Thread: Dangerous accident

Originally Posted by PDW

Welding in joggers isn't a real great idea either...

PDW

Ever noticed how red hot metal droplets seem draw into open top work boots?

Done the welders quick step more than a few times.

Rob

Having just had my first welding lesson and seeing the wooden top we were welding on catch fire a few times this series of posts based on a tragic accident has really been another wake-up call.

Sorry to base a question following such a tragic occurrence but what if I may ask is the best surface to weld on?

Most proper welding tables have a steel top.

I weld on a jarrah bench top and no risk of fire with that.

Rob

Originally Posted by seanlark

Having just had my first welding lesson and seeing the wooden top we were welding on catch fire a few times this series of posts based on a tragic accident has really been another wake-up call.

Sorry to base a question following such a tragic occurrence but what if I may ask is the best surface to weld on?

Steel without a doubt. Not only can you tack stuff to it, you can easily grind off the spatter, dags etc etc.

Yellow tongue isn't *bad*, you get little burn spots from the spatter but it doesn't catch fire. Most of my bench tops are yellow tongue flooring. However I prefer my 1800 x 900 x 6mm steel bench top.

PDW

HI,

It's strange how things turn out sometimes. Last week I doing some grinding at home with my new AEG grinder, burnt a hole through my poly jumper (no injury to myself) it was literally only a 30 second cut. Getting burnt has always been on my mind as a bloke I know received 3rd degree burns to his thigh due to grinding a couple of years ago. Then this post came up reminding us how serious it can be.
Today I was doing a big grinding job at work, a good hour of cutting then grinding with a 9 inch. I ended up putting on a welding coat just to keep the sparks away. Guess you never know.

Cheers Ben.

The best welding table I have worked on for small jobs had a 12mm thick aluminium top. The spatter doesn't stick to the top so all that was needed to get a clean surface was a hand broom.

I can identify with this accident, I'm currently wearing a Yakka top that's got burn holes in it (from grinding) as I type... Last year I set fire to a pair of Rivers Jeans that I thought were cotton... not so.. they were some kind of plastic that melted and stuck to your skin... now I check the label when buying jeans.

And the height of stupidity, I have a Golden Chief leather welding jacket sitting there, that I could have taken an extra 10 seconds to put on... At least I usually wear a full face shield when grinding...

After reading this story, I'm going to take that extra few seconds to put on the welding jacket...

Regards
Ray

BobL,
I am pretty sure duck is just a heavy form of cotton. Should be OK, but as others have found, who knows if there are more modern threads in the mix.

Regards
SWK

I can remember soaking overalls in a concoction containing I think borax to fire retard them it was used on curtains in the days of candles. Now days they are reluctant to sell you borax.
Regards

Originally Posted by RayG

I can identify with this accident, I'm currently wearing a Yakka top that's got burn holes in it (from grinding) as I type... Last year I set fire to a pair of Rivers Jeans that I thought were cotton... not so.. they were some kind of plastic that melted and stuck to your skin... now I check the label when buying jeans.

And the height of stupidity, I have a Golden Chief leather welding jacket sitting there, that I could have taken an extra 10 seconds to put on... At least I usually wear a full face shield when grinding...

After reading this story, I'm going to take that extra few seconds to put on the welding jacket...

Regards
Ray

If I'm working in the shop, I always wear action back overalls. These go on & off easily (important to me because I've got a buggered left arm), give good protection to the legs & torso and don't restrict arm movement. Also reasonably cheap, comfortable (for me), robust and keeps wear & tear to street clothes to a minimum. Easy to put a welding jacket on over the top for extra protection.

A leather apron is good for a lot of stuff too. I've got a couple of plastic ones like butchers use as well, keeps a lot of crap off of my clothes when washing stuff down etc. If you get one that's longer than your wellington type boots you can power-wash your front down without getting your boots full of water. Old trick from working on trawlers.

I have an entry way to my house, the boots, overalls etc come off in the vestibule area and never go further inside. I have more pairs of steel capped boots & shoes than street shoes. This minimises swarf etc but not, alas, dust. I have polished timber floors and I like to keep them as close to pristine as possible. I also dislike cut feet from razor sharp bits of metal on the floor...

PDW

Originally Posted by A Duke

I can remember soaking overalls in a concoction containing I think borax to fire retard them it was used on curtains in the days of candles. Now days they are reluctant to sell you borax.
Regards

Morning Duke! I think I might have missed something as I thought Borax was relatively non toxic to most things except insects.. Are they getting rid of borax now?

Originally Posted by PDW

If I'm working in the shop, I always wear action back overalls.

This is what I mainly wear although I do have one set of coveralls that I wear when I am going to do a lot of welding as they are better at protecting armpits etc but as you say they are not easy to get into.

Firey's are now wearing those yellow fire retardent overalls.

We lost a female fire fighter (Wendy Barefoot) down in Albany only last year in a flame over event - the truck she was in went up and she died 6 weeks later from burns complications.

Condolences to the family and friends of this chap.

Maybe theres a lesson for all of us in this somewhere.

Originally Posted by Timless Timber

Firey's are now wearing those yellow fire retardent overalls.

We lost a female fire fighter (Wendy Barefoot) down in Albany only last year in a flame over event - the truck she was in went up and she died 6 weeks later from burns complications.

Condolences to the family and friends of this chap.

Maybe theres a lesson for all of us in this somewhere.

yeah I wear that yellow stuff, not sure how I would fair in a flame over. We have jets to 'protect' the truck and crew but dont really want to be in a position to have to use it. I should test it one day so I know it works

image-2988535089.jpg

regards

Dave