A word about SAFETY

[Michael@Oz]

Last week I splurged on a few things;



Smoke Alarm



CO Alarm



Fire Extinguisher (you want the A B & E - which covers paper, fuel (like burning molten plastic ) & Electrical - at least here in Oz)

You may think the above is overkill?

Well a tidy work environment is a safe work environment.



My work space, notice something missing?









Yes a notebook.

Notice the avant-garde pattern?

That is what happens when you spill 1/2 a bottle of acetone on it , and a good deal on me too

Basically because of the untidy work space, I was resting the open bottle on the hand rest of the notebook. Bound to happen then

So while I wait for the notebook to dry, I'm going to put away all those tools and things I used in the assembly phase, and reorganise the work space for printing.

Everything in its place.

Luckily nothing sparked or my bot, notebook and table would have been toast. And if it did, and I didn't have the extinguisher My room would be history too.



Safety first!

ps The notebook seemed to run happily for the few seconds it took me to power down, so I have crossed fingers, toes and eyes

pps Those keys are now nice and shiny (well some), so now you know how to revamp that old notebook.

...and I'm going to get that fire blanket too...

[pocketscience]

Eeek!! Hopefully the only damage is cosmetic to the laptop...! Good call on the fire gear - I've already got a extinguisher and blanket near my space - the nearest smoke alarm is a little way off, so I'll get one to seal that gap in my defences.


Cheers,

[pakrat77]

There is a smoke alarm right outside my office door. The day after I setup a soldering iron in there my wife brought home another fire extinguisher...

[jr57k]

I have the same set, sans ruined laptop.

[Michael@Oz]

Well the notebook powered up and resumed from hibernation just as it was.

After cracking each key, crunch crunch ... it's all working, although I have to thump the backspace key.

Luckily keys are cheap to replace, I've taken this 8yr old notebook to pieces a few times before, so it's time for another overhaul...
edit I'm thinking of applying acetone all over the case so I end up with a new trendy white notebook... /edit

I've now bough a small glass jar at the $2 shop, so only a small amount of acetone is present, less likely to cause as much damage in the future...

Lucky lesson for me; a forewarning to y'all!

[Michael@Oz]

Well I got around to replacing the keyboard and painting the case.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Hammered Copper. The bottom turned out nice in gloss black too. New keyboard saves thumping the old one.

Works like a new one.

So remember, play safely out there...

[mikemwa53]

Nice Job!!!

[Michael@Oz]

Nice Job!!!

Thanks, although I had two screws left over once I reassembled it

[hqmhqm]

Thank you for this reminder!!

As I started reading your post I was thinking "I don't have anything particularly hazardous in my workspace.." and then I saw you
mentioned spilling acetone, and I realized I too have a big can of acetone sitting on the shelf next to the printer.

[Michael@Oz]

Thank you for this reminder!!

As I started reading your post I was thinking "I don't have anything particularly hazardous in my workspace.." and then I saw you
mentioned spilling acetone, and I realized I too have a big can of acetone sitting on the shelf next to the printer.

You also have mains voltage, a 200+C hot piece of metal, and molten plastic, risk escalates with every additional aspect. Add acetone, wet rags, a spark from the motor of your drill and...

[spaceorange12]

I think that your overhaul was more of a computer beautification. Looks nice and shiny! If you spill acetone on it again though, I would go with a birch wood look (to match your printer)

P.S. Beautification is a word.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beautification