General shop safety

[oldred]

Getting hurt in the shop is no fun and it's hard to do any gunsmithing chores with fingers or hands all bandaged up! The thread on lathe safety brought out some interesting info that I am sure will get someone to THINK before they get hurt and maybe prevent an accident, even if we just prevent a minor accident it's worth the time and effort. So how about it, let's hear about some seemingly innocent hand tools that can cause pain and grief. I mentioned using a hand hacksaw in that other thread on finding used lathes but it looks as if tool safety might be about to highjack that one so I thought I would start another topic. Suggestions/warnings? How about a few incidents concerning tools and even procedures normally used for 'smithing that could have been easily prevented?

If we can just save someone a from a small cut or the proverbial sore thumb we will have accomplished a lot and often a bit of awareness is all it takes.

[bangerjim]

Never carve TOWARDS your body or hands! I insure the wood is held securely in either clamps or wood vise.

A dull tool is the most dangerous tool. Keep all cutting edges razor sharp Invest in sharpening "stuff" Diamond hones are the best. I use a 12" slo-speed water stone to put that nice concave bevel on chissels and plane blades.

Eye protection for ALL times in the shop. Do not take them off when not doing stuff. PLUS face shield when using the wood lathe.

No jewerly, watches, or loose clothes. NO long hair!

Hearing protection when using routers, shapers, thickness planers.

Industrial rubber mats for non-slip and foot/spine comfort.

Excellent lighting overhead and at work areas spots.

Always have ALL grounded outlets for EVERY plug in your shop.

Most of all COMMON SENSE..........THINK.......if it looks dangerous, it PROBABLY IS!

banger

[country gent]

Good light, saftey glasses, gloves only where appropriate, Heavy shoes or boots ( Ive had steel toes save me several times over 35 years in the trade), appropriate clothing ( shorts and a tank top arent really appropriate when welding or cutting) , A hat to cover hair, keeps hair from machine spindles and sparks out also. When working with hand tools keep cords tied of tight so if it grabs it unplugs itselt instead of wrapping you up.

[aspangler]

I am surprised that no one mentioned pliers and diagonal cutters. Also screw drivers can HURT you. Those things have a mind of their own and will bite you if you are not paying attention. Anytime you are working with hand tools or power tools of any type PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!! I have put screw drivers into my hands more than once. Always MY fault.

[waksupi]

The point of not wearing jewelry has already been brought up. If you don't have an office job, and work with your hands at all, don't wear it, especially rings. Some refuse to remove wedding rings. I've seen two fingers completely peeled to bone by these, removing everything BUT the bone. I also saw a guy making a short jump from a platform with his ring hand hanging on for support. Ring caught, and completely removed that one.

[bangerjim]

Wedding rings........EXACTLY why I brought it up again. I know guys that think of taking their ring off is akin to being unfaithful to their wife! We have been married for 41 years and my wedding ring has been in the same jewelry box for 40 of those! Much too dangerous for the many things I do on a regular basis.

Not to mentioned the thousands of ring fingers that have been burned to the bone by the ring shorting out an electrical circuit!!!!!! I know of three of those cases.

On the other (extremely rare) side of the coin, I knew of one lineman that fell off a power pole and caught his wedding ring on something that saved him from falling to the ground. Broken finger, dislocated shoulder, but he lived to tell the story. Again, one of the VERY RARE positives of rings.

Common sense rules.

banger

[country gent]

Jewlery watches rings necklaces are dangerous also while not seen as ofter are ties. Shrit tails can and have wrapped in feed screws on machines. Seen several scalped when hair got in spinning spindles. That dosnt just take hair but skin and all literannly scalps you. One of the biggest things is a phone in the shop and a up to date current FIRST AID kit and eye wash station where they can be gotten to easily. Eye washes stations are available thru most industrial supplies in plastic squeeze bottles now grab the bottle place over eye and lightly squeeze it flush eye quickly and easily. Alot of times just having the basics available can make big diffrence in the out come.

[Mk42gunner]

The common screwdriver is the most abused tool in the shop. They are meant to turn screws, not be used as a cold chisel or to pry with. And please do not hold whatever has the screw in it in your hand while attempting to turn said screw, that is a good way to gouge your hand.

