# drilling core safety?



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome aboard first of all! You are an apprentice and working under the direction of a journeymen or leader that has a higher position of authority on the job. You are not responsible for the outcome of what you are told to do.


----------



## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Welcome aboard first of all! You are an apprentice and working under the direction of a journeymen or leader that has a higher position of authority on the job. You are not responsible for the outcome of what you are told to do.



Welcome aboard. First of all it's core drilling, not drilling core. They haven't perfected a drill yet that is able to drill core without exploding. One guy got pretty close but he blew up after a couple of minutes. That core is nasty stuff .


----------



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

the safety measures _*are *_the xrays/scans.


----------



## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

5AWG said:


> Im an apprentice and my boss has me drilling core. Is there safety measures involved? No x-ray has been done and we've drilled through pipes with dead/old wires. Im a bit nervous on continuing. Am I liable for any damages as well?


What are you coring? 

Is it a slab on grade?

An elevated deck? Hollowcore, post-tension or wet? (whatkind of steel reinforcement are you seeing?) Reason I ask is post-tension has a live load; cut that cable and lots of bad things happen.

Sounds pretty reckless to me. How long do you think it will be before you hit live conductors? 

BTW: Great profile you have!
Welcome to the forum.


----------



## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I wouldn't even try to drill in a post-tension without x-ray. Hopefully this isn't one of those cases. Otherwise, put on some hearing protection and maybe safety glasses to protect yourself.


----------



## Grounded-B (Jan 5, 2011)

Previous responders are right - NEVER core a post-tension slab without having it x-rayed first.

As far as other slabs/decks go - unless it's a data center or hospital, I've never had an x-ray done. If you hit a condiuit with live wires, the core bit will short them out and trip the breaker. (hopefully). You may see some sparks, but you'll be safe as long as your rig is grounded.

Steve


----------



## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

Welcome on here 5 AWG.

If you are concerned for you're personal safety you need to address this with your J-man. You should have been trained in the safe operation of that machine *before* you ever even used it. 
"Backward training" is finding what can go wrong the hard way.

You will find a lot of help here from some of the best in the business, we can help, but you're in a trade where you need to look out for you.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

5AWG said:


> Im an apprentice and my boss has me drilling core. Is there safety measures involved? No x-ray has been done and we've drilled through pipes with dead/old wires. Im a bit nervous on continuing. Am I liable for any damages as well?


Most of the core drill rigs have a GFCI built into the cord.
In my experience, you need to watch you slag and stop if any gray PVC starts to appear. Real bad as mentioned here is if your are drilling post tension and some black PVC starts to appear in your slag.
Both are good times to stop.
Its not unusual to core through conduits embedded in the slab.
We usually find the tripped circuit, see if anymore are in the conduit and chip up the floor or re-rout the circuit.
You are working under the supervision of your Journeymen. If you exactly follow his direction, he is responsible. 
With that said, I have seen entire crews thrown off a job including foreman, journeyman and apprentices. 
Your personal safety is your personal business. 

If you have a real problem with this and are not getting through to you journeyman. 
Try this:
When he walks away, and right as you hear him coming back, pop a 1/2 of an Alka-Seltzer in your mouth with a little water. Pour a little water on the front of your pants.
Lay on the ground next to the core drilling machine. 
Let us know what happens.


----------



## 5AWG (Jul 2, 2016)

Thanks everyone I learned a lot reading the replies :thumbup:



Suncoast Power said:


> Most of the core drill rigs have a GFCI built into the cord.
> In my experience, you need to watch you slag and stop if any gray PVC starts to appear. Real bad as mentioned here is if your are drilling post tension and some black PVC starts to appear in your slag.
> Both are good times to stop.
> Its not unusual to core through conduits embedded in the slab.
> ...



:laughing::laughing: I was actually thinking that the other day, something like a torn fake arm and blood on the stairs and he's coming back with more water


----------

