Business Issues

’m I being a little facetious with the The Perils of Pauline reference in the deck but sometimes a small business owner seems to be tied to the railroad tracks while a laughing bureaucrat looks on and twirls his mustache. In the early 1900s, when Pauline was fighting her battles, regulations for opening and maintaining a business were relatively mild compared to today. After all, in those days the business of America was business.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) didn’t exist; neither did any significant Labor Relations Board. You were free to discriminate in hiring practices, stand your child workers on boxes for ten hours a day and pay your female workers less than their male counterparts. All that is gone today, and that’s a good thing, but what are we left with as far as regulations go?

This article can’t address all those subjects but if you have any employees, or even if you don’t but have customers in your shop, you do need to be concerned with safety. The federal government and all states have regulations that can sometimes be taxing (pun intended) for the small business owner. There is no way to cover each individual state’s regulations but I advise you to do your homework well when contemplating opening a business such as a gunsmith or shop.

The Internet is full of information on this subject. Many states have official websites for those interested in starting a business. Local, state and federal regulatory sites have enough information available that is actually specific for gun-related businesses to get you started. The County Clerk of the Court where you plan to operate should also be consulted. I am going to touch on some of the safety measures any shop should observe and, in a general way, some of the regulations you may encounter.

First this disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am not a physician. I don’t even play one on TV. This article is not the regular how-to that I usually submit or even a guide, rather, it should serve as a suggestion for you to think about what you may encounter when starting your business and hopefully keeping it in operation. Do you have employees? Do you have machines in your shop? What about chemicals? If you have afire does everyone know what to do?

There are some accidents that can happen in an operation like ours that are perhaps not unique but something all of us have to deal with. I want to touch on a few and remember this information is for your benefit only, not a legal guide. Take a walk and check where your shop may have a problem.

Eliminate it before it turns into a real problem, either physical or legal disaster (both are about the same, I guess.) The current political climate has driven us all into overtime but let’s not lose awareness of good safety practices. I always wanted to work for myself at a job I loved. Probably that’s what motivated most of you. So I forged ahead and ran into the brick wall of bureaucracy. No surprise there.

Do you have to install a handicap accessible bathroom in your new building or update the existing facilities where you plan on doing business? Maybe, depending on where you want to locate. It only costs another couple thousand dollars. Better make sure that mirror can accommodate tall people as well as those, shall we say, who are height challenged. If you’re off by a couple inches a lawsuit may be headed your way and the bureaucrat will twist his mustache and have a good laugh.

Let’s consider some of the potential hazards in our hypothetical gun shop. Recently, our local paper reported on a generator fire at a recycling operation that did $200,000 in damage. In another recent story, a smaller shop where a belt sander started afire cost the owner $20,000. Every machine we have in our shop runs on electricity. The days of pumping a trestle for power or having an apprentice turn a crank for us are long gone—except in Williamsburg.

Even they have a backlog, and if you want a rifle made the old-fashioned, way the wait time is years. Most of our work can’t take that long. How many machines are working from the same circuit? Are radios and scanners and shop lights all plugged into the same place? Maybe it’s time to upgrade your electrical system to accommodate all this stuff. Has one of your employees snuck in a radio that has frayed wires and blows a breaker every time he plugs it in? Don’t let this happen.

Make sure every item in your shop is inspected for safety before use. It’s always nice to be called out at three in the morning and be met by the flashing lights of fire trucks and a wet, smoldering ruin where your shop used to be. Let’s hope your insurance covers faulty wiring. A wise man once told me that it was OK to do dumb things, just don’t tell anyone about it. Well, sometimes a story told can be a lesson for someone else.

I was hanging a pair of shop lights and decided to run the wires across the ceiling and fasten them with a staple gun. Naturally, it was dark there (that’s why I needed the lights) and I fired them up so I could see what I was doing. While standing

This one got anew switch and a going over. It runs like new. on my aluminum step ladder I was able to brace my forearms on some convenient water pipes to make it easier to place the staples exactly. The first couple went in pretty good. The next one went into the hot part of the wire instead of over it. Before I knew what happened I found myself slumped on the floor in the corner of the concrete wall behind me. I’m not that little of a fellow but that jolt threw me like a leaf in a strong wind. Oh, what fun!

