Fire!

[woodchip]

Half was through ripping 100m of tulipwood for my french doors when the crappy tablesaw (rexon 10 inch 18 months old) caught fire! The fire didn't last long, but now the saw is obviously kaput.

Anyone thinking of selling a table saw?

 

[mailee]

Hmm, time to upgrade I think. :roll:

 

[Chems]

Look for a 10inch SIP second hand on ebay, if you can pick it up you can get them for around £300

 

[mailee]

I would second Chems suggestion, I have the 12" model and it is a great saw, wonder how I ever did without one. :wink:

 

[Chems]

I'd say it would be worth hiring a can and taking a bit of trip as its a serious saving. And something like a table saw is going to be a good second hand machine to buy.

 

[Digit]

The SIP 10 inch may not be the world's best TS, but with a bit of effort it can come a close second. I'm currently having the L/H wing pf mine machined to attach my router.
Pics to follow as and when.

Roy.

 

[joiner_sim]

On this subject, how many people have a fire extinguisher in there shop? I don't have one. And at the same time, I don't think my shop would be worth saving, it would give me an excuse for a bigger one!!! But.... what would you guys recommend as an all rounder extinguisher, if i did go and buy one?

 

[Digit]

I do. My shop and house are all timber so I have smoke alarms and extinguishers strategically placed, plus hoses and water points as well.

Roy.

 

[Ironballs]

I have a small powder extinguisher dating back to when I used to have an old Landie, I think it's well past it's check/charge up date so perhaps should be replaced.

I try to keep on top of the shavings and dust to minimise the potential hazards

 

[joiner_sim]

I have a small powder extinguisher dating back to when I used to have an old Landie, I think it's well past it's check/charge up date so perhaps should be replaced.

I try to keep on top of the shavings and dust to minimise the potential hazards

Well thats one good thing about myvery small shop, I have to clean up after a work session, so dust and shavings left lying around are minimal.

 

[Shrubby]

Sim
Dry powder and CO2 type for a workshop. Aldi and lidl often have these.If you have a seperate timber store maybe a water type - not so great around electrical equipment !
Matt

 

[Chems]

We had this discussion just a little while back, myself and shadowfax both serving (me) and retired firefighters gave the same advice just to keep a little water extinguisher and CO2 for the power tools about, but that if it really goes just get out and either let it burn or wait for the boys to turn up. No amount of power tools or houses are worth getting burnt alive for.

 

[OPJ]

On this subject, how many people have a fire extinguisher in there shop?

Every time I go to a woodworking show (particular Yandles), one of the first stands I notice is selling small fire extinguishers, only about £15... At that price, I know I really should buy one but, I always seem to end up spending my money on other things... :roll: :wink:

 

[big soft moose]

We had this discussion just a little while back, myself and shadowfax both serving (me) and retired firefighters gave the same advice just to keep a little water extinguisher and CO2 for the power tools about, but that if it really goes just get out and either let it burn or wait for the boys to turn up. No amount of power tools or houses are worth getting burnt alive for.

I'd definitely second that (for my sins I'm a designated fire officer) though I would tend to suggest dry powder rather than water.

If you keep a water one in the shop it is too easy to grab the wrong one in the heat of the moment (especially now they are all red - stupid change that imo) and wind up spraying water on an electrical fire.

I'd also suggest doing a fire awarenesss course (either through work if appropriate or via your local fire service) which will make sure you can use the extinguisher effectively , and know when you can't cope and its time to vacate

 

[big soft moose]

On this subject, how many people have a fire extinguisher in there shop?

Every time I go to a woodworking show (particular Yandles), one of the first stands I notice is selling small fire extinguishers, only about £15... At that price, I know I really should buy one but, I always seem to end up spending my money on other things... :roll: :wink:

you can get them from screwfix - order one now while your at the computer and online - fire accepts no excuses (and nor does swimbo when you've torched half the house )

 

[Chems]

I'd definitely second that (for my sins I'm a designated fire officer) though I would tend to suggest dry powder rather than water.

