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shop fire hazard ! check your extiguishers !

4K views 37 replies 30 participants last post by  budmitch1 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
we have all had the ocasional "sparks " ,
last night i was using my new spline jig for box corners ,
with a stacked dado setup ,
and got some sparks where i cut through some light gauge pinner brads .
( they were in the jig itself ) , it's happened at times in the past ,
and as they are soft and the tools can handle it ,
i didn't think much of it , and procceded working .
the little smoke , was like the usual dull or hard wood type ,
not to be concerned with to much , just slow down .
and as i was end plowing , i was concerned about tearout .
and more concerned about the safety of this new operation,
i proceded cautiosly along .

but i started thinking the lingering smoke wasn't thining out as it usualy does ,
and then out of the corner of my eye , i started seeing dancing lite down at the base of the saw .
finish cut and check it out .
as i don't have a vacumn set up yet , the sawdust piles up at the base of the chute .

wow ! FLAMES ! , inside the saw ! fanned by the wind from the dado blades !
go get the extinguisher , ( i can't find anything in my shop , but i always know where the extinguisher is )

pull the pin , and to the rescue !
only the extiguisher is dead ! nada !

it's the stringy saw dust from rip dadoes .
get a stick , and clean it out of the saw .
mound of regular sawdust with flames abounding !

there goes 10 years of building my house and shop !
and i'll never finish this box !

get some water , and pour it on the flames , 3 trips to the kitchen .
bring one extra , just in case .

back to work, thanks God !

merrily muddleing along , then more smoke ?
now the regular sawdust is like a coal fire , just slowly spreading
inside off the pile , no flames !

o.k. , more water , hand over sawdust , checking , more water .

well , i got it out , and finished the box !
but stayed up 2 hours just to be sure .

now it's off to the store for more extinguishers .

i am glad i didn't have a vacumn set up yet , as this would have happened
downstairs out of sight !

is there a spark arrestor for the vacumn line before the collector ?
how does it work ?
where do i find one ?

please work safe , and keep your eyes and nose peeled !

thanks !
 
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#2 ·
YIKES! thanks for the reminder… all that sawdust piling up doesn't sound too good though.

as for the DC. I wonder if the airflow in the pipes would even allow the spark to grow any bigger, since it's quite powerful, and more then likely to put that spark out as opposed to let it catch on something else. but then again - I could be mistaken.
 
#3 ·
i stay ahead of the sawdust ,
it was a days worth ,
but mostly i think it was the stringy stuff ,
that the plow dado was making .
i clean the regular stuff and dump it outside ,
this was just one of those unexpected twists ,
just a good " heads up "
 
#5 ·
David, thanks for the post. This is one of those things that you just don't think about. When I had my old saw I used to cut through brads without even worrying about it since they would not hurt the blade. But I never considered what the sparks would do if they landed into a combustible pile of sawdust!

But I appreciate the safety warning both with regards to the sparks and the fire extinguisher. It has been a long while since I checked mine. I think I know where it is. :)
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
This happened to me about a year ago with some denatured alcohol. You know it burns invisibly. I grabbed my extinguisher but had never used it before and ended up ripping it apart trying to get it to work. Well I ran outside and got the hose and safely got the fire out, had it been winter, it would have been a different outcome. So not only is it important to have one, and have it charged, but also KNOW HOW TO USE IT! Thanks for the reminder David. I had forgotten. I need to read up on my new one.
 
#11 ·
That is major. Like Mike said, it's not just enough to have it, but to know how to use it. It might be worth it to buy a second for practice. I'm lucky, the fire department here on post comes by every month a checks the extinguishers so I know they are ready for use. I just hope they stay on their hooks on the wall.
 
#12 ·
Sparks and sawdust do not make for good things. Thanks for posting this because I'm guessing we all need to be reminded of the dangers and gently prodded to maintain our equipment.

I'm also glad to hear you got the box finished. ;-)
 
#13 ·
Wow, sure glad everything worked out for you, could have been a disaster.

Thanks for the nudge also, I just checked mine and, yep, sure enough, it is expired by a couple of years
and has no charge. My next trip to town will include a fire extingusher…...................
 
#14 ·
You need to be just as careful if you use a dust collector for clean up as well. I have heard of sparks being created by a nail or small screw as it hits the fan inside the collector and then starting a fire in the collector. I try and pick up screws and nails prior to clean up. If I have a large pile I will pick up and throw it in the trach and ten use the collector for the dust. There is always the possibilty of missing a screw, a magnet is not a bad idea to help get the missing straggler.

David… glad to hear it wasnt a larger mess. It could have been very easily.
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
If you fix up a dc for yourself make sure you have a grounding wire through all of the dc pipe! Under the right conditions a static spark can ignite dust and cause an explosion and fire! I'm sure most of you know this so its just a reminder!
Glad things turned out ok! We can all use a little scare once in a while!
 
#18 ·
well , we all got something out of this ,
mostly empty extinguishers as i see .
it's the little things , like finding a bolt or nut
on the floor , and sourcing it to a tool ,
that is slowly coming apart ,
or the rubber on the cords that is splitting open.
i guess one can't be to carefull .
spanky : i always use metal tubing in my past
ducting , just for that problem , thanks .
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
********************, that was close, David
Good for you that you where there.
Tomorrow morning (it's now 03:02 here) I'm gone look at my fire extinguishers.
I buy this thing years ago and normally they must be testing ones a year.
Maybe it is also a good idea for a fire/heat detector in my "shop"
Today was on the news, 4 little children burn to dead on a attic room.

Thanks for the warning David.

Schummie.
 
#21 ·
Here's and idea for an invention…a fire extinguisher attachment for a dust collector. Heat would set it off…like a sprinkler system…only one could attached a commercial fire extinguisher to the outside of a dust collector…when a fire started, heat would melt the pin or something like it and it would fill the bags or the bins with CO2. Or a smoke detector and a halon system…$ for certain…but worth saving of a house or shop. I'm surprised the industry hasn't come up with something like it.
 
#23 ·
thats a good idea barry ,
something so simple ,
could save so much.
am thinking maybe a fire alarm ,
like schumie says ,
connected to a loud warning buzzer for now though .

and more extinguishers .
metal detector a must also .

thanks guys ,
work safe .
 
#24 ·
Glad that you got the issue solved. It can be real scary to haev something like that happen and then the safety fallback was not present.
 
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