Technical Shop Safety

My wife is a eye doctor. A few years ago for Christmas she gave me some safetyglasses with a clip-in reading glass in MY prescription. Best things ever.

~ Carl

 

My old job...I was burning steel plate with a track torch. After lunch (alone in a huge building at 4:00am) I started to light the torch. Click-click-click with the striker...nothing. I get down eye level with the torch and give it a little more Mapp and "click' it again. (thinking the whole time...this COULD be really stupid!) This time it LIT! Burned my eyebrows....my mustache ...my nose hairs...hair hanging from the front of my welder's cap..even my eyelashes!!! Coulda been really bad because I was the ONLY person in the entire building.
Stills scares me when I think about what coulda happened.
6sally6

 

6sally6: NOW you can understand why MOST shops have a rule that requires at least 2 workers in the shop BEFORE any work is to be started!! That's also why those of us that work alone in our home shops need to be extra careful of our safety practices!! To restate your last 2 sentences : YOU WERE F******G LUCKY!!!

 

This seems like a good place to post this....just last week, a friend was doing some welding, and was seriously burned when his pant leg caught on fire. He ended up in the hospital, and had to have skin graft surgery on his leg. I haven't got any more updates, but he likely has a long road to recovery. A few years ago, a co-worker had a similar mishap when he was welding, and he still has lingering effects from it.

 

I saw a young lathe operator with a pony tail bent over to inspect his cut. When he did, the pony tail fell off his shoulder and was immediately wrapped up and snatched out of his scalp. He had about a 4" spot where ever hair was ripped out by the roots. Still gives me chills.

Of course, I've done lots of stupid stuff, too. Had metal dug out of my eyes at least 3 times. I'm slow on the uptake but I finally got the message. As stated before, since most of us work alone, we must be vigilant of safety all the time. All it takes is one slip up to change or end your life forever.

 

That's also why if it don't light the first time shut it off and wait a few mins before trying again. Comes on every BBQ too

 

I'm a heavy equipment operator, old guy now, so I teach. The very first line out of my mouth to a student is.....this machine does not love you, or care about you, your wife does. This thing will kill you without a thought and tomorrow it will try to kill the next guy to do something stupid. I get some strange looks sometimes, but it's for the best. I been operating 45 years, seen two guys killed, and I don't take anything that'll move and hurt you for granted. I have however had a grinding wheel explode and hit me in the chest, shocking how fast it happened.

 

A few I'll share.
At a large fabrication shop I worked at while in college, two guys were operating this huge shear that could easily do 1/2". The plate was supported on a ball table so it could be moved easily in to position. The guy moving the plate had his fingers under the plate's edge when the operator dropped the clamp. Four fingers obliterated instantly.

At a tire business I worked at, a serviceman decided that his tire iron needed modifying, so he marches in to the spring shop department, which was off limits, and started to grind it on this huge pedestal grinder that was 10 hp and had a 3"x12" rock. The tool rest was way off but that let him stick the tire iron vertically between the rest and the rock. His gloved hand caught on the rock and jammed it between the tool and the rock. Three fingers ground off instantly.

Enough gore for now.

 

Best wishes and speedy recovery for your friend. Incidents like this should give all time to pause and think twice about safety. Had a belt sander suck in my sweater once. Luckily it jammed quick. Seems the older I get the more careless I am.

 

When I started to Mig weld I had seen a few of those BS shows with the "pros". I went to do a couple of simple tacks on a project and though the quick shutting my eyes would be ok. Later that night my eye felt like there was sand in it. Went to emergency and when the doctor checked me he said I had been welding and that I didn't wear proper protection so he shouldn't give me anything for the pain. He relented and I learned my lesson.
I wear eye protection religiously primarily because my son gives me shit if I don't. I had glasses and a full face shield on and still a sliver of metal bounced of my chest and ricocheted up into my eye. Didn't really feel it until later. Went to emergency again where the doc said nothing was wrong. Told him to check again and he finally found the tiniest of tiny schrapel. Sometimes shit happens despite preparedness but without it shit is bound to happen.

 

I had a lathe chuck fail.

Probably a one-in-10,000,000 chance.

I saw the part eject. I hit the e-stop the instant the part hit me in the temple, fracturing my skull.

This was in 2013. It still hurts.

 

When I worked in a paper mill, while welding, There was usually someone standing by with a water hose that would let your pants leg get burning just enough to hose you completely down.

 

I've had more cloths catch fire from grinding than welding.

