the profesion we have chosen" can be dangerous use caution

with all the noobs coming here for advise it is about time some one brought up the issue of safety. in fact safety should have its own section here.
I have noticed reccomendations to use a torch to open compressor. hammers to remove copper from vacuum tubes, and of course the sie of sawsals angle grinder and all the rest.
but I see no advise as to the cautionary use of our instraments of destruction which brings me to the point.
some of these people have never used any of the above and they are all dangerous to the pount of great bodily harm or even death;

an angle grinder, or sawsall in inexperieced hands can cut a femoral arterie (leg) your wrist veins or even a neck wound that can kill you begore you can get to the office or house for help.

the angle grinder for example is a gyrocentric tool an if control is lost of it it is a very dangerous piece of equip. ( I have the scars to prove it)
the torch has several issues, leaking gas, fire, near by cumbustibal and explosive liquids and fumes. ( have the scars to prove that too)

I have been working opening compressors and spilled oil on my clothing which was later ignited from the sparks of the grinder I have used the torch to open compressors only to cause a flash fire that spraid droplets of flaming oil for 10 feet.
a vacuum tube has known to exolode when bumpeed let alone hit with a hammer, I have seen them go off like
a granade sending glass shrapnel for several yards
all I am saying when we are giving advise to a noob lets be sure he/she understands the ramifications of what we are telling them.

You are right old dude... tv vacuum tubes can be dangerous...I unscrew the 2 stainless steel clamps holding the copper yoke, then once the plastic rings are
removed, a slight twist of the yoke and up and off it comes. No sharp glass to be dealt with and the stainless clamps go into a bucket for later.

Good points. I have been using a sawzall for more than 25 years, and just last Sunday, I somewhat mangled my right index finger, because I was careless for just a momen.

Unplug things before cutting the cords off.

Seems like a no-brainer, but every scrapper finds things that might be worth more selling as-is, than scrapping.... if they work. How do you know if they work? Plug them in. Don't work, cut the cord, but UNPLUG FIRST.

In the shop or out in the field, safety glasses and hearing protection. Also work efficent and steady but slow down if your pressing. No amont of copper or heavy iron is worth a missing digit, a glass eye or a lifetime asking "what'd ya say". Great topic that gets overlooked way too much.

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How do you know if they work? Plug them in. Don't work, cut the cord, but UNPLUG FIRST.

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REMEMBER that tv's and monitors can hold high voltage for a few days, and unplugging won't help when it's whacking you with a few thousand volts. To be safe, discharge it first!

Ain't that right Hoss ?
;?)

Manufacturers make guards for a reason - keep them in place.

Use all the handles that were put on a tool - such as that "extra" handle on your angle grinder. And be careful of kickback.

Another thought.....Keep a charged up fire extinguisher on your rig or in your shop. Cheap insurance

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Ain't that right Hoss

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I wasn't gonna go there again, I don't think he likes being reminded of that,, LOL

never stand directly behind your sawsall.....especially Hoss !! (sorry...couldn't help myself, Hoss)

Seriously, olddude has really come through again with a much needed post. It's so easy to get careless, especially when in a hurry. All of these reminders are well taken. And, newby's especially, may not be aware of kickbacks that can be oh so dangerous. And remember, when you buy a tool...buy the safety gear that should always go with it.

Solid advice fellas, I actually heard a story about a guy who was scrapping and somehow managed to get a piece of metal deep inside his ear canal and it got infected and swelled shut, pretty freaky stuff. I'd say some good quality gloves while loading/unloading is a must a lot of the time too, I've gotten opened up on a jagged piece quite a few times. Another thing I'd like to throw out there is to watch out for spiders, for some reason black widows absolutely LOVE to hang out and lay eggs in heat pumps and ACs, I've found two really good sized ones in two separate ACs I've picked up recently, totally different loads. This one came straight out of a pretty old York: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._3828699_n.jpg

Re-cycler, can you put some foam or bubble wrap on them ? I've done that, too.

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Originally Posted by Dumpster Dee

Re-cycler, can you put some foam or bubble wrap on them ? I've done that, too.

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Ahahahahahaaaa!!!!...........yeah but all the other scrappers would make fun of me.....
;?)

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yeah but all the other scrappers would make fun of me.

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Re-cycler, just hang a set of "bull berries" underneath it, then they won't make fun,,hahaha

Yea, painful memory's, but mine was a BSA, I couldn't afford a Harley.

I do have the receiver, but always leave the hitch in as a secondary bumper for those unexpected love taps from the person behind not paying attention.

