Safety

[Jim Murphy]

I'm in the process of setting up my dedicated 24x30 workshop. After placing a 3A40BC fire extinguisher on the right side of each of the two exit doors, I used masking tape and red paint to paint a red cross just above the first aid kit. Each "leg" of the cross is 3.5" wide and 4" tall, and it really jumps out on the white walls. Everyone who has seen it thought it was worth the fifteen minutes it took to layout and paint.

[NZAPP1]

Thanks for the tip. I think I will do the same

[DaveO]

Great ideas, I have a fire extinguinsher in the back of my shop. But I don't even have a first aid kit. It's a good idea to have one handy, I think I have a box of band-aids around somewhere
Dave

[toolferone]

Fire extinguinsher by the front door and first-aid by the sink, but now I will mark them both. Thanks for the tip!

[Ray Martin]

While fire extinguishers are a great idea... keeping them by the door is even better. It's something you grab on the way OUT. As painful as it might sound, the right thing to do is to get out of a burning building and wait for the fire department. Extinguishers are for minor stuff only. (sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.)

Ray

[junquecol]

Don't forget to get a set of frog eyes, those lights that automatically come on when power fails. Imagine a power failure and you are groping in the dark. As you hand touches table saw blade, power is restored. Not a pleasant thought. HF often has frog eyes for less than $20, Borg sells them for about $35.

[chris99z71]

Good call, Bruce. I had never thought of that. Lo and behold, they're on sale at HF right now for $15.99!

[dozer]

I have a garden hose hooked up right at my back door. As for the first aid kit I have a roll of paper towels, duct tape, and lots of super glue

[chris99z71]

Originally Posted by Ray Martin

While fire extinguishers are a great idea... keeping them by the door is even better. It's something you grab on the way OUT. As painful as it might sound, the right thing to do is to get out of a burning building and wait for the fire department. Extinguishers are for minor stuff only. (sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.)

Ray

I couldn't agree with you more, Ray. And as long as we're on the topic, I'd encourage all of you to not only consider an extinguisher for the shop, but to consider WHAT KIND of extinguisher you want for the shop.
They've all got their pros and cons. I apologize to those who already know this (probably most of you), but I think it's too important not to re-state.

Remember the classes:
A=combustible solids
B=flammable/combustible liquids
C=energized electrical

And the types of extinguishers:
ABC
Pros: Pretty cheap, works on anything - a no brainer.
Cons: A HUGE mess to clean up. I can't imagine that it would be good for any kind of electric motor that it gets into.
Water can
Pros: Re-usible. Fairly cheap. You can refill it yourself and re-pressurized it with it's standard Schrader (tire-stem) valve.
Cons: Limited to type A fires only. (But remember that an electrical device on fire is only type C until you turn off the breaker or it trips. Then it's a class A.)
CO2
Pros: No mess to clean up. Won't hurt electrical devices.
Cons: Rated only for class B and C. Refilled for cheap. It will put out a class A fire, but it's not recommended because the force of the CO2 coming out tends to blow firey objects all over (typically not good). EXPENSIVE! Easily 3-4 times the price of an ABC.

Also:
When buying for the shop/home, buy the biggest extinguisher you can afford or physically handle. The standard el-cheapo ABC, disposable, home kitchen unit (2.5lb) only has an 8-10 sec discharge time while a 10lb will give you around 20 seconds (don't ask me how that math works, but those are the numbers).
Get something with a metal handle. There are alot of junk extinguishers out there with plastic handles. I've never had one break on me, but if it can, it will and at the most inopportune time. Plus, those ones are typically not refillable.
Smokesign.com is the cheapest place I've found to get a quality extinguisher. They have free shipping on everything. This 10lb ABC model ($55, about $3 cheaper than HD plus no tax) and this water can ($110) are the two best deals IMHO.

[Gofor]

Also, check your extinguishers occasionally, but more often in the warmer months, if you have a garage/shop like mine. Insects, especially Mud Daubers, love to build nests in the nozzles. I know that because I used to have a boat. Always ran the checklist before setting out into the gulf. Had to clean the nozzle out on the fire extinguishers about 4 or 5 times a year, and they were stored in the cabin when we weren't on the water. The mud daubers here in the piedmont are worse then they ever were in FL (guess 'cause we got more mud and less sand!)

Go

[Canuck]

Thanks a lot Chris!

A wealth of good information there!!!

I will have to check them out for all I have right now is the water hose!!!

Thanks again for all of your recommendations! (Gotta somehow protect the tool and wood investment! Ha Ha!)

Wayne

[Travis Porter]

Speaking of which, I am notorious for using black tape as a temporary bandaid.