safety reminder

[JAYHAWK 1962]

i know this has probably been covered ad nauseum but... tonight a guy came into the hospital emergency room with battery acid burns to his eyes. guess what? no safety goggles. gentlemen do not be this guy. famous last words were, " i didnt think it would happen to me so i didnt wear any eye protection." please please please wear your eye protection. you only have two of them. keep it that way. thanks kyle

 

[m16ty]

I've had a battery explode in my face, not fun. Luckily, the battery cable arced right before the explosion so I guess I flinched. That kept me from getting any in my eyes.

 

[one eye]

dont play with bb guns u will shoot ur eye out i know. it happened to me. eyes r very precious

 

[ODdave]

I have to say, Yes & No. I have had more than my fair share of rust and dirt fall, bounce off of the inside of my glasses and directly into my eye. Common sence will serve you far better than "anti darwin" devices.

 

[hilber]

Good advice.

 

[dozer1]

I think I will go with common sence + saftey glasses in the shop while doing potentially hazardous things. Grinding or using a chopsaw for example.

I got a SAFTEY REMINDER of my own. Or a "don't be this guy" story. Guy was driving his Allis Chalmers 190 . Had the battery cover off of it. This cover is also where your left foot would sit. He had a can of ether in his cab for cold winter starting. The ether fell down on the batteries and touched the + and - at the same time . The ether can was then a load and a very explosive load. The guy was in the hospital a long time for the severe burns to most of his body. Moral of the story? Don't short ANY aerosol can across battery terminals. (esp ether)

 

[islandguydon]

Dozer1, Your short story just gave me the chills.

Here today and gone tomorrow if your not careful. I will remember that story. Thanks man

 

[KsM715]

I have to say, Yes & No. I have had more than my fair share of rust and dirt fall, bounce off of the inside of my glasses and directly into my eye. Common sence will serve you far better than "anti darwin" devices.

One question, Do you wear your seat belt or are you afraid you will be trapped in a burning vehicle by it?

I know what you mean by the comment you made. I wear glasses and often do not wear safety glasses like I should and know what you mean by stuff getting in behind them.

 

[antennaclimber]

As I tell my employees....

" It takes more time to get to the hospital than it does to find proper eye protection."

or

"Safety glasses are less expensive than the ER co-pay"
Karl

 

[Goose2448]

There are a few times that safety glasses are a must, ie grinding, welding(there is a Welding Helmet, they work the best), working on the underside of rusty truck....ect. There are safety goggles that well and look bad, but they keep stuff out of your eyes.

Like these.... DeWalt DPG82-11 Goggles Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Lens

This is always a good reminder, as seen on a T-Shirt: Front: Always Wear Protection... Back: ...Wear Safety Glasses!

 

[m1010plowboy]

Spent some hours on a wire wheel this week and heard a nasty wire wheel story so I'm giving this Safety Reminder thread a bump.

I use a full face shield as part of my Personal Protection Equipment PPE when using wire wheels on a grinder. These days I put on a heavy set of Fire Resistant cover-alls and carefully watch my body position while wire wheelin'.

The wire wheels turn at high RPM and wires do fly off at times.

Apparently the incident happened while a guy was using a wire wheel on a trailer fender. He put on a face shield but positioned himself on a five gallon pail with arms braced on his knees and legs wide open. He wasn't sure what happened when he got nailed in the purse with a single, high velocity wire but was in the hospital for several days for surgery to remove it and have plenty o' strangers helping to monitor the incisions and change dressings.

Here's a safety sheet on grinder use with a reminder that when using a wire wheel.... use heavy protection, watch your body position and cover the walnuts.

http://www.okhighered.org/ssherc/newsletters/osrhe/abrasive-wheel-grinder-safety.html

If you have any out of the box or in the bag, tool operation safety tips lets hear em'.

 

[ryan77]

Be careful with cutting wheels! Right through the leather gloves!

 

[m16ty]

You're right about those wire wheels. I've pulled many out of my arm, even wearing long sleeves.

 

[marchplumber]

Ryan! Is that YOUR mitt? Ouch! Dont do ANY pvc work for a while. That glue and cleaner finds cuts like ticks find dogs! How'd ya manage that? Safety isnt to be taken lightly. Ask a recent aprentice if polyester gloves and propane torches go together.

God bless,
Tony

 

[ryan77]

Ryan! Is that YOUR mitt? Ouch! Dont do ANY pvc work for a while. That glue and cleaner finds cuts like ticks find dogs! How'd ya manage that? Safety isnt to be taken lightly. Ask a recent aprentice if polyester gloves and propane torches go together.

