JOB SAFETYANALYSIS Department of Environmental Health & Safety

Sharpening of hand tools

PHOTOS TASK HAZARDS CONTROLS

Using a rasp to sharpen variety of shop tools

Cuts, puncture wounds, eye injury

Always use two hands while filing. This prevents the tool from bouncing off the work bench and onto the worker. The flat edges of the file or rasp are sharp enough to cut skin. Never use a file or a rasp without a handle. The pointed end can puncture or lacerate the skin. Use the file in one direction only. File away from the body to prevent injury. The teeth of the file are generally facing one direction. To file against the teeth will cause the file to bounce off the work material and injure the worker. Wear safety glasses to prevent particles in eye.

Whetstones are used

to sharpen knives,

scissors, and other

flat-bladed tools.

Cute, Puncture wounds, eye injury

Always keep hands and fingers clear of the area of the stone where the tool is being sharpened. Secure the whetstone before sharpening a tool in order to prevent slippage. Wear safety glasses to prevent eye injury.

A grinder is a piece of power equipment used to abrasively remove

Serious injuries from a loose-fitting or unbalanced wheel which

Always wear personal eye protection when operating a grinder.

metal from a larger piece of material.

can fly from assembly and cause injury Cutting and lacerations from the wheel. Also material can be pulled into wheel of machine adjustments are not correct.

Never rely on the eye shields on the grinder alone Never stand directly in front of the grinding wheel as it is coming to speed. Adjust rest plate to within 1/8 inch of wheel and tongue within ¼ inch of wheel. Always wear safety glasses. See JSA for grinding wheel operation.

Use solvents and

chemicals safely to

sharpen tools.

Chemical exposure Wear eye protection Wear proper fitting gloves Clear area of other people and make sure adequate ventilation is present.

Using a hand jig to sharpen drills

Cuttings and

lacerations

Wear proper fitting gloves Do not leave tools laying around Carry tools in front of you, not over your shoulder

Sharpening a wood chisel

pinched digits, cutting an d lacerations

Wear gloves Keep the grinding wheel dressed so as to have a good cutting surface on the grinding wheel which causes a minimum of friction and prevents burning of the chisel.

Keep tools in good working condition

Pinching, smashing, cutting, severe lacerations

Tools that have deteriorated in this manner must be taken out of service.

Sharpening of knives and scissors

Cuttings, lacerations and pinching of digits

Put on proper PPE such as gloves

Sharpening cutting tools like axes, pulaskis brush hooks and sandviks

Cutting and lacerations Grind or file on an even taper approx. 2 1/2 in. (65 mm) back from cutting edge; maintain

even bevel on each side ƒ Cutting edge shoulder

Using files Lacerations and other injuries such as cuttings

Always use two hands while filing. This prevents the tool from bouncing off the work material and onto the worker

Using a sharpening steel for knives

Cutting and lacerations.

Pull both sides of the blade across the steel Follow manufactures instructions

Using a leather strop Digit pinching, and other minor injuries

An abrasive material can also be applied to the leather to use the strop as a polishing tool. A leather strop is usually hung on flat surface.

Required Training:

Required Personal Protective Equipment

(PPE):

Wear gloves unless working around rotating equipment Wear safety glasses Dust mask as needed

Reference Materials: Delaware State University Job Hazard Analysis

Created: John Attelah

For more information about this JSA, please contact the Environmental Health and Safety Department at Berea College: E-mail: Leslie_Kaylor@Berea.edu or Mike_Morris@Berea.edu

Phone Number: (859) 958-3350 The development of Job Safety Analyses is a very effective means of helping reduce incidents, accidents, and injuries in the workplace. It is an excellent tool to use for training purposes and can also be used to investigate “near misses” and accidents.