Shop Safety rules

Tin Falcon · Jul 21, 2007

As a home machinist the rules we follow are up to us they are not likely posted and not even written on paper. They are in our mind or heart . There are no stupid rules because it is your shop and do things your way. But we need to work safe if we are always getting hurt the hobby is no longer fun. so here is a written set of rules to follow or use as a guide . Again it is your shop you work in so pick what works for you but above all work safely.

Machine Shop Safety

Safety Glasses
EVERYONE MUST WEAR SAFETY GLASSES IN THE SHOP AT ALL TIMES.
Even when you're not working on a machine, you must wear safety glasses Even hand tools can make chips.
Wear Hearing Protection as required (If you have to raise your voice to speak to someone 3 ft away hearing protection should be worn).
Clothes and Hair
Check your clothes and hair before you walk into the shop.
IF YOU HAVE LONG HAIR OR A LONG BEARD, TIE IT UP.
If your hair is caught in spinning machinery, it will be pulled out if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you will be pulled into the machine.
NO LOOSE CLOTHING.
Roll up sleeves. Neckties, scarves, loose sleeves, etc. are prohibited
NO GLOVES ON OR AROUND MACHINERY
REMOVE ALL JEWELRY
WEAR APPROPRIATE SHOES
No open toed sandals. Wear shoes that give a sure footing. If you are working with heavy objects, steel toes are recommended.
Safe Conduct in the Shop
Be aware of what's going on around you. Pets and family members may move things or enter the shop at any time.
Keep Machinery Area Clear. Do not put unneeded items on or around machines.
Keep Walkways Clear. Remove tripping hazards, and clean spills up immediately.
Concentrate on what you're doing.
Don't hurry. If you catch yourself rushing, slow down.
Don't rush speeds and feeds. You'll end up damaging your part, the tools, and maybe the machine or yourself
Listen to the machine. If something doesn't sound right, turn the machine off.
Don't attempt to measure a part that's moving.
Don't let someone else talk you into doing something dangerous.
If someone speaks to you while youre running a machine, keep your eyes on your machine and not on the person.
If you get tired or are feeling ill, turn machine off, take a break.
Machining
IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO SOMETHING, ASK read find out.
BEFORE YOU START THE MACHINE:
Read the Manual
Study the machine. Know which parts move, which are stationary, and which are sharp.
Double check that your work piece and tool are securely held.
Remove chuck keys and wrenches.
Use no rags on machinery while it is in operation and/or in use.
Do not place any tools or other metal objects on machine ways.
Do not clear chips from machines with bare hands. Use pliers or a chip brush.
DO NOT LEAVE MACHINES RUNNING UNATTENDED!

CLEAN UP MACHINES AFTER YOU USE THEM!
A dirty machine is unsafe and uncomfortable to work on. Do NOT use compressed air to blow machines clean! This endangers people's eyes and can force dirt into machine bearings.
TURN POWER OFF TO MACHINE WHILE CLEANING/MAINTAINING!
When working alone keep a clear path to the telephone and have it as close at hand as practical and safe.
Do Not operate Machinery after or while consuming Alcoholic beverages.
Cease hot operations 30 minutes prior leaving the shop area unattended. ie welding, brazing, heavy grinding, smoking etc.
Store flammables in a safe place
Keep a fire extinguisher handy inspect regularly.
Chemical safety
Keep all solvents cutting oils and other chemicals in proper storage containers.
keep all chemicals in clearly marked containers.
Keep food and chemicals separated.
Do not use food ovens for chemicals or chemical ovens for food.
( If you use an old oven from the kitchen for chemicals it is now a chemical oven!
Wash hands before eating drinking smoking or using the bathroom (and after).
Grinders :Wear double eye protection.
Keep all guards in place
Keep tool rest adjusted 1/8 " from wheel
DO NOT grind aluminum or brass
DO NOT Grind on side of wheel.
Do not stand in line with spinning wheel
Wear a dust respirator Metal and Wheel dust can be harmful if inhaled.
First aid Kit:
Have one
Mark its location
Inspect /restock regularly
)

Place machines and lighting on separate circuits if possible
if a machine trips a breaker you will not be left in the dark.
It is your shop you are responsible for your safety.

Tin

malcolmt · May 11, 2008

This list should be printed out and stuck on the wall of all our machine shops, If not for your benifit then for others who walk in. I will certainly be putting a copy up.
excellent work Tin and thanks
Malcolm

Kludge · Oct 5, 2008

One other of value - Cell phones, telephones, pagers, and the like ... if they're not absolutely positively critical to be left on, shut them down. Kill the ringers. Whatever it takes to not get startled by one of them sounding off.

Thankfully I was turning wood (a wooden pen) and not steel but I do speak from experience.

