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I almost blew myself up!!! Explosion in the garage...

Well, it was actually not that close to an explosion, but it could have been.

I think I knew this already, but had forgotten how much static electricity a belt sander can generate, especially during the winter dry season. The sanding belts can create quite a bit of static, especially when the grit on the sandpaper has worn down.

I have one similar to this one, but with the 5 inch disc sander on the side.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-x-30-inch-belt-sander-2485.html...

I had just been wiping something down with a rag and some lacquer thinner, and I tossed the rag on the workbench that my sander was sitting on. I went to smooth up a piece of red oak, and when I touched the metal casing to turn it off, there evidently was just enough spark from my finger to ignite the small amount of fumes caused by the solvent rag. It went "whoosh" and I saw a flash of flames. It went out immediately, but had there been a container of solvent nearby, the outcome could have been much worse.

So the moral is, you gotta be careful using flammable stuff in your shop. An ignition source can come from the most unlikely places!

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Permalink Reply by Moon on January 8, 2012 at 10:15am

Wow, A change your drawers kind of thing!Glad thats all it was.

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Permalink Reply by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on January 8, 2012 at 11:42am

Dan. You always where a bright spark, but that is taking it a bit too far.

One solution is to live on a relatively small island surrounded by sea (which is, after all, pretty much the definition of an island). We don't have dry seasons. Only wet ones and really wet ones. The only consolation is that it is (much) worse in Wales.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 8, 2012 at 12:24pm

So I am guessing that static is not so much an issue in your neck of the woods...

Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw said:

Dan. You always where a bright spark, but that is taking it a bit too far.

One solution is to live on a relatively small island surrounded by sea (which is, after all, pretty much the definition of an island). We don't have dry seasons. Only wet ones and really wet ones. The only consolation is that it is (much) worse in Wales.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on January 8, 2012 at 12:30pm

By contrast, it's so dry where I live, that there's not usually enough moisture in the air to transmit a spark.

Some people give that as the reason why this place occasionally seems like it's still in the Dark Ages.

>-:E

OK, I meant that as a bad joke; in reality, I'm about 6 km from the coast, and for at least 5 months of the year, it can be really humid. And hot. I actually have shocked myself once in similar fashion, and the culprit was also a belt sander. Fortunately, there were no solvent soaked rags around. Just glad you're OK, Dan.

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Permalink Reply by mark "mudcat" quigley on January 8, 2012 at 2:41pm

dan "sparky"? sleep

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Permalink Reply by HOGS GRUNT on January 8, 2012 at 10:48pm

Tell me about it, I live in N Wales, never stops blowing gales or raining.

Hogs.

Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw said:

Dan. You always where a bright spark, but that is taking it a bit too far.

One solution is to live on a relatively small island surrounded by sea (which is, after all, pretty much the definition of an island). We don't have dry seasons. Only wet ones and really wet ones. The only consolation is that it is (much) worse in Wales.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on January 9, 2012 at 6:08am

Safety with solvents - especially lacquer:

If spraying indoors you should have a spray booth with explosion proof lights and explosion proof fan, a filter wall and it exhausts to the outside. You should always use a charcoal spray mask and gloves when handling lacquer/lacquer thinnner.

Anything you breathe or touch gets absorbed into your body. It's bad stuff - can cause cancer, chemical sensitivities if you have the wrong genetics like me, and so on.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on January 9, 2012 at 7:35am

Which is exactly why I spray my stuff outside, and never in the garage. I think this points out how little fumes are needed to generate a quick little flash. I had used a very small amount of thinner on the rag, but that was all it took.

Skeesix said:

Safety with solvents - especially lacquer:

If spraying indoors you should have a spray booth with explosion proof lights and explosion proof fan, a filter wall and it exhausts to the outside. You should always use a charcoal spray mask and gloves when handling lacquer/lacquer thinnner.

Anything you breathe or touch gets absorbed into your body. It's bad stuff - can cause cancer, chemical sensitivities if you have the wrong genetics like me, and so on.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on January 9, 2012 at 2:39pm

In junior high shop class it was a great trick to load yourself up with excess electrons on the sanders or buffer then find a victim who wasn't paying attention. You could let loose those electrons on the back of their neck. Reportedly.

Anyway, glad yours was just a little excitement and not a disaster.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on January 9, 2012 at 6:32pm

Two separate problems combined into one big potential disaster there Dan.

In addition to the solvent cautions above, (below?) always beware of solvent soaked rags. They can spontaniously ignite even without the static spark discharge! And the static produced by the sander is a warning, beware also of dust collection systems, and static build up, and always remember that in the right conditions, airborn wood dust can also be a serious combustion hazard!

It never ceases to amaze me how the seemingly unlikely can so frequently occur!

Now, want to know about gasoline spray while changing a fuel filter does when it hits a hot incandescent drop light? How about what happens while using acetylene torch to heat something too near a 30 gallon waste oil drain full of Brake-clean fumes?........ Ever drain all the oil out of a race car and attempt to braze some small holes scraped into the bottom of the oil pan and blow the valve covers clean off from the fumes igniting? Wait, I have more...... NOT good days.

Consider yourself lucky, and warned by the cosmos.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on January 9, 2012 at 10:22pm

Lets not forget about the fumes ! They can be pretty nasty. After reading the posts here, makes me feel even better for ordering my new North dual filter face mask to be used when spraying and sanding :)

Be SAFE guys.

We need your continued pics posted to help inspire!!!