Best Practices are more difficult to describe and document than Safety issues. That said, over time you will intuit what is a best practice given the context of your scenario.
For example should you hit a 3D-printer with a hammer? Hopefully not, because that will break the printer. We cannot document "do not hit this machine with a hammer" because then we would have to document every possible "do not do this" scenario. Instead 'Best Practices' says I shouldn't hit this 3D-printer with a hammer, so I won't.
So rather than a list of "do not do this," Best Practices are pro-active tips you should consider at various times.
And like all things, Best Practices are a work-in-progress and new ones will be added over time.
- Whenever you are cutting, sawing, clipping, chopping, splicing, crimping, pouring - you get the point - put on safety glasses. If you're unsure, then you probably should be wearing safety glasses!
- Whenever cutting, always cut away from your person, and never place any part of your hand or flesh in the path of the cutting tool.
- When working with glues, solvents, resins, liquids: work on an absorbent surface, or on a surface you can dispose of afterwards. Do not get glue on nice surfaces! Nice surfaces like to stay flat and clean. Do not use glues on cutting mats. If you're unsure, use a less precious surface like a piece of scrap wood or cardboard.
- Cutting mats are only for cutting on.
- Do not use the heat gun around the cutting mats! It will warp the mats. Learn to 'isolate' the heat on the object you are working with without the heat 'spilling' onto nearby objects or surfaces. How to achieve this? Employ best practices and figure it out for your scenario.
For example should you hit a 3D-printer with a hammer? Hopefully not, because that will break the printer. We cannot document "do not hit this machine with a hammer" because then we would have to document every possible "do not do this" scenario. Instead 'Best Practices' says I shouldn't hit this 3D-printer with a hammer, so I won't.