It’s amazing to me how insidiously dangerous our hangars and shops can be at times. We are certainly always on high alert around running engines and spinning propellers, having their dangers ingrained into us from our very first preflight. The reality for those of us who build our own airplanes is that we are around many more dangerous items/tools in the shop/hangar on a much more regular basis. If we don’t pay attention, or let our guard down for even a moment, the consequences can be immediate, even grounding, or in some cases the longer-term effects can sneak up on us. Unfortunately, as I’ve aged I have realized that being safer is more urgent than ever, and I know that some of my own lack of safety has probably adversely affected my health, to say nothing of the scars I’ve attained.
Rotating tools are the largest contributor to accidents. Things like drills, drill presses, and grinders can cause serious injuries to both the hands and eyes faster than you can blink. A good practice is to ensure the part is clamped in place prior to the operation, such as when drilling holes in metal using a hole saw. When/if the hole saw grabs the piece, it can spin the part so fast that it is impossible to move out of the way in time, potentially causing severe lacerations or even worse.
Band saws and table saws are a primary cause of losing fingers in the shop. It is so easy to get focused on guiding the piece and making a straight cut that you forget about the finger you are using to push the part into the saw blade. This might sound funny to some, but whenever I am using the band saw, I quietly say to myself “clear,” just like when starting an aircraft engine. A good practice is to use a piece of wood to push the piece into the blade.
There are some more subtle ways we can hurt ourselves in the shop, and most of them aren’t as dramatic or as instantaneous. For those of you who build or restore airplanes, take the time to inventory all the various chemicals, solvents, cleaners, paints, etc., that you have in the shop. If you really want to scare yourself, read the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) associated with each of them. For example, look at the SDS for MEK, which is a solvent commonly used in the covering/painting of fabric-covered airplanes. This is one nasty solvent that attacks your liver and kidneys and says so on the data sheet! The use of a charcoal filter mask when using MEK is an absolute must.
Unfortunately, many of the primers and paints we use on aircraft are just as deadly as MEK. In my earlier years, like so many young people, I felt young and invincible and didn’t necessarily use a mask every time I primed or painted a part. For the last 20 years or so, I make sure to wear a full hazmat suit and a mask with a pressurized source of fresh air for breathing. Yes, it’s a little cumbersome, but well worth it. After all, the skin is really the largest organ in the human body, and those vapors and solvents are readily absorbed through the skin. I no longer grab a rag doused in MEK to clean the paint off of my skin!
Like many of us who have spent too much time around loud noises, especially on the flight line in the military, I have tinnitus in my ears. It’s annoying at times, and it seems as though loud noises irritate it even further. So, I have been very religious in using ear protection for the last few years. For some stuff, the need for hearing protection was obvious, such as when using pneumatic rivet guns and bucking rivets. Other times, it is not so obvious, such as when sanding or grinding using electric orbiting or oscillating tools. It doesn’t seem so loud at first, but lately I’ve been sanding a lot of parts on the RV-10 in preparation for paint, so some days I’ve had the sander going for six to eight hours straight. The noise got so bad that I even doubled up on the hearing protection, using a pair of in-the-ear silicone inserts as well as a pair of general-purpose over-the-ear earmuffs. That seems to help. The downside is that I don’t hear anything else either, like my phone ringing, text pings, or Carol speaking to me. I thought about using my Bose headsets, but came to my senses first.
In the category of not-too-late to learn from others, Carol casually mentioned that she was ordering a new set of headphones to use when she is mowing the lawn. Yep, I’m lucky—she mows the lawn and I get to spend more time building airplanes! She has lost some hearing at her age as well, most likely from a combination of working in a noisy medical lab as well as bucking rivets for me. She likes to listen to a recorded book while she is mowing, and now that she wears hearing aids the current ANC headset was no longer functional for that purpose. I didn’t think anything of it until we were eating lunch and she was unboxing the new PROHEAR headset she found on Amazon. I happened to glance at the side of the box and saw the specs, with one really jumping out at me—25 dB of noise protection! Wow.
I don’t remember if I took them when she wasn’t looking or she said I should try them, but boy was I impressed. Not only was the noise from the sander almost completely gone, I paired them with my phone and can now listen to music and not miss any phone calls or texts. I really enjoy listening to music, and the sound fidelity of the music was fantastic. It might be due to the new 6.0 Bluetooth technology. Did I tell you I hate all this sanding? But now it has become a little bit enjoyable. Not enough that I want to create more sanding opportunities, but at least I don’t dread it anymore.
I never thought being safe could increase the fun factor!
Great work Vic. Wiping with MEK reminds me of my Dad. He did it. I don’t have any in my shop.
All of my drill presses and band saws are operated via foot switches. They are a requirement in some countries for good reason. They are readily available at Mc Master Carr for example.
As a homebuilder and an occupational safety and health professional, I very much appreciate your thoughtful article on workshop safety. MEK (and many other solvents, including acetone and lacquer thinner) – in addition to the systemic toxicity you described – are also highly flammable and, under the right conditions, explosive. So, while breathing the vapors of these solvents puts internal organs at risk of harm we also should remember to control airborne levels (by using them conservatively and by having effective ventilation) in order to prevent a fire catastrophe.