Talking Shop Safety

[cooldude]

Lets share some stories and ideas about shop safety.

Im sure weve all had some boo boos over the years. I know I have. 


My thought for today is about a shop heater. I dont usually do much work in my shop during the winter months, because my shop is unheated. I would like to put an electric heater in there, but you know how flammable fumes can light up and travel back to the source.

Just think of all the flammable stuff in an auto shop!

Working on an old car means a lot of fumes will be in the shop. And in winter, the doors are usually closed and the fumes build up. That is why I usually end all non emergency auto repair projects in the wintertime.

So, any ideas of how to safely heat my shop?

Or, any body want to just talk shop, and share a story or two?

[birdsandbees]

I haven't blown up yet in 21 years in my current shop. 240v electric heater with the thermostat on a cord sitting on one of my drill presses and grandma's old parlour wood stove stoked when I'm in the shop. 100LL AV gas, cleaning solvent, paint etc and I don't give it much thought... but thankfully for the wife I'm well insured!  

[Kern Dog]

Safety is for wimps. Be a BALLER and do it like our fathers did.   

[cooldude]

I guess I get a little spooked thinking back to some of the stories I heard about flammable vapors. I used to do some work with water heaters years ago. Here is a horror story.

I heard about a guy that was putting down some glue type product on his floor. The fumes, being sort of heavy, just sort of lingered just over the surface of the floor. They slowly spread unnoticed through the house, until they reached the gas water heater. The pilot light (this was years ago) ignited the fumes. A ball of burning gas travelled right back to the bucket of flammable stuff the guy was using. It was right beside him, and it killed him (and no doubt set the house on fire).

So, there is always something to think about.

Jack stands are another issue worthy of serious thinking. As far as jack stands go...I use them religiously. Cinder blocks can crumble, as can wood blocks, and so on. Just using a tire jack isnt good enough, as they can collapse or fall over.

[Todd Wilson]

A friend of mine burned his attached garage and house clear down to nothing a few years ago when he was messing with a carb on a car and had some gas spill and the vapors made its way to a heater. I am always careful of vapor stuff and fire.  Sparks from welders or grinders.   I always have 2 different things holding a vehicle up in the air if I crawl underneath. I never rely on jack stands or a jack alone but pair things up. I work for the railroad and I get pieces of new railroad tie's that they have to cut short for something. The pieces are about 1 foot pieces and they make for great blocking under a car and I know they wont collapse like a jack or a jack stand could do.


I have seen friends do stupid stuff with no eye protection and have had to go get metal out of eyes.

Todd

[RECHRGD]

Some people seem to defy all odds when it comes to safety.  A couple of years ago when traveling down to Reno for Hot August Nights, Al Merkel's '69 R/T had a fuel pump failure in Winnamucca Nevada.  We found a local "mechanic" to procure and install a new pump.  He performed this work by crawling under the car (no lift) with a LIT cigarette in his mouth.  I stayed outside and well away from the shop during this operation....

[birdsandbees]

My old girlfriends father... back in 1979 or so.. would weld his kids leaking fuel tanks for them. Told them to fill them absolutely full before coming by the garage, would put the car in the air and break out the torch to heat the tank and solder the hole! .. and yah we stood WAY outside !! 

[440]

I'm a culprit for not wearing safety glasses, gloves or ear plugs while grinding and using wire wheels etc. Touch wood nothing bad has happened yet.

Although, in saying that I've started using ear muffs as I think my hearing is just starting to suffer from noise.

[cooldude]

Yeah Todd, pairing things up is a good idea. Makes a lot of sense. 

You know, pouring gas down the carb to prime an engine is another dangerous time, isnt it?

I dont know how many times I have had to prime my old Mopars in the spring to get them started, by putting a little gas down the carb while cranking the engine. Ive had the customary fireballs from backfires, and all that.

If one guy is pouring and another is behind the wheel cranking the engine, its a really good idea to have the guy doing the pouring step back from the engine before cranking it.

I have seen guys pour the gas in even while the engine is turning. And sometimes from a pretty big cup too. One fireball from a backfire, and its a bad accident. 

But Ive done it too.

[RallyeMike]

My input is "vigilance". Even Safety Sams will sometime think, "it'll be ok this one time", and then move forward unsafely. That's when you get bit.

[Homerr]

Some people seem to defy all odds when it comes to safety.  A couple of years ago when traveling down to Reno for Hot August Nights, Al Merkel's '69 R/T had a fuel pump failure in Winnamucca Nevada.  We found a local "mechanic" to procure and install a new pump.  He performed this work by crawling under the car (no lift) with a LIT cigarette in his mouth.  I stayed outside and well away from the shop during this operation....

I'd tell that guy to get the F away from my car.  Screw his shop, I wouldn't want to have him burn the car up!