My brother-in-law, who is an electrician, informed me that if instead of throwing me, had the current had held me in place I would’ve been dead. Common household current (110 volts) will kill you, as many dead people could attest. After regaining some of my composure I checked my body and found that I was bruised all along my arms and chest and legs. Strangely, all of these bruises were equidistant on both sides of my body. Ever see a black spot on apiece of chicken?

That’s because most of these birds we buy in a supermarket have been electrocuted at slaughter. The current traveled through me, burning as it went all the way down to the ladder that grounded me perfectly. I can tell you that this little episode made me a chicken when it comes to electricity. I had an EKG done and checked out OK, but I’m still not sure that gives my wife the right to call me a moron after every one of these incidents. No, I’m not a mad scientist, honey.

Do your employees know what to do if they see their buddy on the receiving end of an electric shock? Do you? It’s not a pretty sight and the first thing any of us want to do is to pull the guy off. Big mistake. Make sure everyone who works there knows that if the power can’t be shut off immediately a non-conducting materiel like a wooden or plastic broom stick should be used to separate the victim from the source. If high voltage is concerned there’s not much can be done without cutting the power.

The accident happened. What now? Are any in your shop certified in CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation)? Standing around waiting for the ambulance that someone should have called right away shouldn’t be the only option available when a life is at stake. Anyone can learn CPR. Your local Red Cross is a good place to start. They have classes and certification processes for small, if any, fees. Cuts and abrasions are the bane of any shop. It’s always going to happen. Hopefully, the damage will be limited.

Do you have a decent first aid kit? This is not the same thing that your wife bought for you to stick in the glove compartment. You need plenty of gauze and bandages. A clean piece of gauze used to apply pressure to an actively bleeding wound beats a dirty, oily shop rag any day. The tools we use can be razor sharp and a dull tool is more dangerous to use than one that is sharpened properly. Did you know that a cut from a sharp tool will bleed more copiously and take longer to clot than a jagged wound?

Hold the pressure on for twenty minutes or so and give the wound time to clot. If you keep checking you’ll just disrupt the clotting process. Once the bleeding has stopped cleanse the area gently with soap and water. Soap in the wound itself can be irritating. Apply a thin film of antibiotic ointment and cover with gauze or a Band-Aid. After a few days remove the bandage and let air help heal the wound. Be careful that the patient is not allergic to the ointment.

If the cut is more serious applying pressure is about all that can be done until the paramedics get there. Staunch heavy bleeding with

This is their basic model and retails for $24.99. These common stock inletting tools can leave a nasty wound if they slip. clean towels. A tourniquet should not be applied except as a last resort. Serious tissue damage can occur if it is not used properly and sometimes even if it is. Of course, tourniquets can only be applied to limbs, not the torso. Once in place it should be left alone for the trained medical personnel to handle. Most times lay people should avoid this practice.

If untoward consequences are the result you can expect a lawsuit to follow. Burns are another common shop injury. They can be a lot of fun. Want to hear another dumb story? When I was a younger man I drove a hot Buick with a three fifty something V-8 engine. It was an older car that I could afford at the time but it had been sort of a luxury model in its day. As it happened, the lifters started ticking so I decided to replace them.

I accumulated all the new parts and, since I didn’t have a garage, I waited for good weather and started the job at the end of my driveway. How long could it take, anyway? Popping the hood, I went to work and soon had the fuel line, carburetor linkage and what ever else unhooked, and then removed the manifold so I could get to the offending lifters. Most of them were easy to remove but I had one problem; a few were buried in their seats and I couldn’t grab them with anything to pull them out.

I tried turning the engine slightly by moving the radiator fan. No go. Enlisting the aid of my wife, the plan was for her to tap the ignition key just enough to make the lifters stand up while I stood out front to tell her when to stop.

It worked, but not having remembered the gas line feeding the carburetor was open, and my fuel pump fabulously doing its job, a little gas squirted out (actually, it was a pretty good dose of gas.) Oh, bother, I said (or maybe I said something else.) I’ll just put my finger over the line. It was just going to take one more tap, anyway. OK, baby, try again. You guessed it. On that last tap I suddenly held a ball of fire where my hand used to be.

