WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

[escavader]

WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Since i almost burned my eye,because i never welded outside in the cold[and since safetyTOPIC hasnt been very busy],and i had a peice of cooling slag,hit my eye,mabey its time to review some welding safety on TBN.so ill start:
1 wear safety glasses when inspecting your welds during cool down
2 keep your cables uncrossed,and out of water
3 know where fire extinguishers are

whos next?
ALAN

 

[RonR]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Never weld in frayed pants!

I used to toss on an old pair of coveralls to weld. One day, I smelled something strange burning while I was under the hood--it was the frayed ends of my coverall.

Last time I wore them!

ron

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Alan, excellent topic. I'll throw a few in:

<ul type="square"> Protect your eyes with the proper shade of welding lens, and as you say, make sure you wear safety glasses when chipping slag (or inspecting cooling slag - who knew?).

Cover all exposed skin to avoid UV "sunburn".

Wear as much leather as possible - I wear leather gloves and an old leather jacket. I've been OK in jeans so far, but leather chaps/apron wouldn't hurt. Welding hats are great too.

Keep combustible/flammable liquids at a safe distance.

Have a fire extinguisher handy [ABC, for all types of fires]; having a water hose nearby is always nice too.

Use as much ventilation as possible - welding fumes are NASTY.

When working on machinery, place your ground as close as you can to the area you're welding to minimize current flow through electronics, gas tanks and greasy stuff.

Don't light an oxy-acetylene torch with a butane lighter; use a striker.

Remember to turn the **** gas off when you're done.

Make sure your tanks are really well-secured; a good tank cart is very important. [/list]

OK, that's all I can think of for now. Who's next? Step right up, I know there's gotta be more.

John

 

[GaryE]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Ok my turn,

The main reason I went to an auto darkening helmet was I had a bad habit of flipping up the helmet and chipping away at the hot slag. Well after getting a chunk of hot slag in my eye ( that still bothers me to this day) I learned real quick. DON”T CHIP AT THE HOT SLAG UNPROTECTED. Either wear safety glasses under your helmet or go for the auto darkening lenes.

Hope no one else has to be as stupid as me!

Gary

 

[tillerkiller]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

1. Room temperature steel _looks_ exactly the same as hot steel, but it doesn't _feel_ the same.
2. Grass catches on fire really easily, even easier if the water hose is not hooked up and handy.

 

[JimR]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

If you are one of the nutty people like me that does mig welding with just goggles. Cover your face with SPF 30 to keep the skin from getting burned.

Don't chip weld with gloves on either. A piece of slag can easily go down the glove and burn your hand worse than if you didn't wear gloves. Don't ask how I know this.

Any frayed clothing is a fire looking to ignite.

Keep your work area clean if possible of dirty oil soaked rags or anythig that can easily ignite.

Hang around for a good 10 minutes after welding to make sure you didn't start a fire. Smoke is a dead giveaway you have one brewing. Being safe is better than being hurt or burned.

Shut your oxy/act tanks off after using.

Do not weld in enclosed places with no ventilation for any extended period of time. When finished air the place out if you do.

 

[PILOON]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Wear a leather apron or make sure your belt is tight.

I once had a hot one get into my pants at exactly the wrong place.

Boy did I dance!

 

[PILOON]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Never weld in shorts.
Makes for nasty sunburn on the legs.

While I can't be positive, I'd best advise not wearing contact lenses while welding.
I did only once and it was scary.
Eyes went very dry, maybe I caught a flash but still never again.

 

[RonR]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Forgot to add:

NEVER weld in sneakers! Once that bb drops through the canvas and sock, no amount or kind of dancing makes it HURT any less.

ron

 

[Syncro]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Do any of you guys wear safety glasses or goggles under your welding helmit?

 

[escavader]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

No ,to the safety glasses,but i think i ought to. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
The one about the sneakers reminds me of a story.About 10 years ago,i was fabricating a boiler,for a dry kiln,and i had steel toe sneakers on.While using the cutting torches a hot piece of slagfell on my sneaker,burned through,right at the edge of the steel,so when it came through,i tryed "stomping it out" unsuccessfully.When i finally got my sneaker off,my sock had caught fire,and ...well it was pretty funny looking back /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif,not too funny at the time /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Earplugs keep the hot sparks out of your ear canals ...that hurts.
ALAN

 

[ksmmoto]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

I always wear safety glasses under my welding helmet just for what happened, slag getting in the eye. I also cover everything well.

I used to TIG weld die steel for days on end to build up surfaces to be remachined. Doesn't take long to find out what is needed to weld safely.

ksmmoto

 

[JimR]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Glasses would be smart too. I wear them to see what I doing.

