# shop fire hazard ! check your extiguishers !



## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

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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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

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.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

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 "


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## Innovator (Jan 20, 2009)

Patron Thanks for the heads up.

I just went to the shop and checked, mine is dead also. I will be picking up a new one this week.

Be safe


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

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.


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

Whoa! That's scary. I think I need to check my fire extinuishers now. You never know when something like this can happen.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

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.


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## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

Ditto to the above. Mine is dead too. THanks for the warning.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks for the nudge. I just noticed the other day that my extinguisher appears to be discharged. I gotta move that up to the top of my list!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Wow David I'm glad you caught it before you had a terrible fire. By sharing our mishaps and mistakes we all learn thanks for reminding us I'll check my extinguisher today.


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## chriswright (Nov 13, 2008)

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.


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## Russel (Aug 13, 2007)

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. ;-)


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## majeagle1 (Oct 29, 2008)

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…...................


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

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.


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## spanky46 (Feb 12, 2009)

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!


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## Walnut_Weasel (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks for the reminder. Even though what I consider a shop is a two car garage with a bandsaw in it…I really do need to pick up an extinguisher.

Glad you are safe!


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## CanadaJeff (Jul 8, 2008)

Whoa, that was close. Thanks for the reminder.

I will make sure that sweeping up my sawdust and not letting build up, in addition to the fire extinguisher will be new safety procedures.

Glad your Okay


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

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 .


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## Schummie (Feb 3, 2008)

********************, 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.


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## smokey1945 (Feb 20, 2009)

Patron,
Thanks for the heads up! As dry as it is at my place, we don't need and fire coming this way. :O)
Really…I'm glad you caught it in time.
Smokey


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## BarryW (Sep 15, 2007)

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.


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## BarryW (Sep 15, 2007)

One more thing, a simple metal detector checking wood might be another thing that would help woodworkers.
I have one.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

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 .


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

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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## cabinetmaster (Aug 28, 2008)

I better check my extinguishers too. I've had them for about 7 years. Don't know when the last time was that I checked them. Thanks for the heads up.


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## matt1970 (Mar 28, 2007)

great post…i have too much dust in my bag…and NO extinguishers…now I am going to get some…and the one in the house…came with this house when we bought it…time to test it…

thank you…glad you are okay…


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## hootr (Mar 28, 2009)

good reminder david
one thing we should remember is to follow up with water and check and recheck after using a extinguisher, they can actually spread sparks
also water doesn't always soak down into sawdust, so take time to take sawdust outside, spread it out and soak it down
a little dish soap in water will make "wet water" that will soak through better
thanks for sharing dave


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Speaking of fires in the shop (read garage). Never park a Ford in a attached residential garage while yoiu sleep in the house. After our Aerostar burned, talking to friends and aquaintances, within a week we found about 10-12 people who either knew a friend, relative or themselves who had a Ford spontaneously combust! It always starts as an electrical fire. When the fire department come, they knew all about Fords buring. This is one of the best kept secrets in the good ol' US of A!


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

that's a kept secret ,
i guess you don't drive a ford ?
i got a '48 f-1 pickup out in the yard ,
but im safe , the battery is dead .

thanks for the heads up !


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Fords are about all I've ever driven. The trucks and vans were far superior to anything else for decades. I drove one van for 250,000 miles and put in a new engine so i could continue driving it. Last i knew of it the transmission had over 350,000 on it. Fords are the onlyl one that has spontaneoujs combustion problems as far as I could find out.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I've had my Ford Ranger for 12 years and I really like it. We have a small "farm" that is mostly my wife's hobby. We are always hauling something or other around.

A few years back there was a recall related to an electrical fire hazard that could happen even when the truck is parked. The letter that I got was sort of like a form with the information inserted for the particular recall. There was a "workaround until the fix is installed" section that said something like "Do not park the vehicle near any structures".


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## jussdandy (Aug 14, 2009)

what happened to me a few months back, was using my router table, have a large shop vac hooked up to the router table to keep the dust down, hit some metal in the wood I was using, thought damn thats a brand new bit but keep going, its a long cut, finish the cut and turn around, my shop vac is blowing fire out the exhaust, holly cow as my shop is stand alone, I throw the entire shop vac out the door and then open it up, it was all melted and all the dust was still burning, dumped it out and the world is good again till I start think about all the wood I got stacked up and other flamable stuff laying in my shop. I really couldve lit it all up the way the fire was blowing out the exhaust . would not of ever thought about sparks starting a fire like that but it did.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Our Aerostar was recalled, we took it in and it still burned when parked with no one inside.


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## matt1970 (Mar 28, 2007)

i lived through my 1977 Peach Ford Pinto getting rear-ended…no fires…nothing…


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Sobering experience David. Last year on August 1st my next door neighbors house was struck by lighting and burned down. He built a new house and just moved in about a month ago. Since then I've been a lot more aware of the awful consequences of fire. It can sure wreak havoc on your life. Glad it went ok.


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

"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! "

spanky46, this is not true. This is an old myth, there is NO realistic chance a static spark can cause a dust explosion/fire. There's not enough dust in the duct. Even if there was then a static spark would be too small for ignition. And even if it were possible, a wire in the duct doesn't do any good. Both PVC and suspended dust are insulators, electricity doesn't flow though them, all the wire can do is bleed off a static charge within a millimeter or so, the rest stays charged. You're better off building a meteor shield for your shop, since you're much more likely to be hit by one than get a static explosion in your dust collector ducts.


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## tenhoeda (Jun 27, 2008)

Glad everything worked out ok. Not something we all think of on a daily basis. Time to check the extinguisher and get a couple of smoke and heat detectors I believe. Great reminder!


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## budmitch1 (Feb 4, 2009)

That was a close call. I read an article about dry powder extinguishers and it was recommended to shake the extinguisher about every 6 months. Even if the gauge shows FULL the powder will get compacted in the bottom and not work. Just a heads up.


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