If you keep a water one in the shop it is too easy to grab the wrong one in the heat of the moment (especially now they are all red - stupid change that imo) and wind up spraying water on an electrical fire.

I'd also suggest doing a fire awarenesss course (either through work if appropriate or via your local fire service) which will make sure you can use the extinguisher effectively , and know when you can't cope and its time to vacate

I'd have to say listen to this guy over me, we don't use extinguishers much so I don't know much about them, we have a big red truck full of toys and the largest power tools you'll ever see to do the job.

I think there are probably a bunch of videos on the net that show you how to use a fire extinguisher. Aim for the base of the fire not the flames is the main point. (which funnily enough is the opposite of what we are taught to do)

 

[big soft moose]

... and assuming its safe to do so if you are fighting an electrical fire turn the power off first (scream at swimbo to pull the breakers if you cant get to the plug safely)

an awful lot of the fires you encounter in the workshop (such as burnt out/jammed motors etc) go out of their own accord once the power is off and just need a bit of cooling down to make sure.

and finally of course minimise the risk by clearing up all that lovely sawchip, dust, woodshavings, cloths soaked in thinners etc on a regular basis rather than leaving it to build up into snow drift like proportions

 

[Digit]

How true BSM. I remember a works manager trying to tear a water extinguisher out of my hands a 'cos it was an 'electrical fire.'
I finally managed to make him understand that I had operated the breakers and it was the insulation that was burning.
Another WM insisted on fighting a blaze of plastic with a powder extinguisher and I'm trying to tell him he will have to use water to cool it.
The powder put it out instantaneously, as he grinned at me the fumes re-ignited. Three time he tried before he gave in.
Personally I've not met a motor fire that didn't stop once the power was off if it hadn't already spread.

Roy.

 

[Shadowfax]

Almost any extinguisher will do the job. The right one will do the job much better though!
We advocate water because of the cooling effect that none of the other types has. Don't worry too much about the so called "electrical fire" - just turn off the power and deal with what is alight (if it still is).
Digit is right in this respect but if you want to worry about residual current, held in a capacitor for example, than co2 might be better for you.
Dry powder is not too much use unless you can get it all round the fire and it cools not one bit! Neither does co2.
I still say a water extinguisher is the best thing for a woodworking shop.

Believe me, I have used them all and sometimes on the wrong things just to see what happened. Water is the most versatile, by far.
That is why Chems' big red truck carries about 1800 litres of the stuff at all times.
Cheers,

SF

 

[big soft moose]

Almost any extinguisher will do the job. The right one will do the job much better though!
We advocate water because of the cooling effect that none of the other types has. Don't worry too much about the so called "electrical fire" - just turn off the power and deal with what is alight (if it still is).
Digit is right in this respect but if you want to worry about residual current, held in a capacitor for example, than co2 might be better for you.
Dry powder is not too much use unless you can get it all round the fire and it cools not one bit! Neither does co2.
I still say a water extinguisher is the best thing for a woodworking shop.

Believe me, I have used them all and sometimes on the wrong things just to see what happened. Water is the most versatile, by far.
That is why Chems' big red truck carries about 1800 litres of the stuff at all times.
Cheers,

SF

Far be it from me to argue with a fireman but surely CO2 does have a cooling effect , the gas is flipping freezing - A bloke i used to work with set fire to his crotch once (as you do) , he was smoking while filling a chainsaw with petrol (great idea ... not) and we extinguished it with a CO2 extinguisher and he suffered only slight burns from the fire but had "cold" burns from the CO2

i still say water is not a good idea in the workshop for two reasons

a) If you panic and spray it on a machine while the current is still live you can get a nasty (or fatal) shock particularly if the machine in question is 3 phase. note not just the machine that is on fire bt any live circuit in the vicinity

b) the workshop is also home to a variety of solvents , thinners, sanding sealer , possibly two stroke etc if any of these are on fire the water will just spread them arround. ( I believe even fire fighters use foam on spirit or solvent fires)

Therefore IMO in the work place you should have a range of clearly marked extinguishers for different uses , but in the home workshop if you are going to just have one the best all rounder is the dry powder. Followed by the CO2.