Other shop hazard - surprise!

[John K Jordan]

I was reminded yesterday of the thread on being careful out there while working in the shop. It's getting too long to read so I'll put it here in a new thread and perhaps someone else has something to add.

I consider myself extremely careful. I know where my hands (and other parts) are and what could happen if the wood misbehaves. I'm careful about my footing and balance, even making a "dry" run to check when an operation requires movement. When I get tired or feel my biorhythm is low () I quit and go feed the llamas or read something.

In the middle of cutting veneer on the bandsaw yesterday I had everything under control when suddenly a wasp flew down and tried to land on my face. It changed it's mind, I somehow maintained composure, and no damage was done to board or being. This made me think of other things that might happen while using a tool that could cause a sudden discontinuity of attention and result in a serious injury. Things that could happen even we are rested, alert, and following the rules...

• - The mentioned stray wasp, hornet, or even being buzzed by a stink bug at the wrong time. (I have no idea how prevent this one except try to keep the shop sealed.)
  
• - Unexpected attention by a shop dog or cat or pet macaw at the wrong time. (Unlikely with a power saw running, at least with my animals!)
  
• - Air or water line bursting at exactly the wrong time. (I know, highly unlikely)
  
• - A sudden toppling or sliding of an unbalanced stack of turning blanks or unsecured leaning lumber.
  
• - Being surprised by a visitor. (Especially for anyone like me with an enhanced startle reflex.)

To guard against the last one I keep the shop door deadbolt locked when using power tools. My family knows not to enter without knocking and and announcing and to wait a bit when they hear power sawing. A driveway alarm alerts me when a car comes down the lane. Fortunately, I'm not startled by the phone ringing.

Any others to think about?

JKJ

[glenn bradley]

The emergent events that catch us off guard are nearly impossible to account for in advance. Like you I place safety at the top of my list in the shop. I plan to do this for another decade or so at least and want to be able to enjoy it.

It probably took me 6 months or more to train friends and relatives not to bang on the rollup door. They all know I spend most of my available time in the shop and thought they were sparing me the trouble of coming through the house to answer the front door . . . wrong. Nothing like being in the middle of some delicate joinery when someone bangs on the rollup door making a noise like some Norse God hammering the weapons of war. They are all trained now.

I also removed the wall phone from the shop. I keep my cell in a particular spot and just pick it up and look at it now and then as I pass by. I grew up in a world where if you weren't available, the phone just rang . . . no answering machines, no call forwarding. In today's world many people expect you to be available by call, text or email any time. after 25 years in I.T. I can tell you what will be the first thing to go when I retire, any form of electronic leash.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

. In today's world many people expect you to be available by call, text or email any time. after 25 years in I.T. I can tell you what will be the first thing to go when I retire, any form of electronic leash.

After 34 years of pagers and cell phones, when we retired, we got our first personal cell phones in the form of smart phones. I was deaf and texting had it's advantages. The ONLY times mine is turned "On" is when the wife is traveling without me or I am on the road traveling.

[glenn bradley]

Ah yes, emergent situations while working in the shop are almost impossible to prepare for in advance. Like you, I place safety at the top of my list in the shop. I plan to do this for another decade or so and want to be able to enjoy it.

It took me months to train friends and relatives to NOT bang on the shop’s rollup door. They all think they are saving me the trouble of leaving the shop and making my way to the front door to let them in . . . wrong.
There is nothing quite like being in the middle of some delicate joinery about 100 hours into a project and having someone bang on the roll up door sounding like some Norse God hammering out the weapons of war.

As far as toppling stacks of stuff; this is completely preventable. I am not the clean-freak many suspect when seeing pics of my shop. However, I do not allow clutter in my walkways, teetering stacks or precariously suspended tools or materials and so forth. When I catch such things getting away from me, I stop and address them ASAP.

Actually, that sounds a little too civilized. I try to stay ahead of it through good practices in the shop. However, every now and then I will kick something that shouldn’t be there that I didn’t see because of what I am carrying, issue a few blue words and then deal with the offender post haste. I do find that there is plenty of time to keep things cleaned up and organized while watching finish or glue dry. Committing to the effort to have a place for everything makes this easier.

I still have a few random items that just can't seem to find a home. Eventually these things are banished to the shed or some other long-term storage location. If something has been sitting in the same inappropriate spot for a month or so, it is not critical to my work. As such it can be put somewhere that is not at my fingertips.

[Mel Fulks]

John, good point there. Part of safety is being able to adopt a state of "over control" ,the term psychologists use for such things as a ticklish person being able to ignore being tickled. Sometimes the easiest way to get into that state is to state that anyone intentionally distracting you will be beaten with a stake.

[Bill Orbine]

Catching a splinter in the middle of the operation (example.....ripping lumber on table saw). Happens quite often.

[Victor Robinson]

There just isn't a way to eliminate all routes of access to the divine/fate/destiny/nature. It's gotta have some way to bite ya!

For me, it's definitely the piles of lumber and scraps scattered about, ready to topple over at any moment and restricting movement throughout the shop. Definitely the biggest safety issue in my shop. I need to get rid of a lot of it, but the hoarder in me just won't let go.