Best regards,

Kludge

kustomkb · Oct 5, 2008

NEVER remove your hand from the chuck key while it is in the lathe;

I had been machining full time, for 12 years when on a rush job at a new company, for some reason, I started the lathe with the chuck key in it.

It shot straight inro the ground, before any damage to the lathe. me. or anyone else. nobody saw it.
I shook out the solids from my pantleg and carried on.

Parting off;

This time 16 years, full time machining, parting off a doughnut, 4 inch dia. 1 inch bore, chuck key to catch it,

slipped off the chuck key, hit by the 3-jaw, straight up into theair 20ft. shop ceiling, came straight down inbetween the lathes bed's casting openings, cushioned by a bed of chips, No one saw it, or heard it.

Sometimes your good,

sometimes your lucky,

Sometime your dead,

Sometimes you have to live with your mistakes,

It only takes .5 seconds.

ksouers · Oct 5, 2008

Thirty years ago this month I was turning some journals on a large piece of D-2, if I recall it was about 5 inches in diameter and about 18 inches long. Heavy sucker. Anyway, I'd turned one end and was flipping it around for the other. I had the "free" end sitting in the steady rest, the freshly turned end sitting in the 3-jaw, balanced on the lower jaw. For some reason I'd already taken the sling off the crane and was closing down on the chuck which was still open way too wide for the piece it was holding, I didn't close it down before inserting the turned end.

I'm sure you can guess where this is going, I was steadying the work with my left hand and closing the chuck with my right. The part slipped. My left hand was trapped by about 60 lbs of falling steel. The tip of my index finger was smashed and the burr cut through to the bone. Amazingly I didn't lose the finger. But I do have a nasty thick scar and x-rays still show the gash in the bone.

In the past few weeks I've felt pain in that finger for the first time in 30 years.

spitfire · Apr 16, 2009

Thank you for the really useful list of safety rules. Most books are a little long winded about them, printing out this list and making it visible in the shop is definitely a good idea.

I would add -

* Learn/know first aid techniques (injury, burn and electrical)
* keep first aid kit visible, labeled and readily available.
* Check first aid kit periodically for burn gauze/cream which expire (replace before expiry date if your shop temperature is regularly higher than 25 degrees Celsius)

Sean

dwentz · Apr 16, 2009

One of the big rules in my shop is to announce your presence when you walk into the shop. I do not know how many times I have been working on a machine, and the noise from the machine keeps me from hearing someone that enters the shop. Nothing worse then being startled by someone coming up behind you.

dale

zeeprogrammer · Apr 16, 2009

Just a couple of things I'd like to add...

1) Add some suggestions as to where phone, first aid kit, and extinguisher should be placed. I'm in the basement and my extinguisher is at the bottom of the stairs so I can get it on the way out or in. (Top of stairs is kitchen and I have access to another extinguisher there.) I have 3 workbenches in a U. Left leg is my desk. Middle is my mini-lathe. Right is my mini-mill. My phone is on the front of the middle bench, 2 ft off the floor and next to my leg when sitting at my desk. Convenient for normal use. My thinking being...I may very well be on the floor and needing a phone. My first aid kit is hung next to the phone in a bright red container with a sign above it, pointing to it, and saying what it is. Same reasons.
2) Very important...everyone in my house knows where these items are and how to use them. The items should be easily identified and found. Staying puckered and screaming are major distractions when you need to find these things.
3) Shop or no shop...many of these rules apply and it doesn't hurt for all family members to know first aid and what to do in an emergency. People who frequently visit should also be aware. It's been mentioned before...it's not just you who can get hurt.

I've seen posts where people seem to worry that they come across too much on safety. Or don't post because they think it's been covered. I like the fact that many posts in this forum (and I'm sure others) include a reminder of the danger or risk and/or a safety tip. Better to distribute information than leave it in one place to be missed.

Thanks...I can't believe how stupid I was when I was younger...and how lucky.

abby · Apr 16, 2009

You might think that handling crucibles of molten metal is a danger but I have never had an accident which threatened injury or damage, proper precautions and eye protection are a must.
However I have had numerous cuts and lacerations through drilling without a vice or clamp on the work-piece.
Far to often I have applied just to much pressure when opening up a smaller hole , lost my grip on the piece and got my desserts.
Another common injury is hitting your hand when using a hammer and chisel , O.K its only a bruise and broken skin but it can hurt like hell , wear gloves.
The answers are obvious , but if you can't immediately lay your hands on gloves , clamps or eye shields you will be tempted to do without so make sure your stuff is where you need it and in a larger workshop invest in extra supplies so that you don't have to hunt for them.

rake60 · Apr 16, 2009

I have often been accused of being repressively safety consciousness.
Maybe I am, but I know what it feels like to have novocaine injected
injected into a knuckle in preparation for stitching. I what it is to smell
burnt flesh before you feel the pain of the burn. I know how hard it is
to stare into that blue light and watch a needle coming at my eye to
remove a piece of steel while the Doctor is saying,
"You don't dare move!".

