(Safety Tips is an archive of advice and ideas contributed
by site visitors.)
Note: "Safety tips" is intended to provide pointers on often overlooked safety concerns and helpful safety hints. It is not to be considered a complete and comprehensive guide to glassworking safety.
12/99 Auto Shutoff for Your Workbench
8/99 Do You Know What's in Your Patina?
7/98 Safe Disposal of Glass Scraps
4/98 Make Sure It's Off with Outlet Strips
12/97 Protect your feet and your floors
9/97 Watch for Falling Solder!
6/97 Don't Do Stupid Stuff! (or...Take your time and pay attention to what you're doing.)
4/97 Be Careful About Glass Storage
2/97 Breaking Score Lines Using the Table Edge
12/96 Handling Large Sheets of Glass
11/96 Avoid Cuts While Grinding
7/96 Dressing for Stained Glass
5/96 "Steel Wooling " solder lines
4/96 "Glass Cutting 101" (for Apartment Dwellers)
3/96 Lead Exposure During Soldering
2/96 Exposure to Glass Dust From Grinders
1/96 Skin Protection during Soldering
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I just started working in stained glass two months ago and appreciate all these great safety tips.
Last weekend I was repeatedly hit with very sharp metal fragments as a fellow classmate operated a saw to cut pieces of solder and zinc channel. I would suggest that a guard - even a simple three sided cardboard shield - be set up around the area where a saw is being used to prevent people in the surrounding area from being hit by shrapnel!
Ann Curl
To prevent the possibility
of fires or soldering iron damage I installed a sauna timer on
the line feeding my workbench.
It can be set to stay on from just 5 min to an hour at which
point it turns itself off. By having my radio on the same circuit
I know when it goes off or is still on.
Since installing this low priced device I haven't had a worry
about setting the shop on fire or a week old tip being destroyed.
The switch is available at most home centers.
P.S. There are other
timers designed for ceiling fans and such that will provide the
same function and could be cheaper alternatives.
Editors' note: Be sure the device you select has a wattage rating
that will accommodate the total wattage of all the devices you
plan to control.
Jerry Gortmaker
Last year I went to a local safety
equipment supply company to purchase a face mask for protection
against lead fumes. I explained to the woman what I was looking
for and that it was for use in making stained glass. She asked me
all about the procedures involved in stained glass and asked me
to call her back with the ingredients in all the chemicals that I
use--including etching cream, flux and patinas, etc.
I read her the ingredients on the various bottles of chemicals I
use, and when I mentioned the nitric acid in black patina, she
said that nitric acid was the most dangerous of all the other
chemicals I had named. A hepa mask offers no protection against
nitric acid fumes, since they are completely odorless and go
right through a hepa filter. These fumes can cause lung damage.
She said to NEVER work indoors unless you have an unusually
strong fan pulling the fumes out a window, and NEVER stand
directly over your project when you are applying the patina. The
safest way to apply patina is to take it outside on a windy day
with the wind blowing away from you, and apply the patina at
arm's length.
Jane Marshall
Editors' note:
It seems that everyone is aware of the dangers from lead and lead bearing solder. Most of us are also wary of flux and many of us are cautious to control glass dust, as we should be. Patinas on the other hand are an often overlooked safety hazard.
As a retail shop we are required by law to keep on file a document called an MSDS (manufacturers safety data sheet) on each of the chemicals that we sell, but having dealt with these chemicals for many years before this information was widely available and having assumed them to be fairly innocuous, it takes a bit of a push to change your view of them.
After receiving this tip I went around the shop and read labels. Right there in my patinas I found them, acids, lots of them. There were hydrochloric, nitric, selenious, something called "mineral acid" and one product that declined to identify the specific acid on the label, choosing to say "in an acid solution".
The bottom line is read the labels. Treat patinas with respect, many are potent chemicals. If you require more information ask your retailer to see the MSDS on the products you use. If he doesn't have it on hand ask him to get one for you.
When I use the grinder, I
slip into an old nylon jacket backwards and my goggles. This
keeps grinder debris off my skin and clothing.
I also wear old shoes in the glass shop. These measures keep
glass fragments out of other parts of the house.
Billie Craig
Our thanks to Ken Weupper for our October 98' tip!
