Safety first, post your safety tips here

Re: Ideas for basic guides - what you want to see in this section

I would like to see some advise on safety procedures, just basic stuff like jacking up AND supporting cars on proper axle stands, the wearing of safety goggles and gloves when welding/grinding and suitable clothing, seems daft but just today I saw in the press a young girl had been killed when her scarf got caught in the drivetrain of a gokart she was driving..... . . .not a nice way to go and a sad loss of a young life.
I speak from experience guys, after 30 years in the trade 3 visits to casualty to have metal removed from my eyes and once for a slip with an angle grinder and unbeleivably recently I managed to chop the top off one of my fingers, luckily its grown back but will be a problem for the rest of my days. All this was acheived with me being quite careful but not careful enough...........lets be careful out there it takes a nano second to seriously hurt yourself and it aint big or funny;)
 
Good idea sidthefrog, and here is the thread.

Even when dealing with a flat, if you don't have axle stands put a wheel under the chassis. I heard about a guy who got his leg crushed whilst changing a wheel.

All safety things take time and effort but a few moments of effort is worth avoiding a lifetime of regret. Short cuts are rarely worth it when you factor this in.

Also avoid loose clothing when working on engines, I've seen a jumper snag on the belts and pull someone into the engine bay. Thankfully we shut off the engine in time but it could have been really nasty.

Also get help on heavy items. Dropping a gearbox on your hand is not a nice experience and if you are on your own it is pretty hard to deal with.
 
It may be the boring side of tweeking and restoring cars,trucks whatever but its the first thing .....and MOST important thing you learn in any workshop.
Good point made by Wayne on getting help with heavy lifting and its always advisable to have help nearby when attempting to remove engines or drop a subframe for example.
One thing that needs a lot of respect is petrol, more specificaly petrol fumes. I witnessed a few tests/demonstrations on the power of petrol fumes and gunpowder rates well behind them for volatility.
I was once asked to weld up a corroded petrol tank off a Granada and flatlly refused my boss, he wasn't happy and stomped off saying he would do it over the weekend. When I returned on Monday morning the fuel tank was on the workshop floor and was split open resembling a peeled orange with its peel hanging off in every direction. The boss said it frightened the life out of him.........he had filled it with water supposing that would dispel any fumes in the tank but there must have been a small pocket of fumes somewhere........boom:blink:
 

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