One more thing to consider with ANYone else in the shop: KICKBACK. I've had my encounters, imagine if it had missed me and hit one of my 5 year old grandkids in the face. Fortunately I don't work in the shop when they are visiting.
When I was young (8-10) I used to watch my dad in his garage shop. It was big enough for both the cars and his old Dewalt RAS. After the first time he had a kickback, I started sitting in the car to watch through the windshield it scared me so much.
Member
Ole
Thanks for the reminder. Steve did state that he never operated machinery while his son was in the shop. I think the lesson learned here is that everyone needs to think when there is ANYONE else in the shop. Even if my wife was in the shop, I would watch her.
Jeff Sudmeier
"It's not the quality of the tool being used, it's the skills of the craftsman using the tool that really matter. Unfortunately, I don't have high quality in either"
Member
Steve, glad you came out of with only an injury to your wallet.
FWIW, I wired my tablesaw through a service disconnect box which I mounted on the left side under the wing. I can reach down without looking and pull the handle out disrupting power to the saw. With the handle on the tabletop, I can see there is no power. The box could be locked if desired or the handle pulled and stored away in a safe place if needed.
Since my saw is wired for 120V, I connected both hot and neutral through the disconnect. The ground is hardwired through the box so it is always intact.
Moderator
I let my daughter in the shop all the time...she gets her own set of ear muffs when I turn on power tools and she gets moved to the opposite side of wherever I'm working.
I have the (good) habit of lowering my TS blade when I'm done cutting. However, twice now, my daughter has managed to turn the TS on (blade was lowered, good for us!) when I wasn't paying attention. We both had to clean out our underwear and/or diapers at the time!
I often set her up on the concrete steps near the door into the house with a couple pieces of wood, some brads, and "her" hammer and she happily tries to bang the nails home...until she hits a finger!
20 months may be too young but I think it is great you have your kids in the shop with you...spending time with Dad doing Daddy things is great for your kids. My daughter loves going in the garage with me...yeah, she has hammered a finger or two, yeah she has banged her head on a thing or two, but she learns and overall, still wants to play with Daddy. I'm only too happy to accomodate but you do have to be careful and mindful that you aren't alone!
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