Not a good day at the shop

[Doug Ladendorf]

Oh man Rick, that's terrible. I hope you find out what happened. Hopefully you can get back to woodworking soon.

So, a Justrite safety can sits in the shop now for these things...

I have one too for this purpose, though I try to remember to dry rags before throwing them out.

Doug

[Frederick Skelly]

I'm sorry to see this Rick. Hang in there man.
Fred

[William C Rogers]

Very bad day. Good luck with a speedy recovery

[Fred Falgiano]

Rick,

Sorry to see what happened.

I'm in Culpeper. Let me know if you need any help.

-Fred

[Augusto Orosco]

Are mineral spirits also at risk of spontaneous combustion? I always took care of my oil rags by drying them outside, but paper towels soaked with mineral spirits I just threw in the trash!

[Earl McLain]

Edit--this is in response to Augusto's question on mineral spirits:

Yes, and dry them outside. Always. I pretty much dry it all outside--if i'm going to make a mistake, that is the side i'd prefer to err on.
earl

[Patrick Walsh]

Wow!

Sorry about this. That is terrible. Lucky everyone is safe and sound. With a basement shop mys lf that is scary!

Makes me glad i got in the habbit of keeping a 5 gallon bucket just outside my shop door with a little water in the bottom to soak my rags at the end of the day.

[Rick Hubbard]

This happened in our co-op (Makerspace) shop, just to be clear. It's pretty hard to identify a "culprit" because of the number of people using the space. It's all the more complicated by the fact that the Fire Marshall so far has NO idea what was the cause. They are doubtful at this point that it was a dirty rag problem and they are SURE it was not an electrical malfunction

But as an update, we are recovering quickly.

Today we secured a lease on a new (and larger) location so the condition of the building is of no consequence.
The only major pieces of equipment that were total losses were two 12inch SCMS's, a 15 inch Floor Model Drill Press, a smaller bench-top drill press and a RIDGID oscillating belt sander.
All of out cordless drills are toast along with a wall-full of Bessey F-Clamps (about 40 or so). All the of the routers survived fairly well but will need new cords (same with finish sanders).
Any plastic parts on other pieces of equipment melted but can be replaced.
All but one work bench was destroyed and the wooden hand tool cabinets as well (although the tools inside appear to all be OK).
We lost a half dozen laptops and tablets along with a lot of other electronics but our two 3D printers are repairable as well as out big laser cutter (the small one is dead).
A BUNCH of people from the community have pitched in to help clean up (and some have offered tools and $$$).
We have a moving company lined up for the weekend and hope to be back in business by the following weekend.
The Fire Department estimate of 60K was far too high. We'll probably get out of it for around 12-13K

[Rick Hubbard]

Very bad day. Good luck with a speedy recovery

Thanks for the offer- I think we are in pretty good shape, but if you ever in Staunton, look us up.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

This is difficult to read. I am very sorry and hopeful that you guys fully recover soon. 40 Bessey clamps- Oh man.

[Andrew J. Coholic]

That is sad to see, I can relate. And it is a horrible thing to go through.

Our business had a total loss fire in the 80's. Its certainly devastating and takes years to really get back on your feet. Today it is one of the reasons I keep the shop spotlessly clean, and absolutely never, ever ever leave any stain wiping rags inside.

Every time we stain anything (even with stains that are not prone to spontaneous combustion - typically anything with a drying oil base) as soon as they are used, they go outside into the metal dumpster that is away from the shop main building. Always, without exception. Everyone knows the rules.

A long time employee of mine, who now runs his own 4 man custom shop, sent me this photo last fall. He returned to the shop after hours one evening, after a day where his guys were doing a bunch of staining. He normally leaves the rag deposit bin just outside the entry man door. He smelled something burning, and moved the can away from the entrance, and kicked open the lid....



I have one of these cans in my shop, but we never use it. Like I said - oily wiping rags go immediately outside into the dumpster.

[Steve Goetz]

Rick,

Sorry to see this happen to you. As others have said, its a good thing, no one got hurt. Your "stuff" can get replaced. Being a fireman and also a fire investigator for the department that I work at, I've seen this on more than one occasion. Good luck in your rebuild!

[Rick Hubbard]

I've been doing some on-line research, thanks to all your comments, and learned that BLO is just flat dangerous if the rags/towels used with it are disposed of in the trash.
When I was down at the shop Sunday night there was a new member finishing Walnut with a mixture of BLO, Paint Thinner and Lacquer. I'm told he was also there after midnight on Monday night and the fire broke out around 9:30 Tuesday morning. Doesn't make me one bit happier knowing about this.

[terry mccammon]

Like a lot of folks I use the non-woven "shop towels" for rags. They get draped over the wire that holds my turning chip shower curtain and part of shutting down is they all go out side and get burnt. Every time I shut down, out they go, no used rag, regardless of what it was used for, stays inside when I am not there. The neighbor thinks I am a bit odd, but then there is a lot of evidence.

[Rick Hubbard]

They get draped over the wire that holds my turning chip shower curtain and part of shutting down is they all go out side and get burnt..

Burning would CERTAINLY do the trick