casting accidcent

[Maxine]

I had on safety gear from head to ankle. Goggles and face shield, alumanized nomex hood, jacket and pants, welding gloves and leather sleeves etc. But I was wearing only tennis shoes since it was just going to be a "quick pour". Of course not a single drop of aluminum got on any of my safety gear but as you can see my foot was a different story. I'll spare you pics of my foot. The good news is that the plastic surgeons were able to save all my toes and graft skin back over both the top and bottom of my foot. The lesson I learned was no matter how little of a job you are doing take the extra couple of minutes to put on ALL of the safety gear!

 

[JorgensenSteam]

I have heard some ominous stories about casting spills.

I was using a cutting torch when I was about 16, and had on lace-up hiking boots.
A blob of molten metal went down into my shoe and lodged itself on top of my toes.

I can say from experience that you cannot unlace a boot fast enough when you have a molten blob of metal inside of it.

I had a severe burn between two toes, but I pay attention to my shoes these days.

Glad you saved your foot.
You have certainly saved other people's feet too by posting this warning.

Thanks,

Pat J

 

[Paulsv]

I have a pair of heavy chrome tanned work boots, with a slice out of the top of one boot, to remnd me of the importance of safety gear. My chain saw cut through the heavy leather, was stopped by the steel toe and snagged the top of my sock, but I didn't get a scratch. If I had Ben wearing soft shoes, I'd have cut my foot in half.

 

[Ken I]

I was flame cutting through a heavy conveyor chain and stepped onto a large blob of red hot chain link - it went straight through the soft rubber sole of my trainer and the first thing I knew was when it was burning between the balls of my feet - like Pat said - you can't get the laces off fast enough.

You get my sympathy vote.

Get well soon.

Ken

 

[Blue_Rock]

I think I'd do well for the hot foot stupidity prize. A long time ago when I was young and more stupid, I was arc welding wearing shorts and thongs (flip flops, not the underwear variety) and a bit of slag dropped from the work and lodged between my toes. Needless to say, I did my version of the hot foot dance, kicked off the thong and freed the smouldering lump trapped between my toes. I got a nasty burn and learnt my lesson... it's stictly long pants and leather shoes when welding for me now.

 

[bearcar1]

Without mentioning names or directing my comments towards any single individual, one would have to be a complete moron to have taken the time to don all of the REQUIRED safety gear only to bypass putting on protective covering for the most likely area to be struck with splashed or overpoured metal. Same can be said for the folks that ride go-fast motorcycles in shorts, no helmet, no shirt, and sandals. Not very smart. When they hit the pavement, and after they stop sliding, there won't be enough of them left to matter much. My father was a blacksmith and a welder for 45 yrs. and he related many stories to me about how the safety equipment he wore did their job and prevented him from harms way on quite a few occasions. Safety first....ALWAYS !!

Jim B.

 

[Maxine]

Actually your feet are no where near the pour when it is happening. The crucible is held on a grasp mounted on the end of a long horizontal pole so that you are always several feet away from the molten aluminum stream. The mistake I made was after the pour was complete and the crucible set back safe in it's refractory stand I stepped over to shut off the gas to the kiln. While focusing on reaching for the kiln valve I accidentally kicked the stand that held the mold full of cooling but still partially molten aluminum and it sloshed over.

The remainder of your post does not dignify a direct response. I'll simply share this thought; accidents should be shared as painful lessons learned in order to help prevent others from making similar mistakes. Negative comments such as yours simply prevent others from sharing embarrassing mistakes and thus prevent learning which causes further injuries.

 

[steamer]

Maxine,

I wish to thank you for finding the courage to come here and tell your story. It is a lesson that others can follow, and that was brave of you to do.

I appreciate that fact.

Welcome to HMEM , and I hope you get well soon.

Dave
aka "Steamer"

 

[JorgensenSteam]

The safety posts on HMEM have saved me from many a bad accident.

I appreciate very much people sharing safety info such as this.

To me this is the great thing about forums, you can save others from so much grief.

