making safety curtains- ideas?

[Bobcatter]

After reading some of the safety issues related to welding, grinding, cutting,etc, I started looking around my garage and saw lots of ways that a stray spark might get me into fire trouble. So, any one use some kind of curtains to stop the sparks? I know they make official welding curtains, but everything seems expensive. I would like something that I could pull across to shield off most of the garage - like how a shower curtain hangs from the rings and can be pulled across. What kind of material? Dark color? Just a tight weave cotton? What do y'all think??

[Rocky D]

You should really go with the real deal...grinders start more fires than welding does...I wouldn't take the chance on it lighting up on ya.

[yorkiepap]

Hey Bobcatter,
Welding curtains may be expensive for one who does hobby or occasional welding but are a worthwhile investment considering what you may lose in a nasty fire. I would suggest you looking into a welding blanket that is very reasonably priced, comes in a variety of sizes, stitched with kevlar thread, and would probably serve your needs quite well. I got a 6' X 8' blanket on E-Bay for less than $60 incl. shipping that I use when welding on classic cars. It has been a superb investment and the customers like the protection it provides. You would probably have to get a metal grommet kit so you can hang it with shower hooks to make it easy to open/close. Just type "welding blanket" in the E-Bay search window and you will get all the listings. Hope that helps...Denny

[Nickoli]

Harbor Freight carries them for a reasonable price...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95015

[jeepnjim]

Harbor freight sells several different sizes of welding blankets and seeing that there are no moving parts they should be good for quit a while!

[Nickoli]

I just took another look at that Harbor Freight ad again and saw this warning at the bottom of the page...

Warning: All blankets are subject to burn through from molten slag/metal. Direct contact with extreme temperature and flame may result in smoking or fire. This product is intended to provide partial protection during light duty welding and grinding jobs.

I have a 6 x 6 from there and I use it to cover other nearby equipment up while welding and grinding. I don't actually weld on top of it or throw grinding sparks directly on its surface so I can't actually speak on behalf of the warning but mine has lasted thus far (3 yrs)!

I was more concerned with the warning label that came on mine "This product is known to the state of California to cause cancer" Whats in this product anyway????

[Rocky D]

Here's where I get mine. www.mcmaster.com

[sail2u]

There are several plastic welding screen vendors, and I bought 2 60" x 15' screens with grommets on top (12" apart) for about $ 30 each.

I cannot find the exact link tonight, but try these:

http://www.e-tarps.com/pdf/weldingscreens5of5.pdf
http://www.e-tarps.com/category.cfm?Category=131
http://www.gss-store.com/c=SdkSwqOmotDkw0ny6b6iMr5tf/category/welding.curtains/

http://weldingscreen.com/
http://www.labsafety.com/store/Facilities_Maintenance/Welding_-_Soldering/Welding_Screens/9507/?noredirect=true