Hazards of Making Haunt Props

There are a lot of hazards to making your own props. Most of it is just using common sense, but there are things that can happen that you don't think about or if you are in a hurry and don't take the time to think about all the what-ifs.

First, anything that you are doing that makes little pieces or parts or dust-like particles, whether it is cutting wood or pvc pipe or even if you are spray painting or using that all purpose fun Great Stuff, I'd recommend wearing goggles to protect your eyes.

 

 

Cutting wood, saw dust, bits of wood come flying out under an electric saw or even splintering with a hand saw. Those bits and pieces can fly up into your eyes before your know it.

PVC? Oh yes! I use a mitre saw to cut all the pvc pipe as I use some very large pieces and it's hard to cut it with a hand tool, so using a fine blade turned backwards, (trick my Uncle told me of) it melts the pvc edge to make a finer one but there are tons of melted shavings that will adhere on to anything and everything, including your eyes. So goggles are definitely called for.

Spray paint is a given, you'd be surprised how far that stuff flies in the air and gets on everything. I worried about it spraying into my eyes with the wind and forever seeing the world thru a speckled black lens. No thanks, goggles again.

 

 

Great Stuff. Oh boy...those are pressurized cans and they can and have been known to explode at times. And that stuff, is just really super difficult stuff to get off and well you really don't want it in your eyes or else you will need to flush your eyes out and seek medical attention PRONTO. ALWAYS use goggles. This is bad to just get on your skin! Check out this link that explains more about Great Stuff and what to do should you get it on your skin:

Great Stuff Safety

Directly from that site in case you can't open it:

A.   Eye contact with wet foam may

cause irritation or injury. If the foam

dries and hardens on the eye, it

becomes diffi cult to remove and will

be painful.

FIRST AID: Flush eyes

with water for 15 minutes. Seek

medical attention.

  B. Prolonged skin contact with wet, uncured foam may cause

irritation and may stain skin. Skin contact may cause an allergic

reaction or lead to respiratory sensitization. If

wet or uncured

foam

gets on skin, quickly and carefully wipe it off using a cloth

without spreading the foam around; wash with soap and water.

Within minutes, wet foam will dry and bond to surfaces and skin.

Once the foam has dried, it cannot be removed with any solvents

or cleansers.

Cured foam

that has dried onto skin or surfaces

must be mechanically removed or allowed to wear off in time.

Frequent soaking of the skin in warm, soapy water followed by

application of petroleum jelly or vegetable oil may help. The use

of a pumice stone or gritty cleansers may

also help remove cured foam. These

materials should not be used on the face

or on areas with a lot of hair.

FIRST AID:

Wash skin with plenty of soap and

water. If pain or irritation persists,

seek medical attention

I also use gloves, especially when I am working with Great Stuff. I also wear long sleeves, pants and a t-shirt that I don't care much about. Its the same with Monster Mud, you WILL get it on you, some way, some how. Great Stuff, you have to be really careful to not get it on you. It's possible but it's best to protect yourself when using it for the "oh sh*t" moments. Cause they happen more often and even to those who are experienced with prop making.

 

 

Most things are common sense, but I can't stress enough how important it is to protect your eyes above all!

I also would recommend using a mask over your nose and mouth as you don't want to be breathing in any fumes like with the Great Stuff or the spray paint.

When working with anything electric, its best to always be ever mindful where the cords are, and the top thing is to pay attention to where your fingers are in relation to the blade at all times. 

 If you have long hair, be sure and keep it tied up in back with nothing hanging down so it doesn't get caught up in anything. It can happen in an instant.

 Have fun and be safe out there!