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astra_conv:safety_health:safety_health

safety and health

Many activities in the course of such a project lead to exposure to dust, harmful chemical vapors, or in case of welding, ultra-violet radiation. Further dangers come from high voltage and from the sheer weight of the car. I have always tried to be as cautious as possible, e.g. wearing gas mask, ear protection, protection goggles and gloves whenever necessary. So far, I have “survived” the project with only two visits to the eye doctor (bashful edit one year later: four visits). Note: for grinding, protection goggles must be absolutely tight and it is too late when you put them on only after you realized that it might have been better to.


Life insurance for working underneath the car: The welded-up “blockers” are hooked into the bars of the ramp and secured with a belt. The wooden block underneath the side skirt is also advisable, as the ramps are not really trustable and might collapse if they have a “bad statics day”.

Actually, for the photo, the wooden block was not placed properly at all - the side skirt at this point (near the middle) is not supposed to carry the car's weight, and it is generally a good practice to tightly fill the gap between car and support with proper material.


For the gas mask, a combination of pre-filter, particle filter and gas filter is the best option - unfortunately, it then is too bulky to fit beneath the welding mask.

Here, I have just replaced the pre-filter after an extended grinding session. Without the gas mask, I would have inhaled all that dirt… Note that on this picture, the mask is only equipped with one filter (gas filter) plus the pre-filter, for above reason.


Talking of air filters: It turned out to be a good idea to look after the fresh air filter below the windshield now and then.

Originally, this filter and its surroundings looked like this - note the many different kinds of nuts that generations of furry creatures must have diligently carried here - and congested. You sure won't want to breathe the air sifted through this timeless collection!

Now, after some cleaning and with a shiny new filter:


Something possibly only people aged 30+ can understand:

Suspending yourself with a backpack and elastic rope reduces the strain on the spine a lot when you bend over the engine compartment. Saves you from back pain, and eases two-handed working!

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astra_conv/safety_health/safety_health.txt · Last modified: 2014/04/25 17:22 by richard