How safe are you?

[ralph blanco]

Hi everyone,

Woodworking involves the use of a variety of hand and power tools. It's a very important part of the whole woodworking industry because it makes everything a lot easier.

But the convenience comes with a certain price, and that is safety.

If you get a bit clumsy you can easily cut a finger off.

So the question is, how do keep yourself safe from injuries and accidents in the workshop?

[Leo Graywacz]

Use the most important tool in the shop.

Your brain.

[Bruce Page]

I plan each step, beginning to end, when there's a threat of injury. Working as a machinist for 30+ years I kept all ten digits and my eyesight using that philosophy.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Absolute rule #1 for me. No beer/alcohol in the shop. Tired? Stop. Rushing? Slow down. I also have a Sawstop. But that's a backup for using the brain and safety equipment all the time.

[Damon Stathatos]

...how do keep yourself safe from injuries and accidents in the workshop?

Absolute respect for the machine and physics involved.

[Mel Fulks]

When someone does get hurt try to figure out why it happened ,then instruct everyone as to a method to avoid a repeat.I cut a finger on a bandsaw once while cutting up some rippings. While being taken to the hospital I commented that I couldn't under stand how I could have gotten cut without completely severing the finger. That is just routine with a bandsaw cut. Took a day off still trying to figure it out. Came back and needed the bandsaw for the same task. Said to myself "this is how you got cut ,BE CAREFUL" . Working slowly and deliberately.....OW! I'm cut again! But because I was going slowly I noticed how I got both cuts. The blade was tracking wrong and had eaten through the other side! Both times I was cut not while sawing ,but by throwing away the pieces at a barrel very close to the saw. Order a helper to repair it (the saw) .Then onto the hospital...NOTE: It's probably better to figure these things out without reenacting them.

[Michael W. Clark]

Try not to touch anything sharp, especially if its spinning.
Seriously, I think it is a combination of understanding what "could" go wrong and taking actions to minimze those risks. Jigs to keep your hands away and from slipping, trying to stand out of the way should there be a kickback, etc. Hand tools can hurt you too. A sharp chisel that slips into a finger will leave a nasty wound as well.

[David Kumm]

I never walk away until the machine has stopped completely. If it takes too long I put a brake on it. Some days I just don't feel very patient so I go take a nap. And although i used to work late into the night, as I've aged I never turn on a dangerous machine after about 10 pm. Sometimes it also is about luck. Dave

[Rick Fisher]

Great topic ..

I am super safe with the Bandsaw, Jointer etc. . Lots of respect .. Having said that, I cut myself with a chisel twice last week .. Not nasty, just left one lying out on the bench and bumped it with a finger ... and later my other finger .. sigh ..

I seem to respect the tools that do real serious damage .. I am cautious when actually using a chisel .. but lazy in other regards..

Worst injury I have sustained is a knuckle hitting the edge sander belt.. It was actually quite nasty ..

[Jim Neeley]

Make a significant mistake or a close call on an injury and have a safety stand-down for the day. Go in and think through what happened and how to avoid it and be safer / better. Sometimes it's just from working too long.

Don't press myself to get "to a stopping point" on a project. It's often rushing or being tired in the last few minutes where things seem to happen.

[Larry Edgerton]

If something does not feel right, find another way.

Larry

[John Coloccia]

I plan each step, beginning to end, when there's a threat of injury. Working as a machinist for 30+ years I kept all ten digits and my eyesight using that philosophy.

Exactly what I do. I have never let myself get comfortable around power tools...not in the wood shop or the machine shop. I'm confident around them, and I'm not afraid of them, but I'm always on my toes and I'm always planning out my steps and thinking them through.

[James Pallas]

The most dangerous tool in the shop is the one you are about to use. Read all of the instructions for a new tool even if you are familiar with the type of tool. What a surprise and expense you would have if you put a piece of damp wood in your brand new SawStop, the one you bought to replace your unisaw that you had for 20 years. Be your own safety expert first and a tool user second.
Jim
PS No I didn't do it, but I bet it has happened more then once already.

[Brian Tymchak]

Exactly what I do. I have never let myself get comfortable around power tools...not in the wood shop or the machine shop. I'm confident around them, and I'm not afraid of them, but I'm always on my toes and I'm always planning out my steps and thinking them through.

+2. I rehearse every cut on the tablesaw, band saw, miter saw. And I double-check where all my fingers are at before I make any cut with any machine.

[Carl Beckett]

About the time I start talking about how safe I am, is about the time I get hurt.

Grew up on a farm. Was a lab tech building space engines for a while. Was a machinist for a while. I had a grandfather that was missing the larger part of a thumb. Have a brother that pulled a dovetail saw right through his thumb tendons. Have a clicky thumb myself after ER surgery due to a table saw kickback (I 'thought' I was being careful - but it bit me anyway). Have another friend that pushed his hand right through a bandsaw (it all just happened 'too fast'). Yet another friend did his hand through a bandsaw cutting up chickens (I guess in those days, he had time goals to getting a certain quota sliced up for KFC). Another relative cut the tip of his finger off in a radial arm saw. Last year a friend shoved a chisel through his hand working on of all things, a pinewood derby car (still has a pretty decent scar/lump on his hand). I cut my left index pretty deep with a utility knife slip last year - still bearing the impact of that one. The surgeon that put the pins in my thumb stated that he used to do woodworking but after practicing surgery for a short time he sold it all - had seen too much.

I try to have respect for the equipment. Patience is huge. Safety guards. But by no means are there any guarantees, other than perhaps the surgeons approach of just getting out of it all together.