# Fire in the hole!!!



## rpludwig (Nov 22, 2011)

New experience today...

Hand routing a 3x6" cavity in nixie boxes (process posted elsewhere on the forum)...

Have done 100's of these without a hitch for several years, thx to help from Detroit Mike, Harry & Pat Warner's bases.

The cavity is routed in 3 - 1/4" deep passes with a 1/2" carbide spiral upcut bit using a DW618 w/vac attachment hosed to a dust deputy attached to a shop vac, which captures 95% of the dust and chips into the 5 gal bucket. Always been very efficient.

As I finished the last pass, I notice a smoldering wad of sawdust/chips in the corner of the cavity, not only smoldering but burning, as in fire!

Immediately dug it out, tossed on floor and stomped it out. checked the vac bucket, 3/4 full and no sign of fire...of course immediately dumped the bucket into a trash bag and tossed it outside.

Imagine, had the vac sucked up that small bit of burning embers into the bucket, could have spelled disaster if it had gone unnoticed, end of day, flame in bucket of sawdust, etc.

No clue the cause, the wood is hard (African teak, aka Iroko), the bit was reasonably sharp, perhaps a bit of hard mineral deposit in the wood causing a spark to ignite?

Going forward, the vac bucket will get emptied at the end of a days work, burning embers or not...and a couple of extra fire extinguishers are being added to the small shop.

Anyone else had a similar experience?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Yikes! Close call, Ron.
I use my belt sander for both woodworking and metal (sharpening some blades etc.).
I'm paranoid about a spark getting into the fine sawdust still in the sander...I remove the dust bag for the metal use; hope that's going to be enough.
Now you've got me _more_ worried.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I try to remember to go out to the shop an hour or two after I've finished for the day and see if I smell smoke. I figure if there is a problem I should be able to smell something by then. BTW, the table saw is also a prime contender for starting fires.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

They do make smoke detectors for dusty environments...
eg:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...T03vzZ_0vCAlCS_IHGtBUEQ&bvm=bv.90491159,d.cGU


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

Holy smoke!!! Close call Ron. Thank God you found it in time! Thank you for letting us all know. May it be a lesson vicariously learned.

Cheers!!!


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Wow, Ron, nothing like a little adrenaline rush to focus your attention! Glad you spotted it in time and were able to deal with it.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Read the title and said to myself...
Now what are Dan and Rick up to...

Glad you caught the fire in time...
*WHEW!!!*


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Fire in the Hole!!!*

"Now what are Dan and Rick up to..."
Beats me; I'm stumped.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> "Now what are Dan and Rick up to..."
> Beats me; I'm stumped.


this is yours then...










and this one is Rick's...


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Geez Dan are these Americans ganging up on us ?


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## Multiwood (Feb 24, 2013)

Wow Ron sure glad you caught it is time. I'm going to be checking my dust collection more now thanks to you.


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## IC31 (Nov 16, 2012)

I have never even thought of a fire starting in my sawdust pile or even one of the vacs. I do have at least 3 fire extinguishers near - but once I shut the lights off and go upstairs, never even think about a check later. 

If I'm using my welder - that's a whole 'nother story since the smoke and grinding will often set off the wired in alarm so I'll unplug it. I've set rags (and my jeans) and even 000 steel wool off with welding sparks and grinding though


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## gmercer_48083 (Jul 18, 2012)

Ron, I was routing slots for a jig I was making out of MDF. I was using a dull spiral bit and smelled smoke, found a pile of smoldering dust and stomped it out. Quite scary!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Make that singular, Rick...


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Not an issue with sawdust but a spark(s) from the Worksharp system I was using to clean up an old chisel set off the rubber mat it was sitting on to hold it stable. Fortunately I caught it at the smolder stage and threw it out into the rain. Sometimes winters in the NW are advantageous.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JFPNCM said:


> Not an issue with sawdust but a spark(s) from the Worksharp system I was using to clean up an old chisel set off the rubber mat it was sitting on to hold it stable. Fortunately I caught it at the smolder stage and threw it out into the rain. Sometimes winters in the NW are advantageous.


ahhhhhh....
be suspect of grinders and belt sanders used for sharpening too...
and another plus for the Tormek...


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Thank for sharing your experience, Ron. I need to get another extinguisher for the opposite end of the shop. I do have a water hose just outside the door I can use if needed. I would hate to use it, but wouldn't hesitate a second.

Every year for 33 years, it was a requirement to do fire training, which included book stuff, a dumb test, and a trip through the smoke house and last of all, put out a pan fire. It was a 4x6 pan with diesel floating on the water. Sometimes they would create a fire scenario resembling a drip on a pump casing or it's associated piping.

I never regretted those exercises. Fortunately, I never had the need to use the extinguisher, either on the job, or at home. But I could do it if I had to.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Based on these comments I was extra careful to examine the shavings/dust building up in a bowl I was routing today and found it to be warmer to the touch than expected. The bit (MCS bowl bit, very sharp) was not even warm. I dumped the shavings into a can of water and took another pass. Same result, same action. I was routing mixed hardwoods, taking less than a 1/4" at each pass and cleared the shavings after each pass around the bowl (approx 2" x 4"). Based on this I'll not be clearing bowls with a vacuum in the future. 

Thank you for the post!


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Kind of a two edged sword though. When I do router bowls with a bowl bit and no DC, it blasts an amazing amount of dust everywhere. Guess I will rethink DC for router bowls. Though, I have never felt any chips that were close to hot.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

PhilBa said:


> Kind of a two edged sword though. When I do router bowls with a bowl bit and no DC, it blasts an amazing amount of dust everywhere. Guess I will rethink DC for router bowls. Though, I have never felt any chips that were close to hot.


Phil: My DW 621 is mounted on a 12"x12"x3/8" acrylic plate which allows a clear view of the routing process but as a result also traps the shavings etc. On bigger bowls this has not been an issue but I suspect what happened here was that the shavings build up too great/fast and the bit action kept it in constant motion hence inducing the heat. By emptying the bowl more frequently I believe the problem will be resolved. 

In addition to the clear view of the work area, that large base plate also rides well over the edges of the box/bowl to provide a stable surface and I can safely power down the router, leave the bit depth set and place it on a set of 4x4s while I clean/ check the work area.


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