 

[Syncro]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

<font color="blue">Glasses would be smart too. I wear them to see what I doing </font>

Yeah, I hear ya there! What I've started to do was wear my reading glasses under a pair of soft safety goggles, then the helmit. Looks strange I guess, but in my old age I've started to realize safety issues. Never did any of that when I was a kid and was just lucky I guess not to have seriously harmed myself. (not counting bad ears from loud equip) Anyways, glad to hear others follow the same practice, at least I don't feel completely foolish all suited up like that /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[wushaw]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Yes to the saftey glasses under the hood.. not only because of slag but when you pull you hood off to grab a grinder to do a little dressing up you will have your saftey glasses on. I also wear them under the saftey shield when using the chop saw.

A beanie hat is good to keep hot sparks off the noggin.

I am new into the auto darkening hood and I have noticed it is good to get into the habit of hitting the switch each time you rested a bit (had a beer) before striking an arc even if the lense looks like it's on which it won't be /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[JimR]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

I was just going to add a beanie cap for the loss of hair group or chrome domes as they call it. But wushaw beat me to it. I still have a pretty good head of hair that sizzles once in a while.

 

[Mith]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Remember that plated metals tend to 'ping' off their plating when hot, Ive had this happen particularly with galvanised metals and boy are those little bits hot.

Watch out for fumes, again, galvanised metals are a bit shakey, weld outside if possible.

Before you strike up take a quick look for people watching you weld. Children may not know the dangers of looking at the arc, and pets wont either. I cant remember the details but I heard a story whereby somebodies dog was blinded by looking at an arc from a fair distance away. I'd sure feel pretty sick if that happened to me.

For those of you with long hair like me, keep it out the way when welding and grinding. It goes up pretty quickly and its hard to live down for the next month or so.

Attach the ground clamp close to where you are welding, apart from making your welds maybe that little bit stronger it also prevents damage to whatever is inbetween the clamp and the arc (threads, cables, wires)

Disconnect batteries before welding on a vehicle, welding might cause damage to the electricals or cause the battery to go kablammo /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Keep an eye out for flammables near to where you are welding. Propping that floppy peice of strip steel up on a gas can while you weld it probably isnt a great idea, even if your beer buddy suggested it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Squinting while looking at the arc is not a substitute for a welding mask.

Despite the opportunity to get cool looking scars and a nice tan wearing gloves and a long sleeved top (no bikinis guys /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ) and trousers and boots (not sandals) and a full face mask is sensible.

 

[frank29]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Not welding; but, kind of related: never lay on the floor next to a car and attempt to cut off the muffler with a torch.

I thought I had all the bases covered. Gas and brake lines were not near. I was wearing goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. The torch was set low. The problem was that little piece of molten metal that found its way into my ear! Ouch. That was almost 30 years ago. I don't remember how I finally got that muffler off; but, I sure remember that metal in my ear.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

Frank -

Ouch is right - that hurt just thinking about it. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

After too many years of doing much the same thing to myself, I FINALLY got a lift, and man am I spoiled now. It's a beauty, a Rotary 9,000 lb. asymmetrical, and now exhaust work is soooo much easier ... and less painful, too! They're really not all that expensive, either - about $3,600 installed - not including the two (big) pads I had to pour because my floor was a little too thin.

OK, I can't just gloat and run, and I do want to add something to the thread.

I was just watching congressional hearings on the recent mining tragedies, and someone made the point that one of the mines had one of the finest safety programs in the country ... on paper. If it had actually been put into practice, a lot of guys might still be alive.

That got me to thinking about safety precautions, and preventing not only outright injury to ourselves, but cumulative damage. How many of us really don't use adequate ventilation and/or PROPER respirators when working around welding fumes, paints, solvents, exhaust, dust and god knows what else? A proper spray booth is way up on my list of things to add to my shop, mainly for extracting welding and plasma-cutting fumes, and for spray-painting things without getting dizzy. Once your lungs are shot, it's difficult or impossible to bring them back. (And if you're like me, you can't afford to lose too many brain cells). /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ditto with hearing protection and all the noisy operations involved in metal fabrication. Grinding, using air tools (especially cut-off wheels), sanding, you name it. Just like lung damage, hearing damage sneaks up on you until it might be too late. I like Peltor hearing protectors, and I have them all over the place. They're only about $15, and I'd have a hard time putting as price tag on my hearing.

And of course, watch out for your eyes. Have safety glasses all over the place too, they're really cheap insurance. If you need reading glasses like I do, Gempler's makes a very cool pair of safety glasses with a bifocal-style reading lens built-in.

And do you really have a fully-charged fire extinguisher or two right at hand, plus a garden hose nearby if the fire extinguishers don't do the trick? (If yes, nice job).

Lastly, if someone gives you grief for taking safety precautions, they're not being a very good friend. Take care of yourselves, and pay no attention to those who seem to think that health and safety are for sissies.

John

 

[frank29]

Re: WELDING SAFETY TOPIC

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I FINALLY got a lift, and man am I spoiled now. It's a beauty, a Rotary 9,000 lb. asymmetrical, and now exhaust work is soooo much easier ... and less painful, too! They're really not all that expensive, either - about $3,600 )</font>John, buddy, pal, can you expand on this (here, start another thread, P.M. me, or whatever). I bet I'm not alone in being interested in this.