Shop Safety Items

[Lost in the Woods]

Hey, it's Friday, haven't done a poll in a while, and thought this poll might be the gentle prod some need to get more safety going on in their shop.

Aside from the various safety items we use with our tools, what other shop items do you have in the name of safety in your shop?

The Poll is basically five questions, one being whether you HAVE the item asked about, and the follwing one being whether you HAVE NOT the same repeated item. In other words, you are giving five answers ONLY of the ten poll questions.

Frankly, I think anybody able to answer all that they have all five things going in their shop would be few and far between. Particularly, the eye wash station one. Some may have running water in their shop, but being able to have the water running over your eyes without cuping in your hands first is not ideal imo.

Fire extinguishers is another area that I think some people may not have the correct type in their shop. I had looked into this with a firefighter friend of mine, who is also a woodworker and this was his reply:

As for the extinguishers, a wood shop usually has need for an "A" (water based) extinguisher for obvious reasons. This however will not deal with the charged electrical conditions you could potentially come across with tools. It also doesn't deal with solvents and paints if you refinish in the area.

My opinion, 2 extinguishers is what you require. If you have a wood, paper or cloth type fire you should have a minimum of a 10A rated extinguisher. A manual hand pump type is great for this (bigger the better...10 litre?).
The second extinguisher should be a CO2 extinguisher (10BC). This will deal with most liquid type (paint, solvent and oil) fires and electrically charged equipment. It leaves no residue and won't harm the equipment.

If you decide to go with a multi-purpose extinguisher (5A10BC,etc.), it will work fine but leaves an awful mess because of its residue. I don't recommend it for this reason.

Still any fire extinguisher is better than none.

I think also having a phone in the shop is also another safety conscious item.

[Wayne - Oakville]

I have a corded phone mounted to the wall near eye level at the entrance to the workshop. The emergency number buttons (all three) are set up for 911, and can be pressed with my nose (assuming it hasn't been cut off in the accident) along with the speaker phone button.

...Wayne

[billh]

I also consider my basement-shop intercomm to upstairs a safety item as well as a convenience.

billh

[kcjones]

I have 3 of the five and should have the eye wash station. I don't have water out here but you can get the portable one with the solution in the squeeze bottle. I don't have emergency lighting but I do have lights on two different circuits.

[mbowler]

Have everything except emergency lights. I can find my way around my shop (and entire house) in the dark just fine after a power failure, or late night pee break.

Michael

[Rod Sheridan]

I have

- eye wash station (one of those bottles with the eye cup)

- large first aid kit

- 10 pound ABC extinguisher at the exit

- smoke detector

- emergency lighting with one head in the shop, the other in the stairwell (basement shop)

- phone about 24" above the floor (in case I'm hurt and can't stand up)

- lens cleaning station with solution and wipes

Regards, Rod.

[Lost in the Woods]

Have everything except emergency lights. I can find my way around my shop (and entire house) in the dark just fine after a power failure, or late night pee break.

Michael

I think most of us who've lived in our homes for more than a few years can say the same. What frightens me is pushing stock thru, even as careful I am using devices like pushers/paddles/sticks etc, and all goes black. Doesn't that worry you?

Like many, I have my lights running off a different panel than my dedicated shop panel, but during a hydro outage, it's all turning off.

[Todd]

I have a smoke detector outside of the shop. Having one inside can be a problem with nuisance alarms from burning wood to fine dust which can also shorten the life of the detector.

[J.P. Rap]

I think most of us who've lived in our homes for more than a few years can say the same. What frightens me is pushing stock thru, even as careful I am using devices like pushers/paddles/sticks etc, and all goes black. Doesn't that worry you?

Like many, I have my lights running off a different panel than my dedicated shop panel, but during a hydro outage, it's all turning off.

Well...isn't the tool going to shut off too?
If the tool is loaded it will likely shut down pretty quick when the power goes out. Otherwise, don't move until the tool comes to a stop, turn the switch off (if it's not a mag switch) then your safe to do what you need to do.

[Lost in the Woods]

Well...isn't the tool going to shut off too?
If the tool is loaded it will likely shut down pretty quick when the power goes out. Otherwise, don't move until the tool comes to a stop, turn the switch off (if it's not a mag switch) then your safe to do what you need to do.

I get concerned with the TS and the RAS and how their blades don't have any brake on them, and that in the process of slowing down with a piece in motion causing jarring with the piece and potentially causing it to fling it. Just prefer to at least have some kind of visual aid - light - if this were to happen.

[mbowler]

I think most of us who've lived in our homes for more than a few years can say the same. What frightens me is pushing stock thru, even as careful I am using devices like pushers/paddles/sticks etc, and all goes black. Doesn't that worry you?

