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