Safety Meeting

Lorien

Lorien

Nose to the Grindstone
Moderator
Joined
Dec 5, 2005
Messages
27,884
Hi folks- I've been following the thread about dust collection/air cleaning, and it got me to thinking that there really should be a thread somewhere in this forum, (maybe even stickied) which is devoted to shop safety.

We all want each other to be safe, so this thread is all about staying that way- whether its avoiding cutting/grinding your fingers off, keeping your lungs clean or dealing with mental health, we can use this thread to help each other out with random and not so random safety tips.
 
Well, Im a watchmaker, not a knife maker, but close enough ey?

Dont wear gloves & tie long hair back when using a bench drill or lathe. Also roll up long sleeves if possible.
Dont use a manual lathe with long fingernails, clip them short. Ive once gotten part of my nail ripped out by getting it caught in the chuck. Not fun.
Always wear eye protection when using a power tool. Parts can always go flying & its very easy to get a piece of steel or brass stuck in your eye when turning or drilling the stuff.
Wear a respirator when filing, drilling or grinding stuff like micarta, G10 or even wood. Obviously a watchmaking shop is a little cleaner then a knifemakers shop, so maybe think about keeping that respirator on.
When using a manual turning tool, cover the end with something blunt or keep it in a dedicated holder. This will prevent it from going through your hand in a WCS. Saw this happen once when I was in trade school.

Stay safe folks.
 
Great topic. In terms of general personal PPE (Rated Safety glasses, respirator, leather apron/gloves on occasion) does anyone use anything else for regular PPE? Other safety related items to keep in mind - keep a first aid kit and fire extinguisher in your shop. Lastly - be extra careful with the buffer........
 
I often find myself drilling holes through things that really should be clamped down. Instead of clamping them down, I just hold them in place with my hands. I know it's not proper practice, but when I do it, I make sure that the thing being drilled is oriented with the long end pointed to my left side. That way, if the machine pulls the thing from my grip, it spins it into the column and the column stops it. If it's too short to hit the column, I clamp my vise grips to the table so it hits that.

I also put my snapped off exacto blades into my swarf bucket, those lil bastards have a way of ending up in the strangest places otherwise
 
I head up all of the safety meetings with employees on the farm. Try to do it two or three times a year, should probably do it more often. It’s always got to be on the forefront of everyone’s mind.
 
Great idea, Lorien. I think this could become a standard rolling thread like the "What's going on in your Shop" thread. We all should post in it when we catch ourselves doing something unsafe or see a place where new makers are likely to get hurt or cause a fire.

I'll start with SPARKS.
Sparks are a part of what we do. We take them for granted. They can easily ignite dust, paper, trash, and wood. They may start a smoldering ember that won't burst into flames for hours. Keeping the floors and benches cleaned off is number one in fire prevention. Having the sparks go into a catch container is second. It can be a simple metal trash can under the grinder, or a more sophisticated spark bong and dust extractor system. Last, have fire extinguishers available. They need to be big enough and having two is wise. The best setup is a CO2 type and a 20-pound dry-chem type. Place these near the doors where they can be grabbed quickly if needed. A nearby hose that reaches the shop is also a good idea.
If you use bench magnets to catch the stray grinding particles, clean them off regularly. The steel dust will ignite easily and we all have watched the little red dot running back and forth along the magnets. Normally, it will just go out on its own, but it can also set a wooden bench on fire. It may not be obvious that a burn spot has started under the magnet, but most of us have a black area on our bench that shows where the hot spots were/are.
A metal bench top in the grinder area is the best choice for avoiding these hot spots.
Another way to limit stray sparks and hot spots is to place the grinder so the wheels and platens extend as far as possible past the bench.
Next, observe where the sparks go when grinding. They didn't all go straight down into the catch funnel or trash can. Some go around the belt and exit behind the grinder. This is an area that is also a big dust and debris catch area. Making a curved metal spark shield under and behind the grinder will let the sparks cool off harmlessly. Some folks put a second exhaust port here, too.

In summation:
Knowing that you will make sparks and where they will go allows you to avoid fires. Keeping the shop clean avoids a place for them to start. Having the necessary fire extinguishers and such where you need it will allow you to deal with a fire if it happens.
 
We have a strict 3 Second Rule at our house but I reduce it to a 1 Second Rule in my shop space, for obvious reasons. YMMV, of course. 😎
 
Lorien said:
I often find myself drilling holes through things that really should be clamped down. Instead of clamping them down, I just hold them in place with my hands. I know it's not proper practice, but when I do it, I make sure that the thing being drilled is oriented with the long end pointed to my left side. That way, if the machine pulls the thing from my grip, it spins it into the column and the column stops it. If it's too short to hit the column, I clamp my vise grips to the table so it hits that.

