Garage safety

mde8965 said:
Lots of great tips here. One that I learned the hard way 6 months ago.

Have your cell phone on you (not just in the room) when working alone. It’s hot in Florida and I have window AC in my garage so was working in there with the doors shut. Got up on a ladder to put my soft top hardware on a high shelf. Hit the big canopy bracket on the shelf on the way in, it knocked me off balance and I fell. Broke my leg real bad. Phone was on my workbench 15ft away. So I had no choice but to lay there and scream my head off. Luckily one of the neighbors was replacing his fence. Heard me and came over and called 911 for me. The missus tells me I need to buy Life Alert. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”.

Never ever get under a vehicle without chocking the wheels and having enough jack stands to support. I do this and also leave the floor jack under there too supporting the vehicle. Figuring if somehow the vehicle fell off the jack stands the jack would catch part of it, hopefully enough of it so I would survive.
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Wow. Your lucky you didn’t hit your head! Glad you were ok. We purchased a second google mini. It’s connected to the house mini in the living room as well as makes calls for you with voice prompts. That might be a more ego saving option for you versus the life alert. You just say hey google call or broadcast, and it will call the person over the speaker and you can talk through that, or it will automatically broadcast your voice to the in home mini. Pretty slick!
 
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tworley said:
Great topic. I am still trying to make my garage work as a working area as well as park a vehicle in it (27'x10). I have always stressed personal protection equipment. Safety glasses(!), appropriate gloves, steel toed boots, long sleeve and pants. Also good house keeping--Keep everything organized and alleviate any tripping hazards (power cords, blocks of wood, etc..). Sometimes when I am working on a project I stop for about 5 min and pick up my work area because it does tend to accumulate various tools, and bits and pieces of whatever I am working on.



I plan to paint mine this summer. I have one single LED bulb in there that I am hoping to convert to an 8' LED strip as well as paint the walls white. Right now they are just bare sheetrock and tape.

I threw this up to keep the rif raf away:
View attachment 74080
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Oh boy. I would be permanently banned from your shop.! I understand your rules but when I get a text to come out at 11:30 at night to help with something and have been sleeping since 9, slippers and the nearest jacket is what’s being worn.
 
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Kathy said:
Yes his has locks. We just stop raising it after we hear the clunk . To lower, there’s a lever you have to pull down to disengage it, and then at the same time pull down the handle to lower the vehicle. So I’m glad to hear leacingnthe vehicle lifted for days won’t wear out the lift or compromise the hydraulics or anything. When I don’t understand how things work, everything is a question! But I’m learning . Thanks :tongue:
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Correctly, you are supposed to raise the lift, and then lower it onto the locks so the locks are holding the weight and not the lifting mechanism. Identical to raising something with a floor jack, putting the jack stands in place and then lowering the rig to the jack stands. Locks and jack stands have the same purpose. They hold the rig at the desired height without subjecting the lift mechanism to the load being lifted once the lifting is done.
 
glwood said:
What is a 'man door'?
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A single door that a "man" or any one would enter through vs. an overhead, bay, etc. door that vehicle or other things would enter through. It's not a term you would use for a house but it's commonly used for industrial, commercial, etc. buildings (... around here any way).
 
mrblaine said:
Correctly, you are supposed to raise the lift, and then lower it onto the locks so the locks are holding the weight and not the lifting mechanism. Identical to raising something with a floor jack, putting the jack stands in place and then lowering the rig to the jack stands. Locks and jack stands have the same purpose. They hold the rig at the desired height without subjecting the lift mechanism to the load being lifted once the lifting is done.
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I think I see now. So after that last clunk. Without disengaging the lock, lower the lift down until it stops( which should be quickly as it’s only lowering to the last clunk/ safety clunk?
 
mrblaine said:
Man size door in a large vehicle door or normal door on the side of a shop or garage. Looks like a normal door to a residence.
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One of my brothers hooked a red warning light up to his man door. It's on a wall that he would see when his back is to the man door. When someone enters it flashes for few seconds. His wife barged in one time when he was working and he was so pissed off that he faked a heart attack. He decided after that to install the light.
 
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Kathy said:
I’m assuming you don’t have them enter until you say it’s ok in case you are welding ? Or we have a window on our door, but Dave has welded with me in the garage, I just don’t look. I tell him he needs to keep the dog out of there when he’s welding because he doesn’t know not to look.
I’ve taken fire safety courses years ago when I was running group homes so have a general idea of how an extinguisher operates and discharges. But we need to get some in there ASAP and in a good accessible location.
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Welding hasn't been a problem. They usually knock and crack the door open. They'll come back if they see "bright lights". I'm more concerned about when I'm using saws, grinders, the drill press, etc.
 
PCO6 said:
Welding hasn't been a problem. They usually knock and crack the door open. They'll come back if they see "bright lights". I'm more concerned about when I'm using saws, grinders, the drill press, etc.
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So I’m still confused. So not to startle you? So when your wife is hand stitching your pants at home, or taking food out of the oven, or chopping food up for dinner, are you knocking on the door or ringing the bell to the house ? Am I missing something here?
 
Kathy said:
So I’m still confused. So not to startle you? So when your wife is hand stitching your pants at home, or taking food out of the oven, or chopping food up for dinner, are you knocking on the door or ringing the bell to the house ? Am I missing something here?
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Whether it's in the garage, kitchen, yard, etc. we do our best to not startle each other when working with sharp, hot, etc. items and to generally make our presence known.
 
