Why Is Welding Shop Safety Important

Safety is the most important part of Intro to Ag. The Number one rule of Mr. Marks Ag Class is “Wear your safety glasses!” Other Forms of PPE (Personal protective equipment) include, Respiratory masks (Prevents harmful dust and gas getting in your lungs), Hearing protection, such as earplugs. Gloves are used in both a welding and woodwork environment, In welding, they prevent electrocution and skin contact to heat, and in the woodshop, they prevent hands from getting cut. Foot protection is also very important, dropping hot metal, or long beams of wood on your feet/foot can result in a major injury. We learned about many hands and power tools this year in Intro to Ag, Such as the band saw (A saw that moves along two wheels in a downward motion, used for cutting shapes and curves.) The power miter saw, (A blade that spins, paired with a base and capabilities to cut angles) We also learned about many types of hand tools, such as Claw hammers, all the types of hand saws. In the class we sharpen our knowledge of commonly known tools, For example, I knew what a Pry bar is, however, I didn't know just how useful it was, It has about a million household uses, all demonstrated in the class. After we learned rule number one and two, (Be safe, wear PPE, and know how to use the tools.) We started to sharpen our skills of using tools to create things, For our first big project, We created a Cutting board, To create them We had to make measurements, the actual process of making the measurements was surprisingly difficult, Cutting out the boards we used the band saw, Making sure not to cut the shapes in one go, By doing this project we learned how to cut with the band saw proper, how to seal a wood project, and how to stain …show more content…
The first priority in the shop was safety, To avoid burns, we wore leather sleeved coats over our clothes. The gloves we wore were thick to avoid getting burned. Out of all of the welding PPE, The one you don't want to forget is your helmet, the welding helmet had glass inside tinted to protect your eyes from the ultra-violet rays produced by stick welding. We used 6011 rods at first, and worked up to 6013 rods, to weld we held the electrically charged rods above the metal, the goal was to move slowly and hold them 1/8th of an inch away from the metal. at a “one o’clock” angle. Arc welding was difficult at first but it is a skill that requires a bunch of practice, By the end, I was able to make a proper bead. Metal cutting was a bit more simple to grasp, I started out with the plasma cutter, We used thin metal, and cut rectangular shapes. The process required somewhat minimal PPE, we wore green-tinted glasses, along with lightweight gloves. Using the acetylene torch was a simple process we started by turning the valve on the gas and air, (All the way for the air and one good turn for the gas) After that you adjust the valve on the Torch until it has a white flame about four inches long. To cut the metal, we held the flame above the scrap until it turned red hot after the metal is heated, we turn on the air, this blows the metal away, cutting the piece