 

My Buddy had 1st surgery yesterday . Going to loose 1 finger maybe 2 , probably the use of the remaining part of his hand . To early to determine at this point . I was a Stationery Engineer by trade after being ASME Certified Mechanic for a couple of years . We all have taken chances , me included . I did the most stupid thing anyone can possibly do for years , I rode a scooter for years with out a brain bucket . I was to cool , until the one day out of the clear blue a kid rear ended me . When I determined what had happened , my head was less than a foot from the guard rail . Will they save you , who knows but the odds are way better than hitting the lotto that you will not survive a head injury without the bucket . I never leave home with out it anymore . Just use your head and remember what an old dude told me . If you don’t have enough time to do it safely , you may not ever have enough time to finish safely after the event that will happen sooner or later . Welding is not your friend , I was certified , and never could understand how hot slag ends up in the tip ends of ones gloves and has to burn out , there is no getting the glove off fast enough to control the rath of curse words that it causes . I witnessed a friend at work , wearing his PPE and his wedding ring got hung up on the man hole cover in a boiler , as he came down a ladder . His finger was 4 to 5 feet above him still attached by tendons . We got him the rest of the way down , I climbed up got the glove with finger still inside down , rolled up the tendons and finger into the palm of his hand and away he went to the hospital . He lost his finger and use of the hand . It always killed me that the next day after an event , the company safety director having an investigation : HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED ? Sometimes as in his case he did as he was supposed to , and it happened anyway . I supposed the answer was to stay home and not be at work . Please for your families sake , take a moment and be safe as possible . The tinkering season is nearing the yearly kick off for most of us . Let’s make it a memorable , and fun year .

 

What a lot of people don't seem to realise is if you're fortunate enough to still be breathing after the incident has happened it's further on down the line when the real pain starts. Fixed up body or body parts might be ok for a while until you get older then the affected parts start packing up don't function as well as before. Could mean lose of employment, having to take a job that pays less, having to survive on welfare payments etc. Also not being able to move around or work on your cars as you use to, may end up having to sell everything (cars & parts) because you can't work on them and you now need the money. I have a good friend (best man at our wedding) now getting around on a mobility scooter he had two accidents he recovered from during his working life hit his late 50's and the body packed it in due to the effects of the injuries he was carrying.

 

Acquaintance(a pilot by trade) lost an arm on a lathe at a meat packing plant in Bakersfield, CA. Strong enough to pass the pilots test to resume flying with prosthetic and is still flying. He was the safety officer for the plant. Sometimes stuff just happens.

 

My wife has 2 uncles that lost fingers with wedding rings on. My ring is in my dresser and I put it on for special occasions. I had a a highschool machine shop teacher that really made us safety conscious. One day there was blood all over a shaper from a student and no one was allowed to clean it off for a couple months. It made us pay attention where our hands were with that beast.
One of the worst thing we can have doing any work is complacency. Most of us are guilty from time to time. We try to get away with 2 seconds of cutting, grinding or whatever without taking the proper safety precautions. I have had a few close calls and thought I lost the end of two fingers. They were "gloved" where the skin pulled off & luckily they healed with a little numbness to remind me.I worked in industry all my life and my employers pounded safety into us and made it clear there was no excuse for accidents. My last employer gave out safety glasses, ear plugs etc to take home and use. They strongly pushed that we practice the same safety at home as at work as most accidents happen at home. I know from work when I pick up a side grinder that I should have my safety glasses on and a face shield. I have seen where the grinder had skipped off a couple welders face shields or once where a wire wheel let wire fly where the face shield saved a face. I have seen a couple good face cuts where there was no face shield.

One great lesson taught to us was line of fire. If you are using a grinder, cutting disc, torch etc where is the line of fire for sparks, discs etc. Where are you and others in relation to that line of fire.

I had a brother in law killed on the job and it was complacency. He had done the same job many times and they did the task different knowing better. He was impatient & knew better. He was caught and crushed in his own line of fire. A traumatic day for everyone present, and beyond horrible for the first aiders trying to save him until an ambulance crew took over.
In my later years I managed a lot of work where I was responsible for the crew and had to be watchful of the guys safety. The crews had to fill in work safety sheets where they listed the tasks and assessed the hazards. They took steps to eliminate the hazards. It is overkill for home but still is a good mental exercise before jumping into something different. I would remind crew to take the job safety hazards assesment seriously as every industrial death inquest seems to start out as " We always did it that way" and that does not mean it is the best way. My brother-in-laws death caused a major change to they work, the equipment to do the work and improve the efficiency for material handling. Maybe if someone spoke up years ago it could have been avoided.
Complacency is a big hazard so stay safe.

 

Complacency is the answer to most industrial accidents.

 

One on one the machines are undefeated!

 

Good reminder for all.
Generally follow safety rules, and have suffered the consequences of not doing that a few times in the past year.

 

I was welding a roll bar overhead, had all safety equipment on including gloves. dropped my left hand down to change position and follow weld around. Large blob of hot metal down my glove and under my wedding band. burned the piss out of me. my buddy helped me cut it off with bolt cutters. Wife was not happy about the ring until she saw my finger. Needless to say the large scar on top of my finger shows everyone I am married.

