up in a ball and left on someone's work bench during lunch break. About 30 minutes later they started to smoke. In one instance, the entire wall caught on fire, and another caused a dumpster to catch aflame. I can't help but think there may have been acetone involved as well, but in both cases the investigation revealed that there was only teak oil on the rags.

It's even more important to put buckets and large cups of recently hardened epoxy outside and away from other combustibles, or you can just spread it out on a cardboard box so it's thin and can't build up heat while it dries. I forgot how many near fires we had because gallon size paper buckets of resin built up heat inside. Buckets of resin are especially dangerous because the outside gets hard while the inside becomes extremely hot, eventually the mass of hardened resin cracks, causing the heat to escape rapidly and start a fire. The buckets would get so hot that it was like cooling off hot steel when we dropped them in water. The danger increases when you use too much hardener and it reacts very quickly.

These issues were, without a doubt, the hardest to keep people from doing. Regardless of how many people got into trouble, it just kept happening. Its so easy to just toss stuff in the trash, but when chemicals are involved it becomes pretty dangerous, even when it seems harmless. Having said that, I still get lazy and break my own rules when it comes to chemical rags in the shop garbage. However I never mix too much resin, because I'm a miser.

Take care,
Brook
 
BTW Micad, I passed up several cows within 15 yards during bow season because I was chasing a big bull. Of course I got close enough to draw my bow on the last day, but he smelled me and took off. Bugger! I was hunting out of my grandpas house on Tower Road. I grew up in your neck of the woods. I'm not sure if I ever told you that, perhaps I did. If you fish the Toutle you've probably seen and even met my grandfather. He's one of the old timer fisherman on the Toutle, he's about 84 now. His name is Joe.

Anyway, off topic. Back to safety stuff...
 
BJ,

Tower Road is about 10 miles east my home and, ya, lots of elk in the neighborhood. We have them show up in our yard from time to time. It's sure is a kick when you can work in on a bunch like that, even if you don't get the shot. Not much can compare to the rush you get from those close encounters!

Bowhunting elk used to be more than just a passion. Injuries and health issues have pretty well kept me out of the woods the last few years. Man, I sure miss it!

I used to fish the Toutle from Kid Valley down to the Cowlitz so much my wife thought I was a stranger when I showed up at home.
I've met many of the locals who fish the Toulte and more than likely have met your grandfather, but don't remember names very well and, due to health, it's been 3-4 years since I've spent much time on the river.

It's looking like the doctors have finally figured out what was going on and may have (hopefully) 'fixed' it. I'd sure love to get back to my hunting and fishing!

-Mike-
 
When you're feeling better, perhaps we can meet up on the north fork for an hour or two, or just shoot the sh*t while the forge is going. Take care.
 
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