[Jewelry making - Article 00025] - [Orchid] General Shop safety

[Jewelryartschool]

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    More than 30 years at the bench gives you an exposure to multiple
    injuries. That is a fact.(No matter how careful you may be ... sooner
    or later Murphy is gonna get his piece of you) 

    All that you can do is try to be as safe and thoughtful as you can.
    By thoughtful, I mean thinking a process all the way through - every
    movement you intend to make, every chemical or material that you use,
    and all of the possible ways your tools or environment could injure
    you. 

    There are basically only two kinds of bench jewelers - those who
    break some stones, make mistakes, and get hurt - and those who lie a
    lot. But there are degrees, and if you are ALWAYS reasonably
    careful, you can/will minimize some of the variable causes of these
    things. On the other hand, if you are too careful, you would never
    get out of bed, never produce anything. Like everything in life you
    have to find a balance that YOU can live with. 

    To date, a small sample of my injuries include: Chopping off the tip
    of my index finger on a lathe while under extreme pressure to get a
    set of sterling napkin rings done on a Christmas Eve. Once, while
    welding a rack for a small refinery, I knelt down to get a better
    angle on the piece I was tacking - right onto a piece of still red
    hot slag. 

    I wear glasses while I work, but a tiny piece of a broken 8/0
    sawblade got past them. I never felt it go into my eye. The next
    day, I damn sure did! The eye surgeon who removed it had to
    anestisize me and shove the eyeball over to gain access to it. The
    tiny teeth worked like a foxtail, and with every movement of my eye,
    it had propelled its way all the way to the back of the eyeball. I
    looked at it under the microscope after the procedure, it was 2mm
    long, and it had begun to rust... 

    My graver injuries would equal a small volume of poetry, though the
    words that came out of me (in either English or Spanish) would never
    be confused with poetry... I've had four (yes, four) carpal tunnel
    releases, two elbow releases, and a shoulder surgery - all caused by
    pushing a hand graver for so many years. Learn from this - use a
    power assisted engraving tool such as the Lindsay or other pneumatic
    or mechanically assisted tools... 

    I don't even count the little hurts that come from drill bits, torch
    and buffer burns, plier pinches, stabbings with tools that "normal"
    people would think impossible, and the various pieces of flying
    shrapnel launched by buffers, grinders, flexshaft tools, and other
    motorized or mechanical tools. 

    Ours is a dangerous occupation, not for the faint of heart. If
    blood, burns, and mutilation faze you much, then I would advise you
    to stay in bed. Don't get me wrong, do all you can to be as safe as
    you can - just be aware that the odds are surely against you. The
    more time that you spend at the bench the more exposure you have to
    injury. The same is true of driving a vehicle. AAA has worked out
    the statistics for an average driver during a lifetime to be
    somewhere around .8 injuries per driver. This goes up as mileage
    goes up. Professional drivers have the most exposure, but generally
    have the minimum injuries or deaths for a lifetime on the road. Try
    to be a professional at your bench. 

    Study the MSDS that come with your chemicals & supplies, don't put
    them in the "round file." Read the warnings that come with your
    tools. Read accident reports that relate to what you are doing.
    LEARN from them. Learn from what you've read on this thread.
    Research safety on the Internet. Be aware that a lot is NOT known
    about some of the materials that we work with every day. USE the
    available eye, ear, and respiratory protection available - even if
    it is awkward, uncomfortable or looks funny! 

    I suspect that the cause of the cancer I have just gone through
    treatment for - was cadmium. I spent many many years with my nose
    six or eight inches above the large sterling items I soldered ...
    breathing the vapors of this metal. Nowadays, everyone knows the
    dangers of cadmium. Silver solders are now cadmium free. (Yes, I
    know that the extra, extra easy still contains cadmium) Back 35
    years ago, we didn't know this, nor have cadmium free solders. Nor
    did we use proper ventilation. We also had soldering benches that
    didn't just have a few pieces of asbestos on them - the entire bench
    was MADE of asbestos! Asbestos fibers result in a different cancer
    than the variety I got, so I may still have that to look forward to
    in the future... 

    The moral of the story is simply this: BE AS SAFE IN YOUR WORK
    HABITS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE! - but HEDGE YOUR BETS!... Buy
    hospitalization and disability insurance! Purchase an excellent (not
    just adequate) First Aid Kit. Take some First Aid classes. Take some
    advanced First Aid classes. Think about safety until it becomes
    ingrained, automatic, and you can see (most of) the possible dangers
    in every work situation. Then minimize your exposure. 

Brian P. Marshall
Stockton Jewelry Arts 


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