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I guess at the end of the day work within your comfort zone. If your not comfortable, stop re-evaluate until you are is about the best I can recommend. I’m sure most of us on here stick our necks out enough at work (I know I do at least) the last thing I want to see is myself or someone else get hurt enjoying there hobby.

An old GF (General Foreman) I had would end every safety meeting with “Use crosswalks” so I’ll end with that!
 
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mrblaine said:
A tip for anyone who does not have stacking/wall bins and is looking to get some. Given a choice, get the yellow or translucent white ones. They are so much easier to see parts in. I don't like looking for something in the dark and it is much easier to see what is in the bins when they are light colored. Also given a choice, paint the entire inside of the garage or shop in gloss white. The gloss slows down how much dirt sticks, and the white really makes the shop easier to work in.
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Mine were FREE, so beggers cant be choosers...they threw out about 3000 bins when we moved buildings, I only got about 1200, and they cost new about $3-6 each...the wall plates came out of the scrap bin too. Those are about $45 each...I just put up 1" plywood to hold them.
 
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PCO6 said:
we do our best to not startle each other when working with sharp, hot, etc.
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I suppose that depends on how much you like to giggle. I enjoy it a fair bit and one day my helper was holding a piece for me to Tig weld. I've explained many times that the table is grounded, make sure you are not in the path between the piece and the ground surface. Apparently my cautions to always wear welding gloves didn't sink in either. He managed to get the piece up off the table while leaning against the table with bare hands on bare handle pliers. I struck the arc, it made the chatter noise like it does when it doesn't have a good circuit and I got to listen to him scream like a little girl while dancing around like his hair was on fire. I still giggle thinking about it.
 
mrblaine said:
...scream like a little girl while dancing around like his hair was on fire. I still giggle thinking about it.
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Ouch! ... kind of funny though. :firedevil:

I like to weld with an O/A torch & steel rod. I learned long ago to double bend one end of the rod basically so it sits "up" from the table. Not only does it make it easier to pick up with your welding gloves on you know that that is the COLD end. That's a trick I learned that the hard way.
 
Kathy said:
Oh yes, I sure do remember. We keep our beards trimmed over here ;). But my hair on my head needs to be pulled back more often. Has your beard grown back, I hope?
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For the most part. It's still a tad bit shorter in that area than the rest, but it's on the road to a full recovery. Glad to know that you both keep your beards neatly cropped! :D (*I can't believe I worded my original statement in such a way as to imply......oh, never mind!) :facepalm:
 
Squatch said:
For the most part. It's still a tad bit shorter in that area than the rest, but it's on the road to a full recovery. Glad to know that you both keep your beards neatly cropped! :D (*I can't believe I worded my original statement in such a way as to imply......oh, never mind!) :facepalm:
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Hey, some women deal with beards. I am one of the lucky ones that don’t have to. I knew what you meant:)
 
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Hello everyone, I have spent the past hour reading old threads on garage lifts without finding a great answer to what I was looking for.

I am in the midst of researching 4-post garage lifts for my home. Safety is my number one concern. Are there any lifts that are able to be locked out? I want to be sure that I am the only one who can operate the lift, and that my two children can not accidentally (or intentionally) operate it. Do any lifts have a master key switch (or similar idea)?

Also, I have read where Bend-Pak has special locks integrated into their lifts as an added measure of safety in the event of a cable break. Are there any other "above and beyond" safety features I should be looking for?

In terms of quality and reliability, is Bend-Pak generally considered the benchmark?

Just to reiterate, safety is my top priority. I need to feel 100% comfortable with whichever lift I choose to install at my home so that I can rest easy when my children are out in the garage.

Thank you in advance!
 
mrgreystone said:
Hello everyone, I have spent the past hour reading old threads on garage lifts without finding a great answer to what I was looking for.

I am in the midst of researching 4-post garage lifts for my home. Safety is my number one concern. Are there any lifts that are able to be locked out? I want to be sure that I am the only one who can operate the lift, and that my two children can not accidentally (or intentionally) operate it. Do any lifts have a master key switch (or similar idea)?

Also, I have read where Bend-Pak has special locks integrated into their lifts as an added measure of safety in the event of a cable break. Are there any other "above and beyond" safety features I should be looking for?

In terms of quality and reliability, is Bend-Pak generally considered the benchmark?

Just to reiterate, safety is my top priority. I need to feel 100% comfortable with whichever lift I choose to install at my home so that I can rest easy when my children are out in the garage.

Thank you in advance!
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My suggestion to you is visit “my garage journal”. It has everything and more to do with garage builds. You will find many threads on lifts. Best of luck.
 
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opinions on 4 posts will be all over the place. I sold my 2 post lift yrs ago for the convienence of the 4 post. I do this for fun not business so storage is most important to me and the 4 post is much easier. I have had a direct lift 7000 lbs for about 15 yrs now. my wife and daughter helped me assemble it. as far as safety the controls are about 5 ft off the ground and it just plugs into a 110 outlet. biggest things on it have been a 2008 expedition and my 59 chevy wagon. I also have the caster set and moved it once with a car on it. it is not bolted to the floor
 
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