A spark guard saved my shop last Tuesday night

I was finishing up a big scroll for a gate around 9 PM when a hot piece of scale shot right off the anvil. It landed in a bucket of oily rags I'd left too close to the forge. The guard on my coal forge caught most of it, but that one piece got through and started smoking instantly. Anyone have a better system for storing shop rags?

3 comments

3 Comments

graceblack2mo ago

Glad your shop is still there. I keep my oily rags in an old metal ammo can with the lid shut. It looks dumb, but it doesn't burn.

miles722mo ago

Heard about a buddy who lost his whole garage last summer. He tossed some stained rags in a plastic bucket, thinking it was fine. They say it started smoldering by midnight. Fire marshal told him the linseed oil rags just made their own heat until they caught. Now he uses a metal trash can with a tight lid, like your ammo can. Smart move, seriously.

finleyw582mo ago

Scrolling through this and wondering how many near misses it takes before we all just buy metal cans. You had the guard, you had the bucket, but that one hot piece still goes on a mission to find the rags. Isn't it funny how the one thing you forget is always the thing that tries to burn the place down? My shop is basically a collection of metal boxes now because I don't trust myself. Looks like a bomb squad practice area, but at least it's still standing.