Safety Meeting

[Lorien]

Let your part register against the C-clamp directly for anti-rotation.

that's exactly what makes this work. The c clamp isn't really compatible with the table unless I'm drilling at the height of the table as opposed to 1" above. I like drilling on blocks, they're solid and perfectly flat and don't scratch things up. I run the drill slow and feed it by feel. I drilled a lot of stuff last night, including 6al4v straight from the pilot to .25" and there wasn't one helicopter episode. Allowing the piece to float by holding it down by hand actually gives me the kind of precision I'm looking for because it just follows the pilot and there's no chatter.

Drilling the way I do isn't safe or a good idea, but it works for now until I figure out how I want to improve things. A mini mill would definitely improve things...

----------------

Speaking of titanium, if you haven't worked with it but think you might some day, check out how it burns and consider that when mixing steel sparks with titanium dust or shavings

 

[Lorien]

back on the topic of titanium...

super weird thing happened while I was grinding away at a pocket clip for a folding knife I'm making;

I generally NEVER wear gloves while I'm at the grinder, but this tiny piece of titanium just got too hot, too fast. In retrospect, dunking it in water will be my move in the future. Instead, I grabbed my rubber dipped, cut proof gloves, (I use for handling stainless foil) and threw them on, just because they were on hand ().

Another thing that's rare, is that the work rest was mounted to the grinder. I had just finished profiling the clip, and was too laser focused...ok, too lazy... to remove it. I noticed that every time I touched it without the gloves, I'd get a little shock from static electricity. So, I tried not to touch it, and put the gloves on.

As I was working away, my hands worked their way down to the tool rest and I'd get a little shock at the heel of my hand through the gloves, but it was very minor. Until it wasn't...

The tiny electric shock I was getting used to, turned into a very slightly painful feeling, and at that point I stopped what I was doing and looked at my hands. The titanium dust that had gathered on the tool rest had ignited and was burning! It was the little fire that I was feeling through the glove, not static electricity!

What I think happened was that there was enough of an electric shock passing through me into the tool rest that it ignited the titanium dust- there wasn't really a way for a spark to get in there since my hand was blocking any sparks that could've made their way there and besides I was finessing the clip and not really creating much in the way of sparks when it happened.

Static electricity at the grinder is usually just an annoyance- until it isn't!

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Speaking of sparks-
If you have been grinding aluminum, clean the dust up as well as you can.
Steel grinding residue will burn. Steel and aluminum residue will burn like you wouldn't believe, and you can't put it out.
Steel and aluminum is basically thermite.

 

[A.McPherson]

Steel and aluminum is basically thermite.

Not basically... It IS thermite, maybe not the optimal mix, but still!

And this has happened to me, luckily it was a small amount that just kinda fizzled and burned little trails in my workbench, but it for sure could burn be down your shop/house/garage or whatever...

 

[A.McPherson]

So... Let's talk foot ware!

Wear appropriate shoes for what you are doing. I'm not saying you need to constantly wear steel toed shoes, but wear them when you are moving heavy stuff.

I dropped a very large O2 cylinder on my foot at work the other day, and I can tell you that it sucks. I've spent the last couple days on the couch, and in bed after an emergency room visit.

Broke three toes and basically de-gloved the tips off my toes. They had to stitch my toenails back on. Not a good time.

Be careful out there folks!

If you want horror show pics let me know, I'll post pics of my bloody feet. Lol!

 

[weo]

back on the topic of titanium... check out how it burns and consider that...

A bit more info for those who don't know what Lorien is talking about - it grinds/burns HOT!! The sparks are a bright white and let's not forget brighter = hotter, and hotter means easier to start fires.

It's my understanding that in addition to keeping your grinding area clean of dust, grinding Ti slow is the way to minimize fire risk. Just don't plan on hogging off material quickly when working with Ti.

 

[JV Knives]

I wanted to make a comment about buffers....as they are the scariest of all for me. I noticed that the lengths of what I'm gonna call "fray" are very important for safety! As the wheels become "unstitched" and tend to have long strands extending in to your buffing area, the risk of blade catch goes up! Keep your buffer wheels in good shape and trimmed up, or those long "frays" help to wrap around the edge that you are not trying to buff and....as Batman cartoons say....WHAAAMO....your piece is airborne!

Be safe, brothers.

 

[Lorien]

A bit more info for those who don't know what Lorien is talking about - it grinds/burns HOT!! The sparks are a bright white and let's not forget brighter = hotter, and hotter means easier to start fires.

It's my understanding that in addition to keeping your grinding area clean of dust, grinding Ti slow is the way to minimize fire risk. Just don't plan on hogging off material quickly when working with Ti.

ti dust catches fire super easy as well, so clean that dust up as you go!

 

[Mecha]

Me whenever anything drops to the floor ^^^^

Automatically do the old Irish Jig, no matter what fell, from where, or how.