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Originally Posted by Eradication

watch out for spidershttps://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._3828699_n.jpg

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That's definitely a good thing to check for. Around here you gotta watch out for brown recluses. You get bit by one of those and you could lose a limb in a few hours.

This profession is also dangerous to your body in simpler ways.
Try, when you can, to use proper lifting techniques, pretty simple right?.... long term effects of skipping this simple step are no joke.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

REMEMBER that tv's and monitors can hold high voltage for a few days, and unplugging won't help when it's whacking you with a few thousand volts. To be safe, discharge it first!

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Same with microwaves.

Great thread. Like to add always know what the other guy(s) is doing also. Just yesterday I was reaching for something in a pile at the same time my helper threw something into the pile and hit my hand. Could have been bad if I hadn't caught in corner of my eye and moved my hand. He is young and lacks experience. I should have been pay better attention. My pop was a fire and safety inspector at a refinery . So I grew up with "safety first". Point is its not just the new guys ,this thread is a good reminder for us all. Thanks olddude. Your wisdom, as always, is much appreciated!

Battery backups are bad Also as many people know. Do not leave them on your truck in the rain or outdoors, they could start on fire. Also they pack a mean shock

Olddude, great words of wisdom as usual. As my dad always said, we do not have time in one lifetime to learn everything the hard way, take a short cut and learn from others. Just be careful who you are learning from.

I am the safety rep on the floor at work and have always been a "think first, act second" type of person. That said I still managed to cut my knuckle on cardboard this morning cause I wasn't wearing gloves. I don't wear gloves all day, I just keep them on me; but sometimes you don't see something's possible until it has already happened:(

I would also like to point out that there are times when you shouldn't wear gloves for protection but rather should find a safer way of doing what you're doing. Example: my long time friend who I got a job at my work (who was practically born with a hammer in his hand, knowing how to swing it) was drilling holes in extrusion with a drill press and had gloves on for protection/cleanliness. Well, didn't he get a glove caught on the drill bit and barely got his hand away without mutilating it! He turned it off and pulled away but split seconds could have made it much much worse.

This can also be a deadly industry. Even for companies that have the highest of certifications and health and safety policies in place.

2 dead, 1 injured in Granite City mortar explosion

Just following the simple rule of wearing the proper PPE can make a huge difference. Eye pro, ear pro, gloves, boots and the right clothing, all the time, every time. How many people on here have a little mark on there gloves from an angle grinder?

Also I see people wearing the wrong type of gloves all the time. If you are doing anything involving flame or spark your gloves need to be all leather. Mechanics gloves are for turning wrenches, synthetics can and will melt/catch on fire.

As I have supervised and investigated many accidents. The cause and effects of accidents almost always have one thing in common. That is complacency, someone who so sure that they know what they are doing can be the most dangerous person in the work place! Safety starts and ends with each individual. Fatal or bad accidents are almost always a sequence of events, with each action leading to a point of no return and leading to property damage, injury, and death. Almost always could have been prevented if just one action had intervened and with a much more desirable outcome. Another thing to consider, some accidents occur do to what happened outside of the scope of work. If a person brings there problems to the work site, thus not thinking about the job or the safety of self or others a accident is almost always likely!

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Originally Posted by junkfreak

Great thread. Like to add always know what the other guy(s) is doing also. Just yesterday I was reaching for something in a pile at the same time my helper threw something into the pile and hit my hand. Could have been bad if I hadn't caught in corner of my eye and moved my hand. He is young and lacks experience. I should have been pay better attention. My pop was a fire and safety inspector at a refinery . So I grew up with "safety first". Point is its not just the new guys ,this thread is a good reminder for us all. Thanks olddude. Your wisdom, as always, is much appreciated!

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Just an update. Apparently I didn't get away so clean . had to go to ER this morning. Doc said I severed a tendon. Needs surgery. Made it worse by not going right away. Be careful out there.

Well that F'n sucks...Godspeed.

And moisturize. Healthy skin is the first layer of protection.

Last year November, was cutting open some electric motors with my Milwaukee batter 18v grinder, didn't spin up like a corded one, so I figured it would be ass aggressive,.
So with cigar clenched in my teeth in began cutting the outer shell off to expose the windings, after the tenth one, I got sloppy,MIT kicked, I F'ed it off and kept going, she kicked again, this time it kicked out of my hands and up to my face.
As I leaned away from it (I was kneeling on the ground cutting outside on the grass) it arced at my face, missed and ran off into the grass. I F'ed it off again and reached of it with my left hand, that's when I noticed that I'd opened myself up on my forearm.....m3 inch cut,you could see the fat and muscle, I could fit my pinky inside of it. Blade was so hot I didn't even feel it, cauterized the skin instantly.....
a trip down to the H, in the emergency room,wait almost three hours for three **** staples that took 30 seconds, he didn't clean it and I don't like "a local" so I took the pain and got stapled up.
Even now, I still have hard little bits of dead skin, metal and whatever else pushing its way out of the scar tissue, it's healed up nice but will leave a black scar, reminding how much of an absolute idiot I was.
Broke so many of my rules in that one instance, but sometimes it's good to be bit, it teaches you to "simmer down and pay attention" as the next one might not just be three staples.....
p.s. No hand guard, no gloves, no googles, and no hand grip.... All of which are affixed now. And I frigged up a good cigar....
"Haste makes waste" and "children and fools shouldn't play with sharp tools" ring to mind....

