timber merchants with no saw

[wallace]

A friend of mine went to lathams at Gateshead to get a length of timber that he wants me to machine. The length was 4.8m so he asked if they could cut it in two. They said they do not have saws because of health and safety :shock: And he was not allowed to cut the timber on their premises. He had to go to a shop and buy a saw to fit it in his car.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

With that approach, I'm surpised they were allowed to stock timber. After all, it's a fire hazard, and somebody might injure themselves dropping a piece on their foot.

 

[Mark A]

This doesn't surprise me...

But then on the other end of the spectrum I once asked a timber merchant to cut down a sheet of ply on their panel saw and the guy obviously hadn't been trained as he didn't have a clue what he was doing.

 

[Halo Jones]

One of our local merchants is the same. They mostly deal with trade so no real need for them to cut anything. I always take my saw with me but if I forget they handly have a nice blunt saw to help you!

The funny thing is they are not allowed to cut anything but once you have they are more than happy to carry it to the car for you!

 

[Flynnwood]

The funny thing is they are not allowed to cut anything but once you have they are more than happy to carry it to the car for you!

If they are carrying it to the car quite happily, perhaps they have not been made aware yet of the PROSIYHCCI regs?

(Possible Risk Of Splinters In Your Hands Can Cause Infection) (hammer)

I'll get the coat ....

 

[SPSlick]

Try Percy Hudsons at North Shields, always super helpful. I ordered some 8 foot lengths of walnut and maple, asked them to cut it for me and they took me into the yard and asked me where I wanted the cuts.

 

[Roughcut]

My local timber merchant only has a hand saw too.
When I asked why? I was told it was for health and safety reasons.

 

[Fat ferret]

What h and s directive would that be then? Often leaves people in a lather of indecision I find.

 

[RogerP]

H&S is often used as an excuse when people really don't understand or have even read the guidelines.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/getting-started.htm

 

[Ed Bray]

Strangely enough I had this same issue last week, I went to my local timber merchants and chose my wood only to find the radial arm saw that has been there for donkeys years was no longer there, I asked how they proposed to cut the 5 mtr lengths I had chosen and they said sorry, no saw, I said don't worry, sorry no sale and left them to it.

Wet down the road and bought it elsewhere. Their loss.

 

[JohnPW]

H&S is often used as an excuse when people really don't understand or have even read the guidelines.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/getting-started.htm

When they say they don't have saws "because of health and safety", what they really mean is they can't be bothered to implement and follow all the H&S rules, ie, all the stuff in the hse.gov.uk link:

The following is just the start:

Getting started
What HSE inspectors look for - A quick checklist
Assessing your workshop

Conditions will vary from clean workshops to those where machines are buried under dust and off-cuts. General tidiness is often a good indication of how well other issues are being managed.

Machinery should all be well maintained and have the correct safeguards. It should also only be used by those trained and competent to do so and you should be able to provide evidence to prove this.

Inspectors will also look at braking and tooling as well as any other safety issues, such as work at height and transport.

There should also be good control of health risks from wood dust (that can cause asthma or dermatitis), manual handling, noise and hazardous substances.
Have the right paperwork

Inspectors will ask to see copies of COSHH assessments and risk assessments if you have more than five employees, and health surveillance records (or summaries).

Only low-level health surveillance (questionnaire-based) is needed for general wood dust. But high-level health surveillance must be in place where there is exposure to high-risk woods like Western Red Cedar.

There should be evidence of maintenance and test records for any extraction equipment and instructions for employees on how to use it properly (see extraction section in wood dust).

There should also be written instructions provided to employees covering:

training and supervision for machinery;
Information on health hazards and how to control the risks;
how to use and care for dust masks; and
how to clean up properly.

 

[yorkshirepudding]

H&S is often blamed for lack of customer service and an unwillingness to provide sufficient levels of staff training.

 

[KevM]

H&S is often blamed for lack of customer service and an unwillingness to provide sufficient levels of staff training.

Absolutely - there's a whole section of the HSE website dedicated to Health & Safety myths - most of them boil down to using H&S as a convenient smokescreen.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

They do come out with some daft things sometimes, though. I had it in writing that I was to cease doing something they regarded as dangerous. I was bouncing kegs of beer off a loading bay onto a dolly bag. I don't think they had ever seen a brewers dray being unloaded - maybe they thought they came equipped with sky hooks. Needless to say, the instruction was binned.