That, and the city-wide warning system which blares at noon on Tuesdays to [test] warn us of impending doom from a nuclear strike or tsunami.

[Sam Murdoch]

A mourning dove doing a full frontal - very hard and loud - on the window when a hawk breaks up the party at the feeders is quite a startle!
Situational awareness is a "learned instinct". The other stuff out in the world that can bite you is karma .
I must admit a wasp would likely get my attention and distract me from the saw work.

Knock on wood that kind of event has not been my experience.

Glad your wasp passed you by.

[Andrew Hughes]

Last year I had a guy run through my shop that was running from the local police.I have two sets of Train tracks the run behind my shop so he decided to jump my fence to make his escape.
I was running my big bandsaw and didn't even notice him until he was standing next to me.
I don't really get startled so I just stared at him and ask what are you doing?
He was sweating and out of breath as he was asking for water I was showing him the way out.
Hes lucky my dog was in the house. She would have cornered him no problem
The cops were already waiting out front he was arrested.
Carpenter bees in the spring bug the hell out me.I hate those things

[Jon Grider]

Some good points here. In my basement shop, my biggest surprise would be a spousal visit. I have a sometimes remembered arrangement for her to call my name several times as she descends the stairs.

John, I'm not so sure I would want my door dead bolted. I think I want to be able to exit easily and quickly if needed and I want to be accessible if an emergency arises. Locked doors could complicate emergency egress or block someone getting to me if I'm injured. Perhaps a doorbell loud enough to hear over power equipment would be an alternate solution?

[John K Jordan]

Some good points here. In my basement shop, my biggest surprise would be a spousal visit. I have a sometimes remembered arrangement for her to call my name several times as she descends the stairs.
John, I'm not so sure I would want my door dead bolted. I think I want to be able to exit easily and quickly if needed and I want to be accessible if an emergency arises. Locked doors could complicate emergency egress or block someone getting to me if I'm injured. Perhaps a doorbell loud enough to hear over power equipment would be an alternate solution?

That's something to consider. The deadbolts I use are all Schlage keypad (no key needed) - my family all know use the code but emergency personnel wouldn't so I guess if hurt bad I would just expire (as I would if hurt anywhere on the farm before anyone found me!) Of course, the property is gated as well, another bottleneck. The keypad deadbolts open from the inside with a quick 1/4 turn of a large lever. I also put an lighted exit sign with emergency lights at the primary door in case of power loss in the dark. (I have 4 other outside doors elsewhere in the shop.)

For the stairwell, you might consider a motion-activated chime. I bought some decades ago from RadioShack and they are perfect - good sensors, one simple function. Most of what I see now are way more complicated than needed - wireless, remote controls, will dial phone numbers, etc., but someone should have simple versions. When I worked from home I had one in the stairwell leading to my computer lab - it made a pleasant chime when someone came down the stairs so I wouldn't jump out of my skin when someone came up behind me!

JKJ

[Mike Henderson]

Of course, the property is gated as well, another bottleneck.

JKJ

Around here, gates can have a Knox Box that has a lock in it that the emergency people can open with a key - which then opens your gate. You don't have to have a Knox Box but if the emergency people or fire people are called they will saw your gate to get it open (basically, they saw it off the hinges and drop it). Or they may push it open with their truck. Either will also slow them down a bit (although they're quick) which may have deleterious impacts to you or your property.

If you have a gate opener mechanism, it will probably destroy the mechanism (which is fairly expensive).

And, no, they won't pay you for the damage.

Mike

[Bill Dufour]

I have never been working in the shop during an earthquake.. I was driving to the hardware store during Loma Preita. 90 miles away of course I felt nothing in the car. I wondered why OSH had no power. waited ten minutes or so and went home with all the traffic lights out with the power shutdown.
Bill
Modesto, Ca

[John T Barker]

I think if you are focused nothing should break your concentration short of being actually bitten by your first example. Hands should always be in position of next to no possibility of danger, i.e., you never push toward the table saw blade, you push toward the fence.

[michael langman]

I was working in the tool room of a ladder manufacturing company training a new machinist to cut off the aluminum on the end of an extrusion die inside a die holder. The piece weighed about 25 lbs, or so and was a 7" diameter piece of steel.
I had the blade guard up all the way and the Doall band saw on high speed.
My hands were resting on the band saw table edges and the new employee was standing behind me to my leftwhen he asked me a question. I turned around to answer him and when I did my rright hand went into the band saw blade.
I jerked my hand back and the blood was pouring out of my index and second finger knuckles.
I closed my hand gently and saw the first knuckle sliced thru open up, cursing to myself.
I drove myself to the emergency room and the doctor on duty was a surgeon in Vietnam War, and asked me if I wanted to be put out while he stitched my hand back together. I said no, that I wanted to watch him fix my hand as I needed it to do my job and was very concerned about the outcome. We both sat there while he told me stories about Vietnam, and stitched me up.

The following day the extrusion press oerator was grinding the end of a chisel that gets the hammer on an 8" grinding wheel. The chisel got sucked into the tool rest on the grinder, flipped ind the chisel went thru the palm of his hand.


He was telling me this at a later time, and he said that the new employee went running from the building in absolute terror, never to return.