On Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:31:41 +0200, Nick Mueller
wrote:
Joe Pfeiffer wrote:

The rig belongs
to a neighbor, who will want to watch the show in any case!

But not watch you welding, but looking in places where you can't see what's
going on! *That's* his task and he clearly has to be aware of it. Remind
him that it is *his* car going up in smoke.

Just a reminder. You know that, he doesn't.

Drape everything you can in damp cotton duck dropcloths or wool
blankets. And wrap all the cables in the immediate area under the
dashboard, too. You want to use wool or fiberglass "Welders
Protective Pads/Blankets" held in place with spring clips over
anything that can get damaged.

Give your 'Safety Man' a garden hose with a trigger nozzle or a full
garden sprayer with clean water in it, and the nozzle set for heavy
cone spray. And a charged dry-chem or CO2 fire extinguisher or two
close at hand if it turns out the water isn't enough.

The water sprayer will be used to lightly dampen all the exposed
surfaces each time right before you start to weld, and put out the
fire in the carpet (and your coveralls) from flying red-hot slag
dingleberries - without all the cleanup issues blowing off a Dry
Chemical extinguisher inside the car would cause.

(Not to mention the "Unplanned Change of Underwear" after he blasts
you in the face with Ammonium Phosphate powder.)

Long time ago I had a shop putting a new collector and muffler on my
Corvair, and when he picked up the Hot Wrench that little voice of
reason in my head said to get the garden hose and stand by as Safety
Man. And I have learned that when that little voice speaks, it's
usually right.

The shop owner openly criticized my doing this - Famous Last Words:
"What could go wrong?" with the "You're just a kid, what do you know?"
addendum for good measure. Then he flipped his hood down and got to
work cutting out the old collector.

Not thirty seconds later he lit off the firewall insulation with the
backwash from the torch, and I was right there with the hose...

After that, he wasn't laughing any more.

When they ask "What could go wrong?", tell them the Top Ten Things
that could go wrong. It either shuts them up right quick, or it
clarifies you're working with someone who is too careless to be
entrusted with your safety and/or property.

-- Bruce --