Solder in a well-ventilated space to prevent the mildly caustic and toxic
fumes from building up and causing eye or throat irritation.
Always put your soldering iron back in its stand when not in use. Too, be
sure that the stand is weighted enough or attached to your worktable so
that it doesn’t topple over if you should brush against the cord.NEVER place a hot soldering iron on your work surface. You could start
a fire.
Give any soldered surface a minute or two to cool down before you
touch it.Never, ever try to catch a hot soldering iron if you drop it. No matter
how hard you try, you are very likely to grab the hot end in a freefall. Let
it fall; buy a new one if you have to — just don’t grab!
Never leave flammable items (like paper) near your soldering iron.Be sure to unplug your soldering iron when you’re not around.Don’t put your face too close to the soldering site because of the danger of
stray hot solder and those horrible fumes. Instead, use a magnifying device
to see when soldering teeny-tiny components to a board. You can buy clamp-
on magnifiers that keep your hands free for soldering.
Running with sharp objects: Cutting, sawing, and drilling .............
As you work with electronics projects, you will find yourself spending a cer-
tain amount of time doing construction tasks: building enclosures of various
shapes and sizes, cutting holes for switches, drilling a board to attach wheels,
and so on. These tasks involve using tools such as knives, saws, and drills.
Anything that cuts can cut you, too. Here are a few tips for safe cutting:
Take a moment before you cut.Know where you want to cut, what the
best tool for the cut is, and how best to hold onto the thing you’re cut-
ting to avoid cutting your fingers. (Clamps or a vise are useful for secur-
ing whatever you are cutting.)Get experience.If you’re new to sawing and drilling, get an experienced
hand to fill you in or take a shop class.
If you don’t know how to run power equipment, don’t use it.A small,
unpowered hand tool can often perform the job without as much poten-
tial danger to you if something goes wrong.Keep distractions to a minimum.If you’re likely to have a visitor wander
in while you’re running a power saw, put a Do Not Disturb sign on the
door. That momentary distraction could cause an accident.Chapter 2: Safety First 25