When using the mosaic cutter, chips and fragments tend to fly about. The use of safety glasses with SIDE PROTECTION is mandatory. To further reduce the possibility of flying glass...
USE A ONE GALLON ZIPLOCK BAG to contain the glass, cutter and fragments while cutting.
A coat hanger wire can be bent to hold the bag upright and the opening is adequate for even my big hands to enter the bag. Since the plastic is clear, you can easily see your hands, the glass and the cutter. When the bag has a lot of small chips in it, you can simply seal it and dispose of the sharp scrap safely.
Ken Wuepper
KEN's GLASS ART SAGINAW, MI
I keep a large
plastic, cleaned milk container, with lid on my work table.
When I have small pieces of glass that cannot be reused, I put
them in the milk container so my sons who empty the trash to do
get cut by small pieces of sharp glass.
Other small pieces of stained glass that I do not use, I give to
the pottery department at the local high school. Some of the
instructors like to melt the colored glass in the bottom of the
kilned pieces for interest.
Thanks to: No Name Given
Our thanks to Nelda for our April 98' tip!
My iron and grinder are plugged into a master switch bar. (Outlet strip). I added a small night light to the bar so I can tell at a glance if anything is still on.
Nelda
Our thanks to Shannonh for our November tip!
I've just started stained glass, and one of my biggest problems was solder run off. (Editors note: Solder running off the edge of the table as discussed in the 9/97 safety tip.)
It became painful to my feet and my carpet.
Then I attached a ruler to the end of my work table. 
It's flat enough not
to get in my way, (and I can remove the thumb tacks if I need a
straight edge).
Shannonh
Most of the the time your solder just stays
where you put it, and this is not a problem. But there are some
operations where it is likely that solder will be on the move,
like it or not.
Typical projects that can cause solder to run through and drip
are three dimensional projects such as lamps, boxes ,
kaleidoscopes and the like. The other main occurrence is during
desoldering operations when making repairs.
When solder drips and runs it becomes a safety hazard. Large
solder drips can even melt through some synthetic fabrics and
burn your skin directly. Don't forget we're working in
temperatures over 700 degrees, way hotter than the average home
oven can achieve.
When you are setting up for one of these operations make sure you
are properly prepared.
 | Wear a large cotton or other heat resistant type apron. |
| Wear long pants. |
| Do not wear open shoes. |
| If you can, avoid working in a seated position. Solder can't land in your lap if you're standing! |
| Place the work a bit further onto the table so that runoff will remain on the table. |
| If you want to take it to the max, you can attach the bottom of your apron to the table edge to prevent anything from dropping onto your shoes. If solder falls into it just lift it from the end near you so the solder pours back onto the table. (I personally don't take it this far!) |
|
When you think about stained glass hazards, the obvious sharp glass shards and hot soldering irons pop into mind almost immediately, but if you work like we do you probably have a variety of knives in your shop as well. We cut our patterns up and trim our foil to perfection using little precision knives. We use came knives, and utility knives (often called pistol grip knives) for a variety of jobs, from opening cartons to making cardboard mockups.
| When working with bladed tools it is important to follow the standard safety advice: |
| Never cut toward any part of your body |
| Always cover or store away the blade when the knife is not in use |
| Keep your blade sharp. A dull blade must be forced to do it's work and makes the tool hard to control |
| And finally, perhaps the most overlooked...always use the right tool for the job! If you are cutting a heavy material like cardboard, be sure to use a larger blade. (Even if larger blades scare you.) Trying to cut cardboard with a tiny precision knife can cause you to lose control of the blade and can cause serious injury. |
It happens to all of us. You put up a pot of water to boil in the kitchen and the phone rings. You walk away to answer the phone and before you know it half of the water is gone!
Every day we face distractions in everything we do. In a stained glass workshop things are always in a state of flux, (No pun intended.) and things that are normal when you're there working, suddenly become a hazard when you leave, especially if you have small children coming into your work area.