Robert

[376Steyr]

Bench grinders are always ready to grab you or your work piece, especially if you're trying to hold a small part in your hands.

[Jim_P]

Never ever, not even once, use a tool with a guard not guarding what it was intended to guard.

Please don't ask how I know. But I do still have all fingers and toes despite my own stupidity. Luckily.

But think table saw cutting Plexiglas with the guard up and rotating the anti-kick back pawls out of the way as not to scratch the plexi. It's just a divot.

[JSnover]

Turning wrenches, try to push/pull in a direction that will cause you to fall out or away if the wrench slips, instead of into the machine.

[cs86]

Don't get into a hurry. Working fast will lead to missed steps in a process or clumsiness, which can get you in trouble.

[sundog]

Yeppers, bench grinders most useful purpose is for launching small parts. So, I would have to say face shield, body armor and padded gloves. Then, of course, good lighting and knee pads, so you can go find the part that just took off into low shop orbit and ricocheted off the ceiling and far wall and skidded back under a different bench. You also might consider impact resistant covers on the lights (helps mitigate the referred to part in orbit from making lots of glass shards as it's bouncing off the bulbs).

All silliness aside, we had a hangar that had radiant overhead heating and a really nice finish on the floor. Only problem was when an icy or wet aircraft was rolled in and that nice high tech floor became a skating rink. Fluid leaks and spills were worse than water. Clean up all spills pronto.

Also, it doesn't hurt any to keep your tetanus shot current, just in case of the unintended mishap.

Instructions? Don't need no steenkin' instructions! ....... Yeah, right. Keep a tech library and keep it current - pdf and online copies usually suffice in lieu of paper. Ain't the internet just dandy?

[dragonrider]

Just a couple of weeks ago I was using a hand drill to predrill some holes for screws the drill size was 1/8 th. I was leaning a little too hard on it and the bit broke and the rest of it went right through my thumb, just missing the bone. There was some colorful language, much stomping about and gnashing of teeth,.....interpret that last as screaming in pain. This brought up a lesson that I had learned a couple of times in the past, KEEP TRACK OF YOUR FINGERS, know where they are at all times and what could happen if "X" happens.

[RogerDat]

Good ladder or good step stool not whatever you can find to climb up on. I'm pretty sure falls get more adult men over 30 then firearms. Keep the floor clean and clear, my personal demon. Cords, tool cases or boxes, parts etc. on the floor. I'm working on the bench/table/machine so I open the case for the power tool or parts box on the floor, then run an extension cord and an air line and... pretty soon I need the agility of a 20 year old gymnast just to go get my coffee cup.

Full eyewash, shower, or industrial first aid kit are nice but you can improve your safety a lot with a pint bottle of sterile eye wash, a gallon jug of clean water, and a few feminine napkins as pressure bandages added to basic bandages and anti-septic first aid. Chemical burns time and concentration are against you. Rapidly being able to get and apply water to dilute and remove chemicals are your best bet to avoid more serious injury.

One thing I don't ever want to have to say to the EMT or ER doctor... I had safety glasses over there or I forgot and left my face shield up. Having is not the same as consistently using it.

Right clothing, hello casting in shorts? Or tennis shoes without socks? Or my favorite running a string trimmer in shorts, sandals and without hearing or eye protection...

One that goes with the grinder as orbital launch device that an old guy with two eyes and ten fingers told me a long time ago "secure your work, know where the kick back is going when it happens because it will sooner or later". I have to add gloves and spinning shafts do not mix. Drills, drill presses, lathes etc. should not be operated in gloves. Have seen what a glove in a 1/2 chuck drill press looks like after wrapping the fingers around the drill. Blood causes rust and is messy, looked like it hurt too. And de-burr your work please, it will only piss you (or someone else) off when you cut yourself on that sharp edge left from cutting or grinding.

[oldred]

Bench grinders are always ready to grab you or your work piece, especially if you're trying to hold a small part in your hands.

Ah, bench grinders! That could be a whole subject in itself! A few rules that MUST be adhered to for safely running a bench grinder,

1, NEVER run a bench grinder without the wheel guards in place. An exploding wheel is bad enough with them in place but without them the parts of a broken wheel will become shrapnel going in all directions with pieces yielding as much energy as a bullet. People have been killed and badly injured by these things, if the guards are not there then DON'T run it! Also that's not the only reason for the guards but that alone is more than enough.