 

In my garage at home many years ago I was going to use a 3”cut off wheel in a Dumore grinder. The wheel was rated for 22,000 RPM and should have been safe but I think it may have had a nick in the edge. As soon as I flipped the switch the wheel let go and put a gash under my left eye. I was very fortunate, another 1/2” and I would have lost the eye.
I was wearing my GM issued prescription safety glasses at the time but there were two lessons I learned that evening- check the wheel to see if the edge has damage and depending on what you are doing safety glasses may not be enough, consider using a full face shield for certain tasks.

 

I too have a “ permanent “ wedding ring!




Bones

 

Yep, I got lucky a couple times I figure, 1st one when I was 13 on a Jointer (these seem to be popular for finger removal!) with too short of a piece of wood, removed 1/2" or better of the tip of my middle finger on my right hand, and again about 10 years ago @ the ripe Ol' age of 49 decided to cut off the tip of my index finger on a table saw at work, I am lucky to have the nail come back on that one, but it's a really weird shape. Actually lucky to have a nail on both, the doctor told me both times it would not grow back.

Can't stress safety glasses and safe work practices enough!

 

I took my wedding band off 10 days after I got married, wife a little miffed so I showed pics of a few mild wedding band injury's with explanation of how it could have been way worse, never put it back on..I don't even know where it is!..32 years and I have all my fingers and she still has me..

 

Hello,

When I was learning to weld with our new gas torch set up, my job was to cut out plates with the cutting torch. It was fun to watch the metal melt and drip, as well as making a straight line across the big steel plate. My brother showed me how to angle the head for the best results.

He also gave me the dark glasses for protection.
I watched him weld with the dark glasses on every time. But, when I put them on, I could not see a thing. I was lucky that I did not burn myself with the regular torch tip or the cutting tip. I had to pick up one side lens so I could see where the steel plate and dark line was on the surface.

I could barely see the line, but the torch flame just blocked all other vision. I had to take those glasses off for better sight on that straight line. I did find out that shooting the flame straight down went through the metal, but the line was not straight when moving. So, my brother said to keep the flame shooting away and the melting stuff will go that way, away from me. Also, following the straight line would be much easier. That is all good and well, but I still could not see the line.

Once my practice runs were finished, I started the real cutting on the piece we needed for a bracket. I got about an inch or two from the starting point and “pow”, a bubble or something popped and I felt a stinging on my cheek, just under my eye. Instantly I rubbed it off and ran inside to the mirror in the bathroom. There was a red burn about the size of a pencil eraser. It hurt. I took care of that and went back out to the welding area in the backyard garage, unfazed, but a little leery about more popping. I used a clear lens, pair of old glasses to protect my eyes and a yellow, Cub Scout bandana from back in those play days, to cover my face.

Jnaki

From that point on my welding and cutting was good, but I did not use the dark glasses for protection. I just could not see. When in the high school metal shop, welding section, I passed the bead test using the glasses, but all of my welding was done without the dark glasses.

When the old “arc welding” was introduced, I had to use that drop down helmet with the windows so dark, that now, it was totally impossible to do any quality work. My beads were smooth, but I just did not like the “arc welding” helmet and sight reduction from those lenses. I passed the test for a grade, but did not utilize “arc welding” in the future projects.

In recent HAMB posts I thought I read something about a light bolted on the outside of the drop down helmet that would show the welding spots. That would have been outstanding, as I could see the welding pieces through the dark lenses. If that were the case, I would have easily used that dark lens helmet and continued the arc welding at the time. Arc welding just seemed better than Acetylene. That mask definitely did not work for me, although it protected my whole face and neck.

 

Working in shops, owning my shop for 36 years, have some stories. The common problems, inexperience, in a hurry, I stressed safety ( Stop and Think ! ) I always remember a mentor when I was a kid ( 18 ) starting out in trade, an old Tool Maker Bob Tack, STOP and THINK ! with some kind words like "Dumb Ass" The worst injury in my shop was an apprentice 2 years experience cut his thumb off using band saw, I put pressure on, called police, put his finger in fridge, fire dept ambulance came within 4/5 minutes, took him and his thumb to hospital, reattached thumb, ended up losing joint but still a thumb to use. When filling out accident report I was asked how did I know to put thumb in refrigerator, lucky guess my answer, for whatever reason I seem to stay calm and thinking in bad situations. I have hurt myself some, a few scars, usually being in a hurry, have all my fingers, eyes, etc, 1/2 a brain left and like I always say "My Guardian Angel Watches Over Me" I am and have been a very LUCKY man all of my life for which I'm very grateful.

 

I managed a Tool Room at a materials testing lab for a few years. A guy was on a big lathe making .505 round tensile bars. He had a piece of square stock in a 3 jaw chuck. As I was telling him that is poor practice, all hell broke loose. Ruined the test piece, destroyed the chuck, broke the Aloris tool post, and put some shrapnel in my forehead !

 

I Hired and FIRED more than one expert Tool & Die Maker for stupidity, I was a hard nose boss/shop owner, if I said poor practice, that meant stop, do it right, my way or carry your tool box out of here NOW.

 

Duh!!