I'm not trying to make machining a scary thing.
I've screwed up many times and paid the price for those mistakes.
I don't want ANYONE else to have to do that!

Call me over safety conscious.
Next time a personal injury calls for a tetanus booster, I'll call YOU!

I HATE needles!
:hDe:

Rick

10K Pete · Apr 17, 2009

Nothing in this thread I would argue with! Done many of the 'examples' early on and have learned a bit in the process.

The one thing that never occurred to me was having the 'phone down where it could be reached while one was on the floor.

Outstanding thought! My wall 'phone is up at the 'normal' 60" off the floor. I'm gonna have to rethink this location!

Thanks,
Pete

zeeprogrammer · Apr 17, 2009

re Phone on the floor. The idea really only makes sense if everyone in the house knows about it or you have a backup in the 'usual place'. If someone else needs the phone very quickly...they're going to look in the 'usual place' first.

arnoldb · Apr 18, 2009

I don't have a "land line" 'phone, only a cellular 'phone. I have a profile set on the 'phone for "incremental" ring without vibration for the workshop. I keep the 'phone in my pants-pocket so don't get startled at "sudden" rings, nor unexpected vibrations, but it is always close at hand.

Also, I make sure the first couple of contacts on my phone is for emergency contacts. I never let my 'phone out of my sight, but, should something happen, anybody else that use it gets an emergency number first - even a kid playing with it.

The "kid playing with it" sounds wrong, but this has been known to save lives - just keep your cellular 'phone away from kids normally

Arnold

Tin Falcon · Aug 1, 2009

re Phone on the floor. The idea really only makes sense if everyone in the house knows about it or you have a backup in the 'usual place'. If someone else needs the phone very quickly...they're going to look in the 'usual place' first.

A few weeks back I was doing a job at St. Gobain Abrasives (They own Norton abrasives). IIRC the first place I have ever seen that has exit signs Above the doors AND AT FLOOR LEVEL next to the door. Not that any of us have exit signs at home . but if you think about it they tell you to low crawl out of a fire. How can one see an exit light at ceiling level . I think sometime safety planning requires thinking outside the box. another good one is have power tools and lighting on separate circuits. that way if the power tool trips a cb or gfci the lights do not go out leaving you in the dark.
Tin

vlmarshall · Aug 1, 2009

Tin Falcon said:
...the first place I have ever seen that has exit signs Above the doors AND AT FLOOR LEVEL next to the door.

Nice idea, I like that!

Reading back over these, one I'll mention; at work I have one of those adhesive-backed, wide-angle mirrors stuck to the head of the mill I'm most often running. Nothing worse than someone walking up behind ya while you're concentrating on something.

Tin Falcon · Nov 22, 2009

Hey guys I just updated the safety rules again.
This update was inspired by the 101 used for a counter top oven post. and by my work environment which is some place different just about every day.
One of the places I work is chemical laboratory and production plants. There are signs all over on ovens , ice machines refrigerators and other storage areas and sometimes lab doors office doors and doors in hallways that designate areas where food and eating is or is not allowed and areas for chemical only use or food only use.
And the tapping thread reminds me of the need to keep food and chemicals seperate in the shop. That old tap magic is great for threading but not in the coffee mug or iced tea glass be safe guys.
Tin

PhillyVa · Nov 22, 2009

That's a good point Tin...don't forget to wash hands before eating too.

Philly

Tin Falcon · Nov 22, 2009

Thanks you are right that has been added to the safety rule list as well.
here is the added section:

Chemical safety
Keep all solvents cutting oils and other chemicals in proper storage containers.
keep all chemicals in clearly marked containers.
Keep food and chemicals separated.
Do not use food ovens for chemicals or chemical ovens for food.
( If you use an old oven from the kitchen for chemicals it is now a chemical oven!
Wash hands before eating drinking smoking or using the bathroom (and after).

tin

enginebob · Dec 8, 2009

Although it has already been said,it is worth it to repeat, ALWAYS and I do mena ALWAYS wear safety glasses. Sunglasses,reading,or other glasses don't do! Always wear safety glasses. I'm big on safety glasses cause my uncle lost and eye,cause he wasn't wearing safety glasses.
EB

woodnut · Oct 25, 2011

This is a great list of rules. Short, precise and to the point.

My shop is mostly in the garage. The entrance into it from the house there is a light switch which operates a single light bulb that I can see from just about everywhere in the garage. I tell everyone that comes into the garage from the house or needs to get my attention to flick this light switch 3 times or until I notice. I been startled one to many times.

Be Safe and Happy Casting

John

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