2, NEVER run a grinder with a missing or (even MUCH worse) improperly adjusted tool support. If there is much of a gap between between the wheel and the tool support (or tool rest as some may prefer) the part being ground can be pulled down violently and into the wheel and guard housing (sometimes along with your hand!) causing damage to the part and or the grinder sometimes leading to the aforementioned exploding wheel. Bodily injury can range from getting your hands pulled into the spinning wheel to being struck by the flying part and/or pieces of a broken wheel in a worse case incident.

3, NEVER point an object up into the oncoming surface of a spinning grinding wheel, to better picture what I mean think of sharpening a screw driver and pointing it upwards toward the downward spinning wheel. The point or edge can dig into the wheel and the part/tool will be violently flipped with extreme force, I remember one incident from years ago where a screwdriver was impaled into a guy's leg so hard it actually penetrated the bone.

That's just three but there is a long list of do's & dont's for grinders

[ohland]

THINK before they get hurt and maybe prevent an accident, ... even procedures normally used

Never machine angry, drunk, or distracted.

Plan out the job or process. Figure out how to clamp, indicate, machine, and lube/cool/clear the cutting tool, as needed.

If you need to buy or fabricate holding devices, do so. You CANNOT hold a piece of sheet metal when the drill bit punches through and GRABs it. Now you have a spinning blade...

If the tools are screaming and smoking as they machine, perhaps your choice of tool/speed/lube/metal is incorrect.

Consider rigidity of your machine, the horsepower available, swing, and most of all for a lathe, how much weight do you have in that chuck, and is it on center?

Keeping it short, if you are at an impasse, take some pics of your setup, and check out the practical machinist site, or here. Chances are you will get a suggestion, a warning, or commiseration... Sometimes it's better getting something machined for you instead of working on an undersized machine, without specific tools, or fill in the blank...

[bear67]

Wear safety glasses and hearing protection. I would not say "WHAT" near as much if I had listened to this advice years ago. I don't know if it is shooting, running shop machines or operating farm and industrial machinery and drilling rigs, but I am 85% deaf in left ear and some loss in right.

I do not wear rings any more and I am very married--heck, yesterday was 46 years and I am blessed that she knows my ring needs to stay in the drawer, not on finger. First lost ring was 45 years back and was welding on dragline bucket and it shifted and the tooth pinned my ring finger to the concrete floor. Might have saved the finger as the ring was pushed down to 1/4" space and bone broken. Had to take the ring off with dikes and visit ER. Next time I had stepped up on side of grain truck full of milo to draw sample for moisture test. Foot slipped off rub rail and I fell. My wedding ring caught on a 1/4" bolt sticking out and I was hanging by a bleeding torn finger--same one as earlier incident. Used right arm to get me loose, but dislocated right shoulder (old injury) in the process. Dr said he did not like to stitch over a scar, but that was what I needed. I have not worn a ring since.

Watch out for moving shafts--pto, augers, drive lines, as I have responded to too many accidents involving people parts getting wrapped up around a shaft including a fatality involving a 12 year old girl. And my pet complaint--don't work machinery without someone around. My father in law was pinned for hours in tractor mishap and no one to free him until his wife noticed he was not home for supper.
Be careful out there, please.

[country gent]

Another couple grinder tips. When installing a new wheel always ring it ( hang on a rod or screwdriver shank and tap with another) if it rings its good a dull thud means there could be a crack in it and a potential danger exists with that wheel. Store wheels standing up not laying flat, things get set on them dropped on them resulting in cracks. When starting the grinder with the new wheels start slow (Bump switch on and off slowly bringing up to speed) and most important with new wheel is stand of to side when starting the first few times. HAd a big floor grinder ran a 24" dia wheel 3" wide in one shop. Actual there were a couple in the plant. MAchine repair mounted new wheel and flipped the switch was that a boom and then several hours straightening the bent shaft. Dress wheel when mounted to get running true and balanced. Pedestal, snag grinders are little thought about but used aot. Buffers can be even more dangerous as few have gaurds.

[JWT]

1. If something falls, don't try to catch it. Earlier this year I watched someone with good intentions and no understanding of gravity try to catch a falling 6cyl engine.

