Woodworker's Journal 2004-Winter, страница 56

Fire-retardant Finishing Cabinet

By David Larson

The accumulation of finishing supplies and solvents, and the challenge of storing them in a safe way, is a common problem to every shop. Often the situation develops so gradually that it goes completely unnoticed.

I've been working wood for several years and spend lots of time fixing my house and refinishing antiques. Consequently, I've accumulated quite a few cans of stains, varnishes, oils, strippers and solvents (mineral spirits, turpentine, lacquer thinner and alcohol). My guess is that most woodworkers are in the same boat. When I realized how many of these flammable materials I had carelessly stacked on open shelves, I knew I had a problem to solve.

What To Do?

My first task was to find out the proper method for storing flammable liquids. My search quickly led to the State Fire Marshall's office where I obtained the codes for a flammable liquid storage cabinet. I should point out that these codes apply to Minnesota, and there is no unified national code. You should check with your State Fire Marshall to see if you have additional codes to consider when building this cabinet.

On the whole, the codes are straightforward (see Tint Box, next page), although two of the requirements may be unfamiliar to woodworkers. The first is intumescent paint. This is a special paint that swells and chars in the presence of heat, forming an insulating fire-retardant barrier

58

MATERIAL LIST