draper84 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 well, as some of you may know, i just recently started forging, and smithing. well today when i was making a hardie out of a 1inch hardened tractor bolt, i got my first bite. by bite i mean burn. well (after i finished my hardie) a trip to the ER and some silvadine cream later (not to mention pain medicine) i'm doing alright. it's a little tricky to type when your left forearm is all bandaged up. my hardie di not come out as nicely as my bracelet did, but hey i'm learning. -eric- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRobb Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Sorry to hear about your trouble. But glad you're doing better. Keep hammering & be safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 How did it happen? Were your tongs adjusted to the job or were they a lose fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 when i was messin round with burnin styrophome before i started smithin i got a 3d degree burn... never even hurt till my dad saw it i learned my lesson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Part of this game is that it is VERY unforgiving when things go pear shaped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 If it falls, DO NOT grab it, let it fall. You can always pick it up after you get a pair of tongs, pliers, etc. Everything in blacksmithing is Hot, Heavy, Sharp, or Dangerous. Those are the rules. If you want to play the game, you have to play safely. Do take care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Welcome to the club Eric: Sorry your initiation took you to the hospital but it happens. Deb wants to start doing a little weaving for a multimedia project she has in mind and wanted me to get her some 1-1 1/2 oz. weights for the weft yarns. You know, nothing fancy, nuts or fishing weights, etc. it didn't matter so long as they're all the same weight. Well, I had to show off and forged her one. She loved it, handed me a cookie tin and said I "could" fill it up for her, she needs at least 30. Yeah, I know I should've asked first eh? Sokay, I need some practice at production work and this is for a good cause. Keeping Deb happy is real a good cause. What EXACTLY has this to do with burns? You're asking. Well, the 1/2" sq I'm using slipped and I now have a nice blister on one finger. Then I lost the tongs and the hot end (of course) grazed my forearm for a small 3/4" x 1", 2nd degree burn. And lastly a nice scale blister on the web (where else) between the thumb and forefinger of my left hand. A couple cuts and pokes just about rounds out the list for yesterday and today. Good days, I enjoyed them. How about describing how you got burned so folk don't repeat the lesson and maybe others can make suggestions to keep it form happening again. Heal quick buddy. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 This is my worst so far.http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/37377-post41.html From this thread...http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/burns-4054/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper84 Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 ok, this is how it happened. i do not have any tongs yet, nor steel to make them. i was using vise grips to hold the 1 inch bolt that i was using. getting tongs very very soon! i hit it with a normal strike and it jumped out of the vise grips, and went sailing through the air to make an extremely brief contact with my forearm and wrist, continued sailing till it landed on the floor. the floor started snapping and cracking, i thought this to be rather comical. and i didn't feel it much till my grandma said that there was an entire layer missing. i know never ever grab for a falling or fallen object that is a lesson that i need not learn. thanks for the advice and sharing stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 lol happend the same way .... i never even notices my 3d degree only saw the blisters and thought (hey somthing to tell about) then i showd my dad and we ineditly went to the clinic.... lol fun times i still have the scar on my wrist and to make it better after i got the burn i went and wrestled on a trampoline and my friend accidently grapped my wrist and poped the small blister.....LOL he felt bad but i just lauphed it off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper84 Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 sounds like me i'd do something like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 In 27 years of smithing I have never had to see a Dr about a burn---knock on wood. Yes I have been burned at times but *IMMEDIATELY* cooling the burn off and keeping a cold compress on it for a LONG time really reduces the severity of burns. Yes it's a pain to have to run in and treat it and then come back with the cold pack on it and shut down the forge for an hour or so but it really really speeds up the healing time. Folks say I look a bit funny at times forging with a piece of ice on a burned finger; but I don't care if it reduces what would be a second degree burn to a first degree burn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Hey Draper, Heal quick buddy - unfortunately it's probably one of many to come My worst one was about 6 years ago at a demo - I was doing a spiral around the cone mandrel using 3 sixteenth's by 2 inch strap - holding the narrow end with tongs and pushing the last bit with my hammer - hammer slips and my forearm pressed right into the strap. Put a big ol' 2 inch by 6 inch burn right in the flesh. I immediately went over to the slack tub and sank my arm into it for about 15 minutes and as Thomas said - immersing it and keeping it there will reduce the severity of the burn dramatically. It also really helps keep the scarring to a minimum. I can't even tell where the burn was. I still forget and grab the hot end of something at times, so the slack tub really has become my friend as I'm firmly convinced that in my younger years I burned out a fair number of the brain cells that regulate repeating stupid behaviour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper84 Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 i guess, the lesson of this whole thing is to keep a cool/cold slack tub handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 i guess, the lesson of this whole thing is to keep a cool/cold slack tub handy! That and a good first aid kit, not one of the automotive pretend first aid kits either. You don't need an EMT bag but something more tailered to what you're likely to encounter. A couple cold packs for more sanitary treatment of burns. Burns infect much more easily than most skin penetrating wounds so a soak in the slack tub can result in infection. Some guys keep a little bleach in their slack tubs but I don't like it's corrosion promoting characteristics and it evaporates pretty quickly too. You'll also want something to control bleeding more than a Flintstone's bandaid. Plain old Kotex pads are hands down the best thing there