lone woodworkers, safety precautions...

[dickm]

.... and I'm guessing SWMBO might hear if I was able to bellow/scream.

Umm....don't bank on it.

You are right, of course. But SWMBO reckons that she can tell from the tone of my voice when I ask "could you just help for a minute?" whether it is first aid or just general help that is needed

 

[Lons]

The subject is very interesting and has made me wonder if I can set up a system of sorts in my workshop.

I recon that I can wire in a small 12 volt internal alarm sounder into a box on the outside it will wake up the whole street if activated. I can use a transformer for power and install a wiring circuit with make / break switches or panic buttons at strategic points around the workshop so triggering any of them will set off the alarm. could even be reached with a length of wood / whatever if out of reach (assuming still conscious). I've got the stuff already so would cost nowt to try Might even have an old alarm panel salted away - that would work.

Then just got to inform family and neighbours that it's an emergency situation if they hear it.

*** And then........ Just seen those wireless doorbells - maybe could be adapted :-k

*** Maybe a firework / rocket / explosive device outside - pull a string to detonate?

*** Now if only I could use the dormant part of my brain to send a message telepathically :-k

=; ](*,) MY HEAD HURTS :?

Bob

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

*** Maybe a firework / rocket / explosive device outside - pull a string to detonate?

...now we're cooking with gas! _Dan.

 

[RogerS]

Seems to me that the main alarm bit and raising help is the easy bit. It's how to detect that you are OK and without generating false alarms or needing you to constantly reset things - now that's the tricky bit.

Mmm...get some motion sensors...ideally low-voltage ones like those from Voltek that can be ganged together. Arrange to give coverage over the whole workshop. Typically for me, at any rate, it's a constant movement between SCMS, planer/thicknesser, table saw, spindle moulder, bench, wood stock etc. and so these will constantly be generating a signal.

Then have a countdown timer....which is reset back to the start of its countdown by this signal from the sensors created by your movement. If the timer reaches zero then it kicks off a second shorter timer with an audio alert (in case you have got so engrossed sharpening all those chisels at your workbench that you've been static for a long time). So you can reset everything before the main alarm kicks in if you are OK.

PATENT APPLIED FOR !

 

[big soft moose]

It doesn't take that long to die from exsanguination - especially if you've cut an artery...and maybe are unconscious. But I guess that in that circumstance, it's farewell.

definitely worth keeping a pack of haemostatic granules in the first aid kit - very good for slowing down big bleeds (tho it does presupose you are concscious), originally designed by the US military to deal with shell fragment injuries, they are now frequently found in chainsaw users grab bags - and saved the life of a freind of mine when a willow did the rocking chair thing and whacked the saw into his abdomen above the line of his protective trousers

http://www.chainsdirect.co.uk/Products/ ... nules.aspx

They ought to equally useful for injuries caused by saw blades or flying wood etc

 

[Lons]

Bloody hell Moose - all that red stuff made me feel ill :shock:

I wasn't aware such a product was available. My wife, a senior nurse hadn't heard of it either but I'm more than a little impressed and for the sake of £16+ it isn't much to possibly save your life.

My wife wondered how difficult it is to get out of the wound later #-o not something I'd be worrying about if i was still alive because of it I think!

cheers

Bob

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Cheers BSM, Celox en route. (yeah I didn't much like the video either Bob!) _Dan.

 

[RogerS]

Yebbut...does it work on arterial bleeds?

 

[big soft moose]

My wife wondered how difficult it is to get out of the wound later #-o not something I'd be worrying about if i was still alive because of it I think!

My understanding is that it bonds with the blood as it coagulates (clots in lay terms) so esentially it becomes part of the clot - so getting it out of the wound is no more difficult than removing normally clotted blood from a more minor wound site - come to that if a wound has been caused by a chainsaw bar or circular blade etc there will be all manner of other foreign bodies in the wound anyway.

and as you rightly point out if the alternative is death from exsanguination, any difficulty in cleaning the wound pales into insignificance

 

[big soft moose]

Yebbut...does it work on arterial bleeds?

in short yes.... and no

it promotes rapid clotting of blood so it will slow down any bleeding (as i said it was originally designed to deal with shrapnel injuries to infantry personel ) but the more blood is coming out then obviously the more celox you will need - with an artery it would depend on which one and where

I know from first hand experience that you can arrest bleeding from a wrist artery relatively easily - and celox would probably help in that circumstance (just to explain it wasnt my artery - when working as a ranger i came across someone who had decided our park was a good place to slash his wrists), but if you cut a femeoral artery or the aorta then you are pretty much knackered ... not least because if you are working alone you will pass out from blood loss before you have time to open the first aid kit.

 

[allenc]

My Yale building (workshop) alarm has a panic button on the fob,which is added protection.Also pmr or walky talky radio's very cheap these days.

Happy new year........

 

[spiderg]

This topic must have been written for me. Just the other day I was in my garage surveying for my new workshop, as a thought I decided to knock up a quick stand for an outboard engine I have. With no safety in mind, stuff piled everywhere, I pulled out my table saw to rip some legs, as I fed the wood into the saw I tripped over a cable and my face stopped too close for comfort, near the unguarded spinning blade. My wife wasn't at home either. Totally irresponsible! I still shudder at the thought. One hefty lesson learned, thankfully at no cost.
I've now decided to go overboard on safety. My machinery is now unplugged until I get my workshop built, and safety is number one priority from now on.

Thanks for the comments on this topic.

Gerry

 

[dickm]

Moose
That blood-coagulating stuff - does it have a shelf life? Just thinking that it's the sort of thing you'd perhaps buy, put in a (n easily accessible, of course!) cupboard and hope to forget. Then when you did need it.......... could it be ineffective 'cos it's out of date?

 

[big soft moose]

Moose
That blood-coagulating stuff - does it have a shelf life? Just thinking that it's the sort of thing you'd perhaps buy, put in a (n easily accessible, of course!) cupboard and hope to forget. Then when you did need it.......... could it be ineffective 'cos it's out of date?

I dont know off hand - i would guess the manufacturers could tell us.

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Moose
That blood-coagulating stuff - does it have a shelf life?

...shelf life is 3 year from manufacture. I've got some on the way, along with a new first aid kit, with extra eye-wash and more bandages. And some more fire-kit as well. Incidentally, where does everyone get their fire-safety kits from, I've got blankets, but need a fire extinguisher.

Cheers _Dan.

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Aldi or Lidl have fire extingushers in every now and again.

Pete

 

[9fingers]

Hi,

Aldi or Lidl have fire extingushers in every now and again.

Pete

Do check that the gauge shows full before buying - I've seen several in the rack that are half full or worse in our local store.

Bob

 

[dickm]

Current Lidl "top offers, highlights of the week" includes a "big button speaker-phone with SOS remote". Looks like what it says, with a big button remote on a lanyard. Triggering the remote dials out to a pre-chosen number. £35; could be at least a partial answer to the safety question if you have a phone line in your shop, as well as being useful for normal phoning.