If the neighbors would have seen me I suspect they would have thought I was performing a rain dance as I jumped around in my back yard trying to get that fire out. Thank goodness I was able to snuff it out but not before I was badly burned with real nice blisters all over my charred paw. I got a basin full of ice water and kept my hand in it all the way to the emergency room. It hurt like hell.

The doctors used about a pound of Silvadene (an antibiotic/anesthetic cream for treating skin infections in patients with severe burns) to cover my hand an inch thick, then bandaged me up. They wanted to know how I had done it. I still think I heard some snickers behind that curtain they pull around the hospital bed. My wife, again, said I was moron. Hey, I’m a victim here! Well, after a few weeks I did get the car fixed and back on the road. It sounded a lot better. I think I learned my lesson about gasoline.

It deserves respect. As with any high flash point material, don’t ever use it as a cleaning agent and keep it off your body. I have another good gasoline story about the water heater, the granny and the dirty dog, but I’m saving that one for some other time. All joking aside, burns can be very serious. The first thing to for first aid is put the fire out. Sometimes clothing should be left alone, especially if it is adhered to the skin. Let the professionals take care of that.

For minor burns on the hands or feet, place the area in cool water to help take heat away from the skin. Ice is not recommended by most experts, although I have seen it used in water in the emergency room. Cooling the area really helps with the initial healing process as well as the intense pain a burn can cause. For severe burns that go deep into the skin, stay away from them until the paramedics get there. Do not put any kind of grease, ointment or butter on any burn.

It will only hold heat in and will be very painful when they have to take it off at the hospital. We used to go to the "Shoot ‘Em Ups" (Westerns) at the drive-in movies when I was a boy. I might have

are available at almost any pharmacy. been about ten years old when I was sent to the snack bar to fetch. One of the drinks ordered was hot coffee, and in those days that meant hot. No suing Mickey Ds for this one. Lids must’ve been in short supply also. Of course, I spilled a large cup of the steaming stuff on my ankle and was wearing socks so it stayed around a little longer than I wanted. Man, it hurt! My mother went to the snack bar and got about a pound of butter to rub all over my blistered ankle.

Thanks, mom! They even let me suffer through the rest of the double feature. Visiting the hospital wasn’t even an option. One thing I did learn from the experience was that if somebody wanted coffee they could get it themselves. A good first aid kit should be in every shop. You can get one from many sources including the Red Cross. Lo and behold, our friends at Brownells stock several different kits. A basic one is #100-011-359WB, going as I write this for $24.99. It contains a lot of bandages and other essentials.

I would supplement this with some antibiotic ointment and more gauze and medical tape available from any pharmacy. Depending on the scope and size of your operation chemical burns, inhalation injuries and eye contamination can be potential problems. Bluing chemicals, cleaning supplies and a lot of the everyday, runof-the-mill stuff we take for granted sometimes can be hazardous if it finds its way to the wrong places. In a shop with employees it makes sense to have an eye wash installed on a convenient sink.

These are inexpensive and are simple enough to allow even the victim to rinse their eyes with tap water, which is usually the first thing to do in this case. It could well save someone’s sight. Rinsing a chemical off the skin as soon as possible is usually a good idea in most cases. In a shop with a lot of dangerous chemicals in stock, government regulations require proper storage, sometimes including fireproof safes. Also, MSDS (material safety data sheets) are mandatory.

MSDS provides information about the dangers of each chemical and how to treat exposure. They need to be readily available and each employee should be familiar with their use and location. This brings us to regular safety inspections. All these things can be taken for granted after implementation and no follow up ever performed. It is a good idea (ethical and legal) to have someone (mix it up among your staff) responsible for written inspections, perhaps monthly, and to keep a record of these inspections.

If you are ever in court and the legal eagle that has you on the witness stand is trying to rip away a pound of your flesh, you will thank yourself for having such records available. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it, anyway, eye, hearing, and inhalation protection should be not only available to your employees but also required if the situation warrants it. Here, also, is a case where you are not only protecting those who work for you but yourself, too.

This treatise was not meant to scare would-be entrepreneurs into abandoning their plans for anew business. If you pay attention to detail and jump through all the government’s hoops you can succeed. The trick is to be aware of what you are diving into before you spend a lot of money. Of course you’ve thought long and hard about what kind of equipment and merchandise you may need according to the size and scope of your plans, but do your homework and don’t let that bureaucrat laugh at you as he twirls his mustache.

AG