On the topic of safety I am wondering what you guys have done to adjust your daily sawing to a safer direction?
One big question that stands out in my mind, is how many of us sawyers are wearing a respirator or mask? We all know wood dust is terrible for our lungs! But we are cutting in open air? What do you use?
What do you have for first aid onsite?
How about fire prevention?
Let me be clear, what I don't want is an argument of whose doing what wrong and why they shouldn't do it. So please let's keep this to a simple discussion about safety that you choose to do or don't do. Each to their own.
I'm simply interested in improving my own well being based on others ideas for safety.
Thanks guys, looking forward to what ideas and practices you have and use!
I carry a first aid kit in my truck at all times. I have to admit that I need to inventory what is in it and change out things that have gone past their expiration date or just aged to the point of not being useable. For milling, I wear safety chaps and long pants, safety helmet with screen and hearing protection, safety glasses, wear the surgical type mask from HF (they fit my facial hair better than N95 style masks), steel-toe boots and gloves. I also keep a fire extinguisher in the truck and have one at the back door of the house near the primary location of my mill. I also make sure my cell phone is charged and on me just in case I get into a situation that I need to call for help. Due to the heat I have a small cooler that holds some water and a gatorade type drink. Not that I have had any heart problems, to date, I keep some aspirin for that type of emergency and to use for insect bites and other issues.
I have been having a war with wasps. So far, WDH 4, wasps 0.
before I would let anyone work at my mill alone I had them show me how they could tie a tourniquet on their arm with one hand.
Probably not bad to know how to do that.
War with wasps here too. PC 2 nests Wasps none!
PC
Savannahdan covered mine except my helmet does not have a screen, I use the N95 mask, but I do not wear long pants (jeans) in the Summer. smiley_sweat_drop smiley_sun
When I'm sawing walnut or Osage I'm wearing N95 mask. When I'm sawing Ash, I'm probably not wearing one. But then , I'm not production sawing. I normally wear safety glasses cause the saw will often spit some small chips back at me in the operator position. First aid kit nearby, usually when accidentally cutting myself changing a band. There is a fire extinguisher in the mill shop, but never had to use it.
I carry a first aid kit in the truck, safety glasses, composite toe with metatarsal guard boots, hearing protection, and since my trip to the ER last week I now carry two EpiPens with me... Brad 0 - Wasps 1 :)
I wear long pants (not for safety reasons, I just always wear long pants), hearing protection, safety glasses and a hat to keep my bald head from sunburning.
I agree with the rest of the posters, wasps have been bad here lately. Killed 7 nests under my mill shelter the other day. ncsawyer - 7 wasp nest - 0
Y'all must be raising some mean wasps. Here, I ignore them and they return the favor.
My mill insurance policy requires that I have a fire extinguisher on site.
I wear a dust mask when making fine wood dust in the shop but don't worry much about the coarse "dust" that a sawmill produces. The most important thing I do for safety is focus on one thing at a time. I tend to multi-task with several things on my mind at one time, except when using power tools. A reasonably clutter free work area is also important to safety around a sawmill, it is easy to let bark and trash wood become trip hazards.
Quote from: Den-Den on August 22, 2017, 12:55:18 PM
I wear a dust mask when making fine wood dust in the shop but don't worry much about the coarse "dust" that a sawmill produces. The most important thing I do for safety is focus on one thing at a time. I tend to multi-task with several things on my mind at one time, except when using power tools. A reasonably clutter free work area is also important to safety around a sawmill, it is easy to let bark and trash wood become trip hazards.
Sawing produces coarse dust and micro-particles. It's those little ones that get past your natural filters of nosehair and mucus. They *will* clog up your lungs.
I can not saw without a mask, and I am sure that it is caused by the many years of breathing sanding dust while woodworking/cabinetmaking. Well also what about those years of riding a manual seed combine? Oats, wheat, and rye were bad but they were nothing compared to clover. :o
Anyway whether the effects are cumulative or not doesn't matter, I just know that a little goes a long way now.
Steel toes
Fire extinguisher
Hearing protection
First aid kit
Gloves(most of the time)
Safety glasses(most of the time, when not using debarker, I may leave them off)
Mask(when cutting WRC and the wind is not in my favor)
Fish-net thong for lookie-loo repellant.
