Introduction and O/A outfit fears

admin

I am a newcomer to this forum and a beginning welder.  I am primarily a woodworker by hobby, but have been intrugued by mixing metalworking into my woodworking hobby.  I am a registered architect by trade.  I have a small woodworking shop in my third car garage, it is full of woodworking machinery and some metal working machinery.  I plan to do my welding in one of the empty bays of my garage.  I presently own a Miller Stik Welder I bought used but great condition, and recently purchased a Millermatic 211 Mig.Let me preface this by saying I am a "greenhorn" at this.  I will probably take some welding classes at our local community college campus as an adult enrichment course.  I have read extensively on this site about oxy/aceletyene O.A outfits.  I have been studying the various brands of torches and regulators and have decided on a Smith medium duty outfit, possibly a Dual Guard type, as they are made in the USA, have a great warranty, and are affordable on internet welding stores.  My great concern is the safety of these rigs.  I've read may frightening stories of potential hazards on many of the threads posted on this site regarding O/A outfits.  I am greatly concerned about flashback and the potential for a fire to start in my hand and follow the hoses back to the regulators and tanks.  I've also read about arrestors at the regulators and torch mixing handle, which seems a logical requirement for safety.  I am also concerned about the local codes governing storage and use of O/A outfits in a residential setting.  I have visions of my entire house exploding and it makes me nervous to say the least.  I plan to uses this outfit to do hobby type weekend warrior type of cutting of mild steel for my projects.  Perhaps I should invest in a metal cutting saw, band saw or plasma outfit.  Am I over-reacting?  I completely understand these outfits require care and maintainence of equipment and classroom training.  I need some advice I am making a competent decision.
Reply:O/A is a tool to respect but I would bet more fires are started by Grinding and Arc welding. If you are going to take the Welding Classes just wait until you are done the class to decide on whether you want one in your shop.As far as cutting metal you will definitely need a Saw- what do you use now?Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I presently either have the steel cut to length at my local supply supply house, use a jig saw with metal cutting blade or a hand hacksaw.  Get lots of exercise with the latter...
Reply:Theres this thing that most people used to have... It's called "common sense".Honestly O/A in the house is not really all that much more dangerous than many other common items. Gasoline, Natural gas, Propane, Medical oxygen, various solvents and thinners used for finishing... Like all these things, use common sense. Don't decide to store the tanks next to the hot water heater or furnace. Don't get lazy and just shut off the torch, be sure to shut the tanks off as well, EVERY TIME, even if you will be back in 10 minutes after making a call. Don't cut in the garage where you do wood working, cut outside. Then be sure to plan on staying around to be sure sparks that might have blown away don't start a small grass fire, better yet wet down the lawn nearby if it's really dry in the summer. Flash back is easy to prevent, learn the correct way to light the torch, and shut it down. It's in the instructions that comes with the torch.As far as local codes, some times they are just stupid. I can't have welding O2 at my house supposedly, but I can have all the medical O2 including cryo if I want. When I asked what the difference was to the fire marshal, he couldn't say, but said "It's more dangerous" Thats BS, 100% O2 is just as dangerous if used medically. When I was in a burn ward it was amazing how many patients were in there because they were smoking while wearing and O2 canule at the same time. Gee I wonder why they got seriously burned! The propane for your grill is just about as dangerous as Acet. Every year people blow up their grill because they leave the lid shut, turn on the gas, and then wait to try and light it! You could choose to use propane instead of Acet if you want and are just planning on heating and cutting, not welding. By "code" I'm not supposed to have propane at my house either. When I questioned the fire marshal on this, he said they don't enforce that on propane. Oh Acet is dangerous, and propane isn't because you don't enforce it... That make sense. NOT!  As you can tell I don't have a high regard for my fire marshal. He tries to BS his way thru things with scare tactics and then backpedals when you catch him in something stupid. He even tried to tell me my SCBA bottles  prominently marked BREATHING AIR were "oxygen" and dangerous in a fire. I wanted to know why his fire fighters ran into burning buildings wearing them then....No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:DSW,I agree entirely with what you are saying.  Common sense doesn't seem as abundant these days.  Believe me, I look at all scenerios when I consider using any equipment and safety is always at the forefront.  I still don't make a practice of operating my table saw without the guard, even after 25 years of woodworking, but you still see it done by others.  I am just treading here in unexplored areas as a novice, and I want to make sure to be educated as best possible to use a torch properly.  Life is too short to make a stupid mistake because I didn't know any better, I just am trying to minimize the risks due to my inexperience.Thanks for the good words of encouragement...I appreciate it.
Reply:DSW..almost sounds like your fire marshall moonlights for OSHA...jeez but people can be stupid.
Reply:Why are you buying the Oxy-AC setup -- just for cutting?  I think there are easier alternatives for that, and you've already got both a stick and a Mig welder.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Take the class. Once you learn some basic safety you'll see that a blow torch is our friend . Great for adding metal work to your wood work. Besides welding and cutting, you can use it to bend or form metal too.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jack OlsenWhy are you buying the Oxy-AC setup -- just for cutting?  I think there are easier alternatives for that, and you've already got both a stick and a Mig welder.
Reply:Originally Posted by Grimm1Take the class. Once you learn some basic safety you'll see that a blow torch is our friend . Great for adding metal work to your wood work. Besides welding and cutting, you can use it to bend or form metal too.
Reply:It sounds like your a canidate more for oxy/propane than for oxy/ace .  Propane is not going to have the withdraw limits that acetylene has when using a rose bud to heat and bend metal.  If you buy the propane kit you can always buy acetylene tips for it.  Maybe have propane for heating and acetylene for cutting.     Your idea of putting arrestors at the regulators is definitly a good one along with at the torch handle.  The Dual Guard by Smith has an arrestor built into the torch cutting head attachment so when using that it would be unnecessary to have the arrestors on the handle.  If your still a little fear full of having a leak somewhere you can always have a bottle of soapy water to test your connections and if worst come worst and thats not good enough for you then store your tank outside apart from one another.  Actually you should store propane outside when not in use.
Reply:oa is dangerous. learn how to be safe with it.i am a hobbyist and use it more than most anything else i have. it is the most versatile tool in the shop.but you know this. good luck
Reply:My brother is a certified welder and is a maintenance/safety office for a globally known chemical company.  He said their company policy was to use arrestors at the regulators.  This seems like a no-brainer investment especially for use with any type of fuel in a hobbist-residential setting.
Reply:flashback arrestors  should be used at the torch and the gauges simultainiousley.