I also put my snapped off exacto blades into my swarf bucket, those lil bastards have a way of ending up in the strangest places otherwise
Click to expand...
When that happen you will count how many finger are missing if it was powerful drill press! This only happens when the drill penetrates the other side and if there is a hole underneath or a soft surface / say wood / the drill goes down like a thread, it does not drill/cut anymore but passes through and of course it will turn the material you are drilling. If it is a powerful drill, you are screwed! Put some mild steel underneath and there is no problem!
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Good topic!
Click to expand...
I have seen too many accidents so far. On lathe , drill press , angle grinder, on mill, with hammer and many many other tools. 99% of them are human error. Only one percent that the tool failed in some way and caused the accident. We can talk up to at the end of my life, how careful should we be. It doesn't help anything ! We are all careful but in the end we make that stupid mistake........
The only advice I have is this. At least learn to use the tools you have. You can't just go to the store buy a angle grinder and huraaaaa .................to hospital !
 
I remember hearing an unfortunate story about Lucky Lee dying in a shop related accident.

IIRC, he was either polishing a blade on a buffing wheel or grinding a blade when it snagged and shot off catching him in the neck. I could be wrong on that.

A routine bit of shop work he had likely done a thousand times before.
 
SLOW DOWN......
I'll repeat that, Slow Down.
I'm so stupid

This would have been a trip to the emergency room if I hadn't just started the process of getting my edge sharpened.... I'm rushing on my coarse bench stones and my finger slipped off the knife's tip that I was supporting/guiding Hard into the blade. 15 minutes later once I actually put an edge on, and it would have been.... Ouch!

*Still scared the Sh*t out of me....
I got lucky.
 
Last edited:
I will add something I preach to everyone I teach. Doesn't matter if it is jewelry, woodcarving, cooking, car mechanics, or shop work.
Listen to that little voice in your head. When you think, "This isn't such a good idea", STOP. It is your brain trying to tell you a truth which you are ignoring. Ignore it and you can lose fingers or worse really fast.

I can't tell you how many times I am doing something and think that it could go south really fast. I have trained myself to not say, "Oh, I've got this, I've done it lots of times." and STOP immediately. I consider what triggered the thought and then I reposition my hands or fingers, or change the direction of a cut so my fingers or body is not in the way of a saw blade or knife edge ... and then proceed safely.

And, yes, I have drilled many a tang hole thinking, "I can hold this down tight with my hands." I may be right 99% of the time, but the one time it goes wrong it can take off fingers (even on an unsharpened blade. I always place the blade so the spine is what will be in the direction of the spin, but a sharp tip can really slice you up fast. Natlek is right about the backing block. A sacrificial aluminum or mild steel block will stop the grab and spin. That does not mean you should not still clamp the blade down. Always use a fresh spot on the backing plate or it is not going to help. As Natlek pointed out, drilling into a recess or hole will accentuate the grab. An alternative is a stop post on the drill press table that will prevent a spinning object. Rest the object against the post when drilling.
 
All the YouTube videos of guys wearing gloves makes me Cringe.
 
Gloves are fine on belt grinders. All that happens is the fingertips wear out. I buy them in 300 pair cartons for really cheap. When the fingertip wears through, I switch it to the other hand or toss it and get a new glove. The left glove wears out many times faster than the right glove.

On anything that rotates gloves are a disaster waiting to happen.
 
Unsharpened edges still cut and cut resistant gloves aren’t cut proof.

Also knives clamped into a vise can still move with enough force, so pay attention to where they will go if they slip.

These both came into play ~6 years ago when I got a hidden tang handle stuck on a knife. Poor hand placement and minimal forethought led to a “fun” emergency clinic visit and a lot of antibiotics. English class finals were the next day… good thing my teacher was already used to my awful handwriting

Don’t rush, if you’re not sure about something leave it for tomorrow.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Gloves are fine on belt grinders. All that happens is the fingertips wear out. I buy them in 300 pair cartons for really cheap. When the fingertip wears through, I switch it to the other hand or toss it and get a new glove. The left glove wears out many times faster than the right glove.

On anything that rotates gloves are a disaster waiting to happen.
Click to expand...
I disagree.....gloves are Not fine!
But, we each have our own beliefs and understandings

That's why this post is a good wake up/reminder.
For each of us to be exposed to potentially Dangerous situations.
 
Lorien said:
I often find myself drilling holes through things that really should be clamped down. Instead of clamping them down, I just hold them in place with my hands. I know it's not proper practice, but when I do it, I make sure that the thing being drilled is oriented with the long end pointed to my left side. That way, if the machine pulls the thing from my grip, it spins it into the column and the column stops it. If it's too short to hit the column, I clamp my vise grips to the table so it hits that.

I also put my snapped off exacto blades into my swarf bucket, those lil bastards have a way of ending up in the strangest places otherwise
Click to expand...
Thought I was going to have to make a trip to the ER Wednesday night drilling the pins out of a knife I was making because I didn’t clamp it down. Happened so fast and was bleeding so much it took a few minutes to realize it wasn’t that bad. Fortunately I had wrapped the blade in masking tape and it wasn’t sharpened yet or it could have been very bad. Wakes me up when the acetone hits it…
B31CC87B-3D61-4F1F-8437-F0250D92345B.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top