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Hand tools and shop orientation · Lesson 2 of 4

Hand tools and shop orientation: materials, standards and design constraints

Why capacity belongs to a metal and a maker, the 29 CFR 1926.301 conditions that take a tool out of use, the compressed-air limit, housekeeping and inspection rules, and CPWR's ergonomic guidance for two-handle tools.

You will be able to: Read a maker's capacity as a rating for a named metal, compare it with a sheet's decimal thickness, state the OSHA conditions that take a hand tool out of use, and apply the compressed-air, housekeeping and ergonomic guidance that governs hand-tool work.

14 min · 11 slides · 11 questions

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Slide 1 of 11

Conditions that take a tool out of use

1926.301 is the construction standard; shops follow 1910.242(a).

Wrenches, including adjustable and pipe wrenches, are not to be used when the jaws are sprung to the point that slippage occurs (1926.301(b)).

Impact tools such as wedges and chisels must be kept free of mushroomed heads (1926.301(c)).

Wooden handles must be kept free of splinters or cracks and kept tight in the tool (1926.301(d)).

Six sound and unsafe hand-tool conditionsSix pairs, sound on the left with a green tick and unsafe on the right with a red cross: a chisel head clean or mushroomed, wrench jaws gripping or sprung, a wooden handle tight or cracked and loose, a seamer holding sheet to a mark or struck like a hammer, a straight wrist or a bent wrist at a low bench, and a shop-air gauge below the 30 psi mark with a shield or above 30 psi.Chisel headSound headMushroomed headWrench jawsJaws grip the flatsJaws sprung, slippingWooden handleSmooth and tightCracked and looseHand seamerSheet to the markStruck like a hammerWrist while cuttingStraight wristBent wrist, low benchCleaning with shop airlimit:under30 psiBelow 30 psi, guardedexampleAbove 30 psi

Six pairs, sound on the left with a green tick and unsafe on the right with a red cross: a chisel head clean or mushroomed, wrench jaws gripping or sprung, a wooden handle tight or cracked and loose, a seamer holding sheet to a mark or struck like a hammer, a straight wrist or a bent wrist at a low bench, and a shop-air gauge below the 30 psi mark or above 30 psi.

Chisel heads, wrench jaws and wooden handles are the construction-standard faults in 29 CFR 1926.301(b) to (d); the seamer follows Malco's statement that its zinc-jaw seamers are not warranted as a striking tool; the wrist follows CPWR guidance; shop air follows 1910.242(b). The gauge is a sketch, not a reading.

Sources

Videos for this lesson

What this video shows: Malco's own short video on its wide-jaw seamers: gentle on painted or coated metal, depth marks in 1/4 in steps to 2 in, and the note that they are not warranted as a striking tool or for prying or bending heavy ferrous sheet. Checked against the video's description.

Video: Malco® Hand Seamers S5R and S9R by The Malco Group, on YouTube. Chosen from the video's published description.

Glossary

Capacity (tool rating)
The thickness of a named metal that a maker says a particular tool is rated for. It belongs to that maker's tool and that metal; it is not a rule for other metals or other makers.
Gauge-only rating
A capacity printed as a gauge of a named steel, such as 18 gauge low carbon steel, with no decimal thickness and no rating for other metals.
Sprung jaws
Wrench jaws opened out until the wrench slips. 29 CFR 1926.301(b), the construction standard, says such a wrench is not to be used.
Grip span
The distance across the handles of a two-handle tool. CPWR's guidance for power-grip tools such as nippers is no more than 3-1/2 in open and at least 2 in closed.
Chip guarding
The effective guard against flying chips that 29 CFR 1910.242(b) requires, with personal protective equipment, whenever compressed air below 30 psi is used for cleaning.