Wood Shop Fire Prevention

Wood Shop Fire Preventioncombustion caused by rags soaked with turpentine or
By Lee Bowmanother flammable solvents. Always put them in a tightly
Fire prevention is cheap compared to the cost of yourclosed container.
equipment.Remember to post a couple of no smoking signs
The best fire prevention is a clean shop and goodaround the shop to remind friends who stop by not to
wiring.smoke in the shop. A hot ash in the saw dust could
Sawdust flies through the air then settles down in hardmean new equipment and maybe new friends.
to find places that do not get cleaned up and createsWith a nice clean shop, and everything in good working
a fire hazard. Your first investment should be a dustcondition, there still is a chance of a potential fire. To
collection system connected to your table saw, mitermake sure no fire that might get started gets out of
saw, and anything else that creates sawdust. The dustcontrol you need the right fire extinguishers on hand. If
collection system should be grounded with a copperyou do not have fire extinguishers, you should invest in
wire running through the inside of the plastic tube tothem as soon as possible. The best fire extinguishers
your saw. Sawdust traveling through the tube causesfor a wood shop are ones with a rating of 2A10B-C.
static electricity, which can start a fire in the tube.Depending on the size of you shop, you should have
Other ways that fires start in wood shops are usuallyan extinguisher every 25 feet of walking space. They
caused by sparks and bad wiring. If the motor on yourshould be mounted near doors in your shop. Keep all
table saw shorts out, for example, and throws a fewthe extinguishers charged and up to date. Dead
sparks that land in sawdust, you have a fire starter.extinguishers are as good as not having any
Same is true for bad wiring in the shop.extinguishers at all.
A hazard that people often overlook is spontaneous