2. Like country gent pointed out don't stand in front of a grinder when turing it on. This also goes for table saws, routers, electrical disconnects, etc. Know your machine's ejection/blowback zones.

3. If it 'feels' wrong, STOP! Figure out what could go wrong and then proceed if safe. A 16ga finish nail through the thumb is not fun.

4. Buy quality tool and care for them.

[leeggen]

How about that "T" handle wrench for the jaw chuck on the lathe? Yip they can fly if you are distracted. Also for those of us with long beards, make sure and tuck every hair inside the shirt or wear a hair net to keep it out of the drill press or lathe or many other machanical equipment.
CD

[smokeywolf]

No gloves or long hair around rotating machinery. Can't say safety glasses too often. Once had a grinding wheel on a surface grinder explode. Particulate ricocheted off the magnetic chuck and embedded in my glasses and cheeks.

[ohland]

1. If something falls, don't try to catch it. Earlier this year I watched someone with good intentions and no understanding of gravity try to catch a falling 6cyl engine.

Got to watch a big whoppin machined gearbox (?) about 3'x5'x4' fall 2 feet to the concrete floor when the strap broke. NOBODY was near it. The workers there were quite careful when working with big heavy items....

Made one heckuva bong! when it hit....

If you use straps to lift parts... Don't drag the strap in the dirt... any grit or sand starts to abrade the fibers. Sure, you see the recovery vehicle crews on TV do it, but they also inspect their gear, and that is what you don't see.

Chains? Less likely to be affected by grit, but inspect for damaged links.

Using a winch? What is it attached to? Is that 2x4 above your lathe REALLY going to hold that chuck or part while lifting it?

[country gent]

In with grinders are all your Die grinders, dremil tools, angle grinders ect ect. STart the mounted stones under the bench top and dress to true under the bech top on drmils and die grinders. Use quaility mounted points. SOme of these little air grinders run 25,000-100000 rpm. Out of ballance stones or burrs become dangerous in them. The cheap mounted points shafts will bend over 90* when started if out of balance, These stones are running ungaurded and are notorious for blowing up. Raw hide bobs will literally break in half. Use a dressing stick and dress to true up helps some.

[oldred]

Some years back there was a tv show about reconstructive surgies, each program started out with a "before" and ended with the results of the surgery (anyone remember that show, I think it was in the late '70s?). One episode was about a guy who had experienced a grinding wheel explosion on a bench grinder, this fellow as a mess I mean he had very little of his face left! The surgery had to not only reconstruct his soft tissues but there was even major bone reconstruction necessary, that's the kind of thing a grinder wheel explosion can cause IF the victim even survives!

[Red River Rick]

I've been in the trade for over 30 years and have had my share of stitches and smashed fingers, comes with the territory.

Not all accidents are preventable, that's why they call them accidents!

Some of the posts here are starting to sound like Chicken Little:............"Run for your life the sky is falling"!

If your worried about taking taking off some "bark" or getting a "owie", then maybe it would be best to just leave all the machine tools alone and just sit in the house and watch TV.


RRR

[hot diggity]

Above my lathe there is a shelf with a row of hooks for every tool. On the drill press there's a hook for the chuck key. They never get set down anywhere, so I never have to chase them, or have them damage me or my equipment. Training yourself to hang them up every time is the hardest part.

Biggest thing I've caught myself doing lately is trying to hold or catch small parts when I'm cutting them off in the lathe. Once I realized how dangerous this was I started using a big paint brush and a paper chute to safely catch small parts as they were cut off.

Filling a diagonal cutters jaws with silicone and splitting it with a razor after it dries will help catch little missiles as they're snipped off.

HD

[bangerjim]

Never machine angry, drunk, or distracted.

...

Well..............that let's me out!!!!! HA....ha! :drinks:

Good advice!!!!!!

[country gent]

Sort of like my Bike, Banger Scares me silly on it when Im sober. One of the best welders in the county I knew and worked with wasnt any good sober. A few beers and he was good to go.

[Fishman]

Rule in my shop at work is "Never toss a catfish". My shop is very different from most, as it contains our fish lab and workup area. Danger comes in all forms, lol.

