On Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:18:44 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote:

On 2/13/2010 7:18 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
at is the big smoke stage
Just before it breaks into open flames.

Since we were moving in to a new house the garage was full of cardboard
boxes. The sanding dust was in a plastic bag in a plastic garbage can
that was sitting next to the cardboard boxes.

When the garage filled up with smoke and it started leaking into the
house we realized that something was wrong. Fortunately I was able to
get the garage open and the can into the drive. At that point it was
simple to fill the can with water.

It took some time to get the smell of smoke out of the garage, and the
plastic can had to be replaced as a big section was melted from the heat.

It was one of those comedy of errors things. No one did anything wrong,
just the sum of the actions of several people created the quite volatile
situation.

Well, this has absolutely nothing to do with the flammability of dust
in suspension in the air. This is about sanding an oil-finished floor
that has not fully cured and the heating that comes from the curing
process - or - about slightly wet sawdust being packed into a closed
container - or - about a spark from some other source getting included
in the sweeping up - I've seen sparks from tools and cigarettes both
end up starting fires that way (good thing to watch out for on your
dust collector as well. A cig sucked into the collection bag can ruin
your whole day).

--
"We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com