shop safety

A thread posted in off topic got me to thinking about shop safety. How about we add our safety tips. Ill start.

With the proliferation of inexpensive lifts this may apply to we Grassroots types. A friend of mine was permanently disabled from head trauma when the car he had on single post hydraulic lift broke in half and landed on him.

What happened was he was changing the oil on a customer’s car and when he put a wrench on the oil drain plug and pulled. The front of the car broke loose just in front of the firewall. The front clip swung down and caught his head between the oil pan and the post.

This was a salvage title car that had been made from two cars poorly welded together. It was done by another shop, had the title washed thru several states then sold to the customer as good. Yes jail time was served over that one.

Lessons learned- Learn to weld, shake the hell out of the car before you get under it.

Yikes. Very sorry to hear about your friend. That sounds like an awful freak accident.

I don't have a lift but whenever my car is going up on jack stands i put blocks under the car just in case. There really can't be enough said for giving your car a really good shake before going under it, and building in as much redundancy as possible with what will be keeping the car from coming down on you.

Always have one more level of safety than you think you need.

Same here. Whenever I'm under a car, the car is supported by stands, the wheels are stacked as a backup as close to where I'm working as possible, and I shake it mercilessly before I get under.

I also never work under a car when nobody else is home.

Dust masks are uncomfortable and hot in the summertime when you are sand blasting or using volitile chemicals. But the oxygen tank you will carry around when your lungs are failing is even more so.

Keep your cell phone in your pocket when you have to work alone.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Keep your cell phone in your pocket when you have to work alone.

A subtle suggestion, but a VERY good one. I no longer use concrete blocks to support the car; 8x8 wooden blocks are the way to go.

No one has mentioned it yet and it seems obvious ... Eye protection at all times . . . Get a good pair they don't cost much and are comfortable enough to accidentally wear to the parts store.

Jeff

edited for spelling

littleturquoiseb wrote: No one has mentioned it yet and it seems obvious ... Eye portection at all times . . . Get a good pair they don't cost much and are comfortable enough to accidentally wear to the parts store. Jeff edited for spelling</blockquote Chicks may dig eye patches, but is she the kind you take home to mother? An eye patch will also interfere with your depth perception while driving on course.