[MT Gianni]

In 1959 I was 5 and watching my Dad from the steps as he changed the wheel on his grinder to begin a project. Like most of his stuff, his grinder was a double shaft motor scrounged from somewhere with a wheel on one end and a wire brush on the other. The wheel, stored in oil, exploded when his tool touched it, big piece hit him in the forehead and he went down hard. I thought he was dead. I ran to him while yelling for Mom. He got cleaned up and spent the rest of the morning making a guard for his "grinder". I asked him about the project and he said " well Johnny, it just wasn't as important as it was earlier". I learned a lot that day.

[waksupi]

I've been in the trade for over 30 years and have had my share of stitches and smashed fingers, comes with the territory.

Not all accidents are preventable, that's why they call them accidents!

Some of the posts here are starting to sound like Chicken Little:............"Run for your life the sky is falling"!

If your worried about taking taking off some "bark" or getting a "owie", then maybe it would be best to just leave all the machine tools alone and just sit in the house and watch TV.


RRR


I never consider a project properly finished, if I haven't bled a little on it.

[StratsMan]

No gloves or long hair around rotating machinery.

Years ago, I worked with a guy who wore his hair in a "fro"... Got too close to a running drill press, and got a patch of hair pulled out... He was wearing a hairnet the next day... Just because you're not handling a tool doesn't mean it won't bite...

[smokeywolf]

Drill presses tend to be treated with complacency. That makes them one of the most dangerous tools in the shop. Can't tell ya'll how many times I've castigated machinists for failing to clamp a piece of sheet metal or plastic to the drill press table when drilling a hole.

They usually look at you like, "who the he!! are you?" Then they say yeah I know, but I just need to drill this one hole and I'm in a hurry. My response was usually, "Your finger or thumb is absolutely worth 90 seconds of the company's time?"

[oldred]

Drill presses tend to be treated with complacency. That makes them one of the most dangerous tools in the shop.

Have to agree with that one wholeheartedly! Also a drill press is probably the most ABUSED tool in the shop and usually when an accident occurs it is because the drill press is trying to defend itself.

[Kilroy08]

As others have stated, always wear your:

SAFETY GLASSES!

FACE SHIELDS!

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WHERE APPLICABLE!

Personal rants:

Chuck keys:
A guy I was training kept leaving the key in the chuck on a lathe. When I politely told him it was unsafe, he shrugged it off. The next time he acted like it was a big joke. I was sorely tempted to either super glue the darn thing to his hand or beat him with it.

Being in a hurry/just trying to get it done:
During my brief period at DuPont, I observed the following: A senior supervisor came up to our Hardinge tool room lathe and chucked up a piece of brass bar stock. Ok, pretty normal. The best way I can describe the following is that he proceeded to sodomize it using the tail stock. The bar already had a hole started. Instead of bringing the tail stock up, securing it, and using the hand wheel to feed the drill bit in to the part, he was just sliding the whole darn thing along the ways and ramming it in to the work piece. After he left, I asked if the guy knew how to run a lathe. I was told yes. I asked if they were sure. "Well he was just trying to get something done." I made the observation that if that's the way he treats a lathe, I'm scared to think of how he treats his wife.

[oldred]

Well I mentioned the lowly hacksaw at the beginning of this thread in reference to another mention in another thread of the hazards of using one. Normally a person would not think of a hacksaw as being a particularly dangerous tool but it's one of the more hazardous non-power tools a person might use, there have been many serious injuries as a person jams his fingers into sharp edges of a cut off piece when the blade unexpectedly cuts through on a hard push. A mine shop where I did a lot of work several years ago had so many of this type of injury (many requiring stitches) that it became a shop rule that hacksaws were not to be used without gloves. I myself sustained a serious finger cut in this manner about 15 years ago and taught me a new respect for this innocent looking tool.


NOW, why am I bringing this up? Well maybe I should have listened to that warning I made a couple of weeks ago in that other thread, as I sit here typing this I am doing so with a bandage and two stitches in my left index finger! I was sawing a piece of 1" PVC pipe and managed to saw across my finger when the short piece of pipe I was cutting slipped off the brace I was resting it on, cut it clean to the bone! Fortunately my daughter was visiting and she is an RN so I had her clean it and sew it up saving me a trip to the ER, the cut was that bad enough that the ER was called for had she not been here.