Running with sharp objects: Cutting, sawing, and drilling
As you work with electronics projects, you will find
yourself spending a certain amount of time doing construction tasks: building
enclosures of various shapes and sizes, cutting holes for switches, drilling a
board to attach wheels, and so on. These tasks involve using tools such as
knives, saws, and drills.
Anything that cuts can cut you, too. Here are a few tips
for safe cutting:
Take a
moment before you cut.
Know where you want to cut, what the best tool for the cut is, and how best to hold onto the
thing you’re cutting to avoid cutting your fingers. (Clamps or a vise are
useful for securing whatever you are cutting.)
Get
experience.
If you’re
new to sawing and drilling, get an experienced hand to fill you in or take a shop class.
If you
don’t know how to run power equipment, don’t use it.
A small, unpowered hand tool can often perform the job without as
much potential danger to you if something goes wrong.
Keep
distractions to a minimum.
If you’re likely to have a visitor
wander in while you’re running a power saw, put a Do Not
Disturb sign on the door. That momentary distraction could cause an
accident.
Don’t
hurry. When you’re
rushed, you make mistakes and accidents happen.
Never
force things.
If the
drill is meeting resistance or the saw isn’t biting into the material, stop and check out the
situation. Forcing a tool at these times can cause it to kick back on you or
worse.
Wear
leather work gloves to avoid cutting your hands
when handling materials with sharp edges or a rough surface that could
have splinters.
Watch
what you wear.
Always
wear safety glasses when cutting with any tool to avoid flying bits landing in your eyes. If a
power tool is noisy, protect your ears with ear muffs or ear plugs.
Your
safety rules apply to anyone in your work area.
A flying object could hit a friend in the eye several feet away, and a
noisy tool could damage his hearing.
Keep a
first aid kit handy, just in case.
Taking a first aid class would also be a good thing. Have a
phone handy for emergencies.
Follow
directions!
Power tools
often have safety devices and usually come with instructions for their use. Always engage the
safety devices and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for safe
use of the tool.
In the hopes that you’ll rush right over to the tool
aisle and buy a lot of tools, many home improvement stores offer free classes on using
power tools and other procedures that might help you get started.
A Safe Workspace Is a Happy Workspace
The environment that you work in can be as important to
electronic project safety as how you deal with electricity or sharp tools.
Paying attention to details, such as the kind of clothing you wear — as well
as how neat and tidy you keep your work space — pays off by reducing mistakes
and accidents.
Dressing for safety
We put things you wear around your workshop into two
categories: the clothing you come in with and the safety devices you should put
on as you work.
The clothes make the man (or woman) safe
Here are two important considerations for safety in the
clothing that you put on before going into your workshop. We touch on each of
these elsewhere in the chapter, but they bear repeating:
Don’t
wear loose-fitting clothing.
Loose-fitting clothing and items
like scarves or ties can get caught on tools or other items.
This could cause you to get a burn, have a fall, or knock a sharp object
off your workbench.
Wear comfortable clothing — just not clothing that flaps
around. In fact, humor us and tuck in that shirttail right now,
okay?
Wear the
right fabric.
Fabrics
made of cotton don’t hold static charges as easily as man-made fibers do. Static discharge can
zap electronic components into oblivion. Leave the polyester leisure
suit in your closet, and opt for the cotton jeans and shirt instead.
Arming yourself for safety
You should put on certain safety devices — such as ear
protection, safety glasses, and leather work gloves — depending on the kind
of work you’re doing. Ear protection makes sense if you’re working with loud
noises, such as when
running a very loud power tool. With small electronics
projects, like the ones in this book, you probably won’t use a very loud piece
of equipment. But if you graduate to working on life-size robots, consider
your hearing when working with power tools. You can purchase ear muffs, like the
ones shown in
As Mom used to say, when they were handing out eyes, you
get only two, so take care of them. Safety glasses, like those shown in
Figure 2-4, are practically a religion with us. In fact, we’d almost go
so far as to say when you enter your
workspace, put on safety glasses. That could be going
too far, but there are many, many instances when you should wear them:
when cutting anything, soldering, clipping wires, and so on. Consider
whether safety glasses wouldn’t be a good idea before you do any
procedure.
Don’t delude yourself that regular prescription glasses
will protect you. They arent necessarily made of shatterproof material.
Too, they have no protection along the sides.
Direct things that you’re
cutting down — toward your workbench — instead of up toward your face.
As long as you can make the cut without looking, this can guarantee that
flying pieces go away from you and not toward you. If you’re working a
lot with something that generates fumes (anything from paint to solder),
consider taking a cue from Zorro and wearing a mask called a
respirator
(but
wear yours over your mouth and nose) that can be found at any hardware
store. Respirators are rated for different types of protection, so make
sure you get the appropriate one. For example, one type might keep small
particles like sawdust out of your mouth, and another might be designed
to keep fumes at bay.
Clean up your stuff!
Keeping your workspace neat, including minimizing
strung-out cords that could trip you up, is important in preventing
accidents. A cluttered work surface makes it hard to see what you’re
reaching for. You might reach over to grab a plastic box, only to come
up with a mini hacksaw in your palm (ouch!). Pick up small pieces of cut
wire or loose screws and nails. Not only could you step on one and cut
yourself if you decide to work barefoot someday (not something we
recommend), but a pet or child could pick up such small items and decide
they would be tasty.
Keeping kids and pets out of your space
Besides keeping your space neat, you should also keep
your space off-limits to the smaller members of your household: namely,
kids and pets. Even if you put away all sharp tools religiously and make
sure that any power source is disconnected from breadboards, small hands
(or paws) are made for mischief.
If you can, lock your workspace when you’re not in
it. If you can’t (maybe because your workspace is a corner of your den),
lock up your electronic project tools, components, and works in progress
in a box or cabinet.
Electronics and alcohol don’t mix
Okay, this probably goes without saying, but don’t
work around electronics if you’ve had a drink (or two or three). Alcohol
slows your brain and has an impact on your judgment. Bad judgment around
electricity or sharp power tools could be fatal. ’Nuff said?