No it does not worry me. As JP mentioned, if the power went out I would simply stop feeding stock and hold onto the workpiece until the blade stopped. Emergency lights really are a commercial/industrial concern... with a fire in a large building people (who may be unfamiliar with the area) need to be able to find the exit safely even if the power is out. In a home shop you know your way around, and the exit is close at hand. Anyone have lighted exit signs in their home shop?

[Rod Sheridan]

I understand that people know the way around their own shop, however I have a small shop and the saw/shaper is often moved for use.

That means I'd have to be real sure of where the tripping hazards are in the shop at that particular moment.

Or where I left the step stool.

It's just far easier to have an emergency lighting unit........Rod.

["C"]

Wow, I failed that miserably. So much so that today I installed a phone, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, and a first aid kit in my shop. I have a water source and lighting on three seperate lines.

Jeeze, I think of myself as pretty safety conscious. I always wear ear and eye protection, use my DC, and use a resperator while sanding. I use all sorts of push sticks, guards, feather boards, etc... But I guess doing things safely and creating a safe place are two different things!

Lost In The Woods, thanks for the wake-up call!

C

[Lost in the Woods]

Oh my! I screwed up. It should have read BEDROOM safety items, Sorry guys....I'll pay more attention next time.


Seriously now.....Thanks for the replies. "C", if it gets one guy to do what you did....mission accomplished!

[Glenn from Winnipeg]

Did your firefighter friend suggest what kind of smoke detector to use in a dusty workshop that won't cause false alarms?

[Lost in the Woods]

Did your firefighter friend suggest what kind of smoke detector to use in a dusty workshop that won't cause false alarms?

No, he did not. I have one in the shop - single car garage - hard wired which is interconnected with the other ones in the house as well as to the security monitoring service, and with the air cleaner, have only had it go off once, and it worked as it should, when there was smoke from burning something in the shop. Not sure what type it is though.

[kcjones]

I can second that, I also have mine hardwired and it has never gone off as a result of dust.

[Glenn from Winnipeg]

Thanks for the replies.

Well, maybe I should stop reading and just do it. I'll put one in this afternoon - unfortunately it can't be part of a whole house system because I don't have access to the leads in the upstairs one.

The reason I asked is because my research suggested the standard ones (triggered by particulates) as used throughout the house should not be used in the garage (exhaust fumes/dust) or in dusty areas. The suggestion was to use heat sensitive detectors - but that means a fire has to be in progress - so I see that as more of a "get out now - it's too late alarm".

My upstairs one is old but super sensitive - it's about 20 feet from the kitchen, but opening the microwave door after boiling water sets it off immediately as does the slightest smoke from frying. That's also why I was concerned about using the same type in a dusty environment. I know they should be replaced after a certain length of time, but I kind of like the hair trigger on this one.

Thanks again
----------------------
A bit off topic - maybe - when my alarm system was wired the alarm guy asked if I really wanted a fire alarm connected. The rational was that by the time the fire department arrived, the house would have already suffered fire and smoke damage - offgassing from synthetic carpets "plasticize" the walls, cabinets, windows, etc - everything - and the whole house would reek - and when they did arrive, water damage would add to that. Would it be simpler to rebuild or remediate the damage?

A year later, I saw that in action. We called in the fire department for the two story house across the street - a fire started in an electrical box in the dining room wall, jumped through the ducts into other rooms and within minutes the whole house sustained interior damage but the shell was not damaged except in the kitchen area where it blew out a window. It didn't take the fire dept long to arrive, but the fire was well underway. Fortunately, the family was away.

It was an upscale house, only a few months old. Originally, it took about 8 months to build. Since it was new, insurance had to restore it to new condition. That took 2 years to gut it to the outer walls and completely rebuild from the outside in. Every window had to be replaced, including the 2 story glass block wall at the entrance. The family had to move to a condo for those two years.

[Lost in the Woods]

Thanks for the replies.

Well, maybe I should stop reading and just do it.

The reason I asked is because my research suggested the standard ones (triggered by particulates) as used throughout the house should not be used in the garage (exhaust fumes/dust) or in dusty areas. The suggestion was to use heat sensitive detectors - but that means a fire has to be in progress - so I see that as more of a "get out now - it's too late alarm".

With that said, you may be correct, and for your situation you may experience different results from the particle detecting type than I do, which is most likely the type I have.

My detector is situated off to the side a bit from the exhaust end of my air cleaner, which would be running anytime I get that first hint of dust starting to become airborne. In a one car sixed garage/shop, it doesn't take long.

But for a lot of stuff, I have direct DC at pretty well all my machines, and I have also gone towards Festool for my hand held power tools which offers excellent collection at source. My biggest mess maker, even with a hooded shroud cover is the miter saw, which will be getting replaced down the road sometime with a Kapex.

What I worry about mostly, is the DC having accidentally collected a piece of metal sparking a slow burning fire from hitting the impellers in the collection bag which could smolder for hours.