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Originally Posted by BDAScrapper

Last year November, was cutting open some electric motors with my Milwaukee batter 18v grinder, didn't spin up like a corded one, so I figured it would be ass aggressive,.
So with cigar clenched in my teeth in began cutting the outer shell off to expose the windings, after the tenth one, I got sloppy,MIT kicked, I F'ed it off and kept going, she kicked again, this time it kicked out of my hands and up to my face.
As I leaned away from it (I was kneeling on the ground cutting outside on the grass) it arced at my face, missed and ran off into the grass. I F'ed it off again and reached of it with my left hand, that's when I noticed that I'd opened myself up on my forearm.....m3 inch cut,you could see the fat and muscle, I could fit my pinky inside of it. Blade was so hot I didn't even feel it, cauterized the skin instantly.....
a trip down to the H, in the emergency room,wait almost three hours for three **** staples that took 30 seconds, he didn't clean it and I don't like "a local" so I took the pain and got stapled up.
Even now, I still have hard little bits of dead skin, metal and whatever else pushing its way out of the scar tissue, it's healed up nice but will leave a black scar, reminding how much of an absolute idiot I was.
Broke so many of my rules in that one instance, but sometimes it's good to be bit, it teaches you to "simmer down and pay attention" as the next one might not just be three staples.....
p.s. No hand guard, no gloves, no googles, and no hand grip.... All of which are affixed now. And I frigged up a good cigar....
"Haste makes waste" and "children and fools shouldn't play with sharp tools" ring to mind....

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You said it all

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Originally Posted by KzScrapper

Well that F'n sucks...Godspeed.

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Yeah it does. Iam already rammie can't stand being limited. Lol

BDAscrapper - Ouch!

Very sorry to hear that. Here is where I tell you to do what I say not what I do. We are nature a though bunch. BUI I have buried bits of metal which make my right finger hard to use. a month ago I cut the top middle section of my finger off because I was in a hurry and being stupid. I went to the house put it back on and just taped it never went to the doc. it has grown back on But now Im stuck with bits of the cut off wheel in my finger. be very careful out there its hard to scrap with one arm , hand or missing fingers.

i have tried in the past to post "darwin award" info as well for more dagerous activities or those with high injury potential. granted the warnings may have had humor in tone but were serious none the less.

my closest call was working fridges with my domestic partner getting ready to haul in a load. a fridge came out of the stack on the trailer while strapping it down and jagged metal from where i cut compressor tray out missed my neck by less than an inch. jumping back and using my arm to try to turn it away i still took nearly 250 lbs as a fairly solid hit to my shoulder / arm and was out of commission nearly 3 weeks before i got strength back in that arm and could move it regular.

its not just tools and breaking things down we need to watch for. some of us work with very heavy items and many dont do it smartly and get lucky. i got extremely lucky. i could have been killed or crushed and ended up with pain and bruises only.

this is also why i work with a second person at all times loading and unloading and keep visual and verbal contact at all times. we may not see the item drop. they might. also it gives you a chance to get to a hospital if you are not so lucky.

i load / unload for processing with a skidloader now. saves the back alot seeing i would stack appiances by hand in my load otherwise. but even that has risks if no respect is given where its due. i work smarter not harder now but have not forgot that jagged metal falling at my neck.

heed the warnings people. its not a matter of if you will be hurt... its a matter of how bad and if you live through it.

As i'm driving to work I see a blind man almost every day walking to work i assume. My dad told me his story. One day he put a new grinding stone on his bench grinder and didn't check the stone speed rating. The last thing he saw was his finger flipping the switch on the grinder. The stone exploded and he lost both eyes. 33 years young.
So now you're thinking yeah ok be careful. The very next day my dad put a new wire wheel on his bench grinder and he had the same experience. He hadn't check the speed rate and it to exploded. Fortunately he had his safety glasses on, was not injured and able to clean up his own mess.
Don't confuse accidents with carelessness.
Be Safe. Be Smart.