Be careful never to leave your work area without a quick safety check, even if you expect to come right back.
| Always turn your iron down or off. |
| Watch for dangling cords. Curious little hands might pull your hot iron or other corded tool off the table. |
| Make sure sheet glass is pushed all the way onto your table. If it doesn't fit without sticking off, take the glass off the table and place it in a rack. |
| Just take that extra second to look at your whole setup with "new eyes" to be sure that if you don't get back as soon as you expect nothing will go wrong. |
It's been a very busy time here at Dodge Studio and finding a good safety tip has always been a challenge at best. In order to meet that challenge I decided to abandon all common sense and see how many different stupid ways I could injure myself within a week's time. Alas my time is up and I have only two really good ones to show for my efforts.
But seriously, with over 25 years at this craft injuries (including minor cuts) are few and far between for me, but this week I put myself into mad rush mode with predictable results, two of the dumbest mistakes you could imagine!
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that some things you just can't rush without sacrificing safety. Allow yourself enough time to get your work done without rushing. If something unpredictable happens and sets you back don't try to make up lost time. Keep your pace and finish safely.
When you apply breaking force to a scored piece of glass you are imparting energy into the glass. This energy first opens the score line separating the glass into two pieces. After the glass has broken, the excess energy results in movement. The glass in your left hand moves to the left and down and the glass in the right hand moves to the right and down. If the glass piece in either hand is at all sizeable, gravity will add its influence to the momentum of the pieces which often strike the work table and can break.
The solution to this problem is very simple. Just rest the rear edge of the glass on the table during your breaking operation!
Safe storage of glass requires thought and planning. We learned the hard way about fifteen years ago when a large glass rack in our basement collapsed! The rack was constructed of plywood and two by four lumber. We had two by fours running beneath the front and rear of each shelf for support. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but the shelves were too wide and all it took was a little too much weight on one of the shelves and one of the two by fours gave out bringing the whole unit down and spreading precious glass across the whole room. Fortunately we were upstairs at the time, but what a sound!
When planning a glass storage unit remember that glass is very heavy.
| If you must have wide shelves be sure that they have adequate support in the middle as well as at the ends. |
| Be sure to anchor all shelves to the wall or ceiling so that they can't topple, even if a leg gives out. |
| Build shelves deep enough for your glass to slide all the way in. Glass sticking out past the shelf is hazardous. |
| If there is a chance small children will come to your workshop be sure all glass is stored high enough that they will not handle the glass or worse yet, fall onto it. |
| Use quality lumber. Boards that are brittle or in which the grain direction is not right are unsafe. Grain should run the length of your support framing. |
Don't wait for an accident to occur before thinking about first aid!
| Plan ahead and keep a well stocked first aid kit in your glass workshop. Get together all the "usual" stuff... and then some. |
| Be prepared for all of the likely stained glass mishaps. Cuts and burns are the obvious "favorites," but don't overlook eye injury, (especially if you don't have running water in your work area.) |
| Buy an eye cup and a bottle of eye wash solution. It is a good idea to store your eye wash cup (which is usually on top of the eye wash bottle) in a plastic bag, even if it is in the original box, to be sure you don't wind up putting more junk into your eye than you had in the first place. |
| Other items we hope you won't need but
shouldn't be overlooked are: 1) A large enough piece of sterile gauze to stop the bleeding if you really "do it." 2) One or two gallon milk jugs filled with clean water to flush burns etc. |
| Perhaps the most effective way to break
a straight score line on a large piece of glass is by
using the edge of the table to snap the sheet off at the
score line. (You have probably seen it done at your local
glass shop.) Seems simple enough, but there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. You may not have noticed it but your supplier probably did not line the score up exactly at the edge of the table. You see, it's like this.... If you line the score up with the edge of the table, after you snap the glass off along the score there is nothing holding the glass up at the end closest to the table and there is a danger of dropping the piece you have just cut onto your feet! To avoid this possibility always position your glass so that the score line is about an inch onto the table. Now when you bend and break the glass the table will be supporting the other end of the piece you are holding. |
| Most of us realize that mixing chemicals can have unexpected (and potentially disastrous) results, but it is easy to overlook the simple fact that spraying cleaner onto work that has just been patinaed IS mixing chemicals! Always rinse or remove as much excess chemical residue as possible before adding cleaners to the mix. |
| You can help reduce the risk of fire in your workshop by using a power strip. Plug your work lights and soldering iron into the same strip. Then get in the habit of using the switch on the power strip to turn off your lights. This way you will always know that your iron is turned off even if you forget to unplug it or turn of your temperature control. |