Thanks,

Pat J

 

[ddmckee54]

It's not just casting that is dangerous, brazing, silver soldering and even soft soldering can be dangerous from a molten drip. Back when I was still young and stupid, as opposed to being much older and hopefully wiser now, I was working as an auto body repairman. I was brazing part of a rocker panel on a '72 Chevy pickup when a drop of brass rolled onto my blue jeans and proceeded burn through my pants and travel down the top of my boot. You would be amazed how fast you can unlace an 8" lace-up steel-toed boot when you have some serious motivation.

We've got to maintain constant awareness of our surroundings, it only takes a fraction of a second for the situation to go from an enjoyable pastime to a disaster.

Obviously you've learned from this accident and with luck the rest of us will learn from it too.

Don

 

[Ken I]

Most accidents - and we've all had them - often fall into the "I should have seen that coming" category.

There are a zillion ways to screw up and if you know a fraction of them - you are experienced.

Good judgement comes with experience - experience is the outcome of bad judgement.

The purpose of sharing our tales of woe is to help others not do so and to point out that these things really do happen ie get the experience without the bad judgement.

Maxine thanks for the post.

Regards,
Ken

 

[Mosey]

Without mentioning names or directing my comments towards any single individual, one would have to be a complete moron to have taken the time to don all of the REQUIRED safety gear only to bypass putting on protective covering for the most likely area to be struck with splashed or overpoured metal. Same can be said for the folks that ride go-fast motorcycles in shorts, no helmet, no shirt, and sandals. Not very smart. When they hit the pavement, and after they stop sliding, there won't be enough of them left to matter much. My father was a blacksmith and a welder for 45 yrs. and he related many stories to me about how the safety equipment he wore did their job and prevented him from harms way on quite a few occasions. Safety first....ALWAYS !!

Jim B.

The first time I slid down the pavement in full leathers I thought it was kinda neat. Not a scratch. Except for the faceshield, which was scraped down it's entire length. Guess why I always wear a fullface helmet ever after.

 

[coffeebean16]

everyone learns lessons, some people do it the hard way.
thank you for sharing your lesson so i may choose the easy way.

i was thinking heavy leather boots with a steel to for casting. should i be wearing steel foot covers too?

thanx

dave

 

[doubleboost]

Hi
I have done quite alot of casting (mainly bronze)
Lifting a full crucible from the furnace is the scary bit for me .
It is heavy and directly above your feet .
I wear leather "rigger type boots" with nomex overalls over the top of them .
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX4AgCBAfJQ[/ame]
The bigest scare i had was pouring bronze in to a ingot mould the mould was damp it instantly blew molten metal all over me .
Fortunately the protective gear did its job .
Molten metal takes no prisoners at all .
Thanks for posting your acident if it makes one person more aware that would be great
John

 

[doubleboost]

One thing i forgot to mention is i ALWAYS have a live hose pipe to hand as well as a bucket of water

 

[steamer]

everyone learns lessons, some people do it the hard way.
thank you for sharing your lesson so i may choose the easy way.

i was thinking heavy leather boots with a steel to for casting. should i be wearing steel foot covers too?

thanx

dave

I think a layer of nomex under the steel covers and over the boots would be a good idea....dress in layers

 

[Tin Falcon]

do not put a lot of trust in nomex for protection form moltrn metal .it will not burn but it will melt I have a nomex shirt with holes melted in it. Nomex is designed to protect against flash fire . I have a leather apron with a kevlar layer. Nothing against nomex I wear it almost every day . but know the limits.
Tin

 

[steamer]

fair enough Tin...I still think layers are a good idea here....how about you more experienced foundry types?

What's the way?

Dave

 

[coffeebean16]

nomex wont sustain combustion on its own under most conditions, but i dont see it being appropriate here.
i don't think it would do anything useful with molten metal.

as to kevlar i dont see it being any better under this application. according to
www2.dupont.com/Kevlar/en_US/assets/.../KEVLAR_Technical_Guide.pdf
page 15 of 32 kevlar will not melt but will decompose at between 800 and 1000 degrees F.
the engineering tool box lists the melting point of aluminum at 1220F.
just something to consider.

i was thinking of the metal overshoes that the construction guys wear when they use the gas powered compactors. that over a heavy leather and kevlar boot with a steel toe. with aluminized leg protection.
dave

 

[doubleboost]

I think the nomex is giving me a false sense of security
Thick leather is the way to go
It has worked for years
I actually use propper foundry boots
John