Shop Safety Tips.. Please Add Yours!

here's another one.
After almost impaling a knife tip in my eye while cleaning up a solder joint, I made a simple leather sheath to slip over the tip of the blade. I also started wearing my safety glasses whenever I'm in my shop, no matter what I'm doing.
Remember "when you least expect it"

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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
 
Wow. Lots of neat little tips here, but I'm suprised that no one mentioned one of the most important safety items you should have and use. A RESPIRATOR, GUYS!
Making knives IS making dust. I cant' believe all the dudes I see standing in front of an abrasive belt grinder with full beards and No respiratory protection. Picture this: respiratory failure. Silicosis, allergic reactions, hardening of the lungs. Cancer. It happens. And if you make knives long enough, it WILL happen to you. Think hard about the air that you breathe. All that dust is going somewhere...
 
I find that I put on my respirator when I get into the shop, and don't take it off till I leave.
1. Hair ties.
2. Fire extinguisher! Heat is one of the more common occurrences in a knifemakers shop, right after dust.
3. BROOM! As previously mentioned, we make dust of a thousand varieties. At best, letting it settle is slovenly, at worst and far more commonly, it's a health risk and fire hazard. Dust accumulations are EXPLOSIVE. Especially metals.

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Oz

"Violence never settles anything."
Genghis Khan 1162-1227

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To emphasise what cdark said, watch out for fabrics and rotating machinery. Rags, gloves, shirts, ties...tend to be grabbed and pulled into rotating machinery. I'm one of those guys who tried using a rage to hold something is was disk sanding. The rag got grabbed right into the works. I'm awfully glad it wasn't a pair of gloves.
 
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