I confess - I don't wear a mask.
I wear a cap/hat, long pants and a long shirt (Fishing type cool/dry back shirt in warmer months) due to skin cancer scare 7-8 years ago, steel toes, gloves, ear muffs, and tried safety glasses today for first time because of bad eye infection thanks to sunburn and Moon Dust in Afghanistan. Sweat and sawdust trigger a recurrence every summer. I will give the glasses another trial or two but they did cloud up and interfere with seeing my setworks in bright sunlight. May need to try the spit technique like in my scuba mask. I always keep a fire extinguisher under the hydraulic box of my mill. I keep a small first aid kit (Triple Antibiotic ointment, and bandaids and enough paper towels and TP to make a field expedient bandage if required. Also keep plenty of gator-aid and water in a cooler on site and drink plenty especially in hot weather.
I wear safety glasses anytime when working, they also have UV protection, bifocal ones I buy online. Gloves. Wide brimmed hat anytime outside. Just had another spot of melanoma cut off my ear yesterday because I wasn't smart enough to wear the hat or sunscreen the first year I retired.
Doggone wasp war over here too. Gotten stung 4-5x this year the some bucks. Just yesterday was jacking my trailer down and the wasps just poured out one of em got me on the thumb I took a flare and set it under their nest bye
bye suckers!
As for the safety stuff I have 4 fire extinguishers, a couple first aid kits, wear a dust bee gone dust mask when the wind is in my face (almost always) and I wear my steel toed socks
I have and use all of above. The mask is the big thing riding the chair.
I saw under the wing of my barn, so out of the sun, generally in Carhartt shorts and comfortable New Balance boots in the summer, coveralls in the winter. No gloves, my favorite baseball hat. No mask. Biggest safety tool is the sawmill runs on the remote console so I'm away from most of the noise, dust, and other moving parts.
I always, repeat always, always wear good safety glasses. Always. I will not operate a power tool without them on, way too many things in my eyes when I don't. I prefer the Smith and Wesson wrap arounds in grey for sawing, and amber to more clearly see a laser when it's being used.
For dust, I have a very large fan that is positioned behind me, blows a soft wall of air over me and the mill, and always runs, summer or winter. It will gently blow all the dust away from me, standing at the console insuring I have clean air. Dust collector removes most of it anyway.
Of course fire extinguisher.
I use my regular glasses as safety glasses. can't count how
many times that debarker whips something at my face.
Quote from: WDH on August 22, 2017, 07:23:09 AM
I have been having a war with wasps. So far, WDH 4, wasps 0.
There has been a development. Was messing with the edger yesterday.
WDH 4, wasps 3.
Quote from: WDH on August 24, 2017, 07:19:17 AM
Quote from: WDH on August 22, 2017, 07:23:09 AM
I have been having a war with wasps. So far, WDH 4, wasps 0.
There has been a development. Was messing with the edger yesterday.
WDH 4, wasps 3.
Can't we all just ... get along?
I tried to talk to them, but they would not listen. Too busy stinging me.
Quote from: WDH on August 24, 2017, 07:37:03 AM
I tried to talk to them, but they would not listen. Too busy stinging me.
Ya!! What is it with them ornery S.O.B.s? Usually you gotta rile them to get a stinging but lately they just fly on over and sting me for poops and giggles...
Which one of you guys swapped my nice laid-back wasps for your mean s.o.b.s?
She just kept drilling.
grouch 0, wasps 2
[edited to correct the score. Miscounted due to haste before.]
I.f.a.k. in the truck. One hand tourniquet with my wedges. Also augmented kit with a road flare, seatbelt cutter. I cut in a very rural area,helicopter's are pretty common way of getting to the hospital, figured the flare might help bring in the chopper.
I
If you are that remote, consider an EPRB. Set it off and it reports your GPS position to a satellite, and gives the rescue chopper your location to within a few feet.
And yes, where I live there are places that are 2 hours by road to a hospital, ONCE the ambulance gets there. If an EPRB goes off out in the hills, they just send the chopper as first response.