Been building a roadster pick-up for about two months now and must've set five flannel shirts on fire with the 4" cut-off wheel.....Every one has a burn hole about the size of a baseball in the exact same spot.....A funny thing is, before Christmas, the wife and kids made a habit of commenting on them, but do you think anyone got me some new shirts for a gift?....Fat chance... Maybe it's time to place an ad in the classifieds for someone's old Nomex
You are not alone. Last winter while building my Model A I went through 3 Mechanics jackets, all set on fire with a 4" grinder while grinding on the frame.
sitting here reading this looking down at my work jacket with the same kind of hole from grinding and welding. the arm cuffs dont hold up well either.
I did that to a t shirt when i was grinding on my 53. Didn't even realise it until i felt the pain of burn.. Put about a 4" hole in it and left a mark on my stomach.. Started wearing a shop coat after that..
no shit , wait till you feel heat up your legs and nuts and your old frayed 501's are engulfed........... 4 inch wheel.......................
USE 100% cotton only when welding and grinding and don't use ANY form of fabric softener when washing clothes.It just puffs up the fibers and makes them easier to ignite.Now this won't stop you frome flaming up dut it does go a long way in slowing the inevitable burnup.If you have work uniforms available tell them your a welder one of two things will happen either they will refuse you uniform as some outfits did in the past OR they will supply you with fire retardent materials.The uniform service at my last shop had special clothing for welders.I dont know for a fact but I think it's proban.I didnt burn anything in a year so the stuff worked
That was one of the thing's we were told in welding class.. If by chance you were to catch yourself on fire, the cotton will burn and not melt to you like some other meterials will, causing serious burns.
when i worked in the body shop most of my shirts and pants had more iron on patches from all the burn holes in them then original material.
Dont wear flannel shirts made in Maylasia - India-Indonesia etc.....they are like a fuse....will burn up, before you can get em off. Im not sure what the reason is -but have had a couple cheap ones ignite.
a fella that works for my dad always used to use spray starch on hi sclothes to prevent them from burning, probably laid down all the fuzz is all. you could also just go to a welding supply place, like praxair, and buy kevlar sleeves, or even the mint green sleeves. they do a pretty decent job.
An old leather coat works pretty well. Or if that's too heavy, just use a weight lifters belt with the fat part adjusted to cover your spark zone. Or just build yourself an armor suit. That ought to do it. ;-) The cheapest way would be to spray the spot with water every so often. .
Local welding supply. Get a non-flamable welders jacket they are made out of cotton and are comfortable and only $20. For grinding and mig/tig they will last a long time. Downfall, thet are bright green.
when I worked as a grinder/prep at a sheetmetal shop I used 2" masking tape, about 4 or 5 strips across my middle, to keep the holes out of my t shirts. they provided the tape, if I wanted an apron I had to buy it.
Try grinding titanium and having the dust ignite on your shirt in a bright flash! Big fun! Actually - a welder I know used to double starch his jeans with spray starch (spray, iron, spray, iron), and it really shed the sparks well. It will also stay clean longer, which isn't a bad thing.
I'm complaining....If i move a foot to the right, the sparks from the 4" follow me....Same thing if i move to the left....I could do a 180 and they would still follow me....Just sayin'...
I got to close to my propane space heater last winter without knowing it........yep, ruined that one good.
I have a greasy dirty old pair of Carhart bibs that I haven't washed in 3 years just for that occasion. The greasy bastards hold lots of dirt and metal from grinding ect. and now they are real fire resitant. most the holes came from catching them on stuff like sheet metal and frame horns and damn that smarts on the shins.
The Jalopy Journal