On a side note: I have 3 fire extinguishers in my garage.  One near each entrance and one to move around to where I'm welding.

[6spd68]

I'm a culprit for not wearing safety glasses, gloves or ear plugs while grinding and using wire wheels etc. Touch wood nothing bad has happened yet.

Although, in saying that I've started using ear muffs as I think my hearing is just starting to suffer from noise.

I acted very much the same when I was a millwright.  Unfortunately tinnitus caught up with me, and I'm forever with that dreadful ringing.

[NHCharger]

I had a close encounter two years ago with a 318 falling off some blocks while I was disassembling it.
I'm usually pretty careful in the shop. always wear respirator while sanding. always wear safety glasses.
If I'm working under the car there's always jack stands beside the jacks. My wife is only home three nights a week. The thought of being pinned under the car and unable to reach my beer for several days is disturbing.

[birdsandbees]

My wife is only home three nights a week. The thought of being pinned under the car and unable to reach my beer for several days is disturbing.

[c00nhunterjoe]

Most all of the commercial auto shops i worked in had open flame gas heaters in the ceilings. We never blew up

[PlainfieldCharger]

Most all of the commercial auto shops i worked in had open flame gas heaters in the ceilings. We never blew up

Where there is danger is in lower level gas fired heaters, water heater, anything with an ignition source. The vapor levels float along at floor level. Code around here was you needed to install a gas fired water heater 24" above floor height. My old place of employment learned this the hard way

[68 charger freak]

When Grinding ALWAYS wear a respirator, and not the B.S drywall ones. Once the particles of metal and grinding stone get in your lungs it doesn't come out! Safety glasses /face shield,ear protection and welding gloves are mandatory safety items. Also a leather welding jacket should be used for Fire protection  and in case a disk comes apart at 6000+ rpm. I've seen 3 guys sent to hospital for removal of the disk and stitches from not wearing this

Welding,  ALWAYS wear a respirator!  Yes I know it's a PITA but If you've ever welded on a car you've probably burnt off paint, primers,undercoating,seam sealers ,weld through primers,galvanized coating and lots of other extremely toxic substances so wear it . Welding gloves and jacket are a must as is the welding mask... with the correct grade of lenses 

Sanding, ALWAYS wear a respirator for the obvious reasons. But especially when working on old cars and stripping paint.a lot of old finishes contain lead pigments .lead was also used by the factory to fill roof seams and rocker Seams.to the untrained eye these seams may go unnoticed when sanded .next thing you know you have led poisoning from the dust

Body filler, thinners, Primer and paint. Permanent nerve damage is what happens when is stuff is not respected.so read the msds sheets! Gloves wear them ,thinner and wax and grease remover are especially known to leach into the skin.paint suits are needed to keep paint and primer off your skin yes it will leach into the skin. ALWAYS wear a respirator. And Change the filters on a regular basis. Also I was told by a 3m rep that you need to have a clean shaven face in order for the masks to be effective

[Alaskan_TA]

My favorite book on shop safety is 'Blood On The Table Saw' written by 3-Finger Mike.

[cooldude]

I wonder how many of us have an MSDS sheet in our shops?

[J.Bond]

My favorite book on shop safety is 'Blood On The Table Saw' written by 3-Finger Mike.

Had  a refrigeration teacher years ago taught a very good lesson on shop safety.....

A rule. if applied, would allow you to proceed thru life, with a good number of parts, that you were supplied with at birth...

Women, may not get this however.....

NEVER PUT YOUR FINGERS, WHERE YOU WOULD NOT PUT YOUR PENIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the blunt analogy , however, it gets the point across.

[68 charger freak]

I wonder how many of us have an MSDS sheet in our shops?

Probably not many, and the scary thing is that a lot of guys Here probably have never heard of msds or tds, as most of us are hobbyists

[440]

From another forum I belong, guy is building a LS1 powered Chevette.

[Homerr]

This all reminds me that I read somewhere on Garage Journal about not cleaning something with brake cleaner and then welding it.

http://www.njlca.org/pages/safety/common%20cleaners%20can%20turn%20into%20poison%20gas.pdf

[cooldude]

 I heard that a fellow that run a speed shop for years, had long used brake cleaner, and wore no gloves when so doing.

But he is in constant pain now, as the brake cleaner led to the fat being disolved that covered the nerve endings in his hands. So now he is in constant pain. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

[Homerr]

More fun here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSHA/top/?sort=top&t=all

[cooldude]

Um, that dont look too safe! 


Whats do you guys think about when its necessary to throw out dry sweep?

I mean, we all sometimes reuse it, right? But, it can have all sorts of flamable liquids in there, I suppose. If it caught fire, it would probably burn like a candle for a long time.