God bless,
Tony

Did it last year on a friday and was back at work monday! 20 stitches! I wrapped it in duct tape and went to work doing 10" cast iron at work had to use the packing iron between my fingers! It was a interesting week due to not being able to close my hand for a week! And im doing pvc this week for the first time in 5 years in the suburbs!! So much easier then iron !!

 

[Robo McDuff]

We often have students in our blacksmith workshops for getting experience (we are not a static museum but trying to keep traditional crafts alive, also commercially. One guy disregarded our standard safety instructions and used a flex-grinder without glasses. Got a rebound piece in his eye, happily only superficial embedded, he was walking around with a patch for a week. He tried to do some blacksmith work within a few days. did not want to believe that the heat and intense glare of the fire is hurtful as well in those circumstances. Some people never learn. We told him that if he did not obey safety orders he would not be welcome here anymore.

Be also VERY conscious and careful with people around, certainly with flex-grinders; those nice sparks are nasty pieces of hot iron that can shoot yards far; leaving burn marks on glass and paint and humans.

This Easter weekend, we were very lucky (no sarcasms intended). Look at the boy's lower jaw. We always have our traditional Easter Event in our blacksmith workshop, and children can try their hand at making nails as well. One boy who had done this more often was busy making a nail, our blacksmith just stepped aside for a sec, and his son (my grandson) ran between the anvils and the fire just when this other boy took out a hot iron from the fire and turned back to the anvil to start forging. The hot iron grazed our grandson over the lower jaw.

​

We were lucky:
- everybody reacted quick, calm, and good after the event, calmed our grandson and cooled and treated the wound.
- the wound was only superficial, 1th degree, and thanks to good care is healing very good and quick.
- a bit higher (lips, open mouth, eyes) or lower (throat) and the effect could have been far worse or even deadly.
- the boy is used to forging, so it is not the first time he gets a burn through his own stupidity. The picture is taken a few hours after the event, he is more or less happily painting Easter eggs.
- it was our own grandson; I would not have liked to explain to an outside parent why their child is screaming like a pig with burn wounds.

And yes, we take precautions, but even then sometimes accidents happens and you are too slow to prevent it.

 

[John S-B]

One question, Do you wear your seat belt or are you afraid you will be trapped in a burning vehicle by it?

I know what you mean by the comment you made. I wear glasses and often do not wear safety glasses like I should and know what you mean by stuff getting in behind them.

Just a note on the seatbelt thing, in thirty years in the fire service, I've only seen two accidents where people burned. But it really didn't matter about the seatbelts 'cause they were dead before they burned.

 

[m1010plowboy]

This is a great thread title for a little video I need to share so let's bump it.

Getting injured in any capacity, at any time really sucks. At this time, April 2020, we're operating extremely cautiously not wanting to become part of the problem. Even Safety Dave should expect the unexpected and I know my humility will help someone else focus. I follow every procedure possible to conduct day to day activities without scratching my musical hands. After 40 years of landscape construction we've done ok...... but.......you know.....slip happens.

Let's be extra safe out there folks and know we'll need to take care of each other, pick a guy up once in a while.

 

[waayfast]

HHMMMM, yeah safety---- just recently got reminded about safety in a big, big way.
I work for a logging outfit and have seen LOTS of accidents over the 35 years working in the woods as an adult (ran skidder for my Dad at the age of 10 but that's a bit different.)
The actual work in the woods on the job is dangerous enough but even at the shop, bad things happen.

We are laid off now so we are home and nobody's even at the shop doing maintenance on equipment. But the owner decides to make good use of the down time to fix an old leak in the roof of the shop. He manages to get on the roof with a piece of roofing metal, dragging it backwards across the roof and because of the little bit of snow, he backs out onto a translucent fiberglass roof panel (skylight) and falls thru, 25 feet to the concrete floor below.

Mind you he is 72 years old and has an artificial hip. He is alone and the fall broke his phone so he can't call for help. Shattered his pelvis and an arm and broke a hip. Tore an aorta. Luckily, one of the laid off mechanics JUST happened to stop by the shop to grab some of his tools out of his box for a project at home he was working on. Found the boss crawling for the door best he could on the one good arm. 911 called, Life flight to Boise. Had been in the hospital for about a week just getting him stabilized so he would make it thru surgery. Just went thru the first surgery couple days ago and more to come.

I tell new hires that I train to watch EVERYTHING like it's trying to kill you, (cuz it is.)

Be careful folks.