is for stopping serious bleeding. We were taught to use them with an Ace bandage but you have to be really careful not to get it wrapped too tight. Ace bandages are EASY to wrap too tight and you do NOT want to cut off circulation. A seriously bleeding limb can trigger an automatic response in your body to restrict bleeding by constricting the blood vessels. This is a survival response but it lowers blood flow making it really easy for even moderately light pressure from a bandage to cut off circulation completely. Do NOT apply a tournequette! This is the decision to sacrifice the limb to save the life! After even a short time with it on, the hospital will almost undoubtably decide to amputate the limb to avoid the probability blood clots will break loose and kill the victim. Don't do it unless the victim is bleeding out and no help is close! Life and death only! Eye wash. Get at least one pint bottle with the attached eye cup. The little squeezy of eye wash in the pretend boo boo first aid kits is about as useful as a bottle of Clear Eyes. You need enough wash to get the bad stuff OUT. If it's a flake of slag it has to cool it and hopefully lift it off your eyeball before it sticks. If it's chemical you need enough to flush the majority OUT. One pint won't be enough for chemicals but it'll go a long way towards neutralizing most common ones. After that get your eye under warm tap water. NOT cold! Body temp so you'll keep your eyes under the thing for half an hour or so, 15 mins is minimum suggested flush time. And this is a situation where more is better. Let's see, what else? Burns, bleeding, stuff in your eyes are the major dangers most of will face in a smithy. Don't worry about bruises, minor cuts, scrapes, even a broken bone,(not major of course) etc. these aren't immediately life threatening nor a threat to long term physical health, they have some breathing room. Oh yeah, the number ONE most important item in your's or anyone's first aid kit is your BRAIN. Take a course every once in a while. If you don't know what to do you're in a lot more trouble than necessary. There's also the panic factor, if you don't know what to do the tendency to panic is greatly increased. If you have even an idea of what to do, even if it's wrong, you're much less likely to panic and still save life or limb just by keeping your head. Be careful, stay healthy. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 A couple cold packs for more sanitary treatment of burns. Burns infect much more easily than most skin penetrating wounds so a soak in the slack tub can result in infection. Some guys keep a little bleach in their slack tubs but I don't like it's corrosion promoting characteristics and it evaporates pretty quickly too.Frosty Thanks Frosty! You're right on the money. Using the tub is something I've always done over the years and never had issues with it but certainly don't endorse it as advice to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 A couple cold packs for more sanitary treatment of burns. Burns infect much more easily than most skin penetrating wounds so a soak in the slack tub can result in infection. Some guys keep a little bleach in their slack tubs but I don't like it's corrosion promoting characteristics and it evaporates pretty quickly too. Not to mention that dead rat I found in my 5 gallon bucket of murky black water the other day... :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triw Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Hey Draper: I did a good one a while back. I was putting the curl in the steam of a leaf I forged when someone came into the shop and started to ask a question. Now I know better than leave hot metal on top of my anvil but thinking it would take a second to answer his question. One thing led to another and with out thinking I leaned on the anvil and sported a nice leaf and curled stem blister on the palm of my right hand for a while. Needless to say I quit hammering for the day cause of the blisters. So one more lesson that I hope someone else can learn from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrous Beuler Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Howdy draper, Don't feel bad because it happens to all of us. It's kind of like baseball, every now and then you get beaned, just the way it goes. I got myself good once by not paying attention and not keeping myself organised. I had been forging several bars with a few in the fire, a few cooling on the bench and a few still cold. Long story short, I picked up a "cold" bar barehanded. Boy was I wrong. Black heat is still plenty of Heat! BTW, Hope to see you soon at a southern tier meeting of the New York State Designer Blacksmiths, I'll be in touch. Dan.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triw Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 A couple cold packs for more sanitary treatment of burns. Burns infect much more easily than most skin penetrating wounds so a soak in the slack tub can result in infection. Some guys keep a little bleach in their slack tubs but I don't like it's corrosion promoting characteristics and it evaporates pretty quickly too. Frosty Hey guys if you have a small frig in your shop or one close by keep several packages of frozen peas on hand. Cold packs are nice but you can mold a bag of frozen peas to fit around a wrist or other areas that get burned. Also works for sore muscles etc. And they are not that expensive either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 We have a number of the soft blue jell hot/cold packs in the freezer at all times. Deb doesn't like peas. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper84 Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 BTW, Hope to see you soon at a southern tier meeting of the New York State Designer Blacksmiths, I'll be in touch. Dan. dan, hopefully we can get in touch sometime soon, i've been very busy lately. and i hope to be at the meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I have had three burns, one because I was stupid and two because I was PO'ed. Just because the metal has turned black doesn't mean it is cool. That was stupid. The two times I was PO'ed I threw red hot metal and it came right back at me. Burned my wrist with one and stuck a rod in my thigh with the other. Now when I'm PO'ed I throw it in the slack tub.:mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug C Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I have taken a few first aid courses and if you are going to use a freezer pack or gel pack make sure it is wrapped in a few layers of cloth. According to the red cross instructor I had A cool damp cloth or a tub of clean coll water is better. Cool being the key word. Too cold will just cause more damage. Save the ice pack until you've been had the damp cloth or tub doing its thing for 20 minutes. Just like you avoid extreme heat you should avoid extreme cold especially on damaged tissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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