Other shop hazard - surprise!

[Brian Holcombe]

My father taught me very early on two important things of the workshop, one was never bother anyone using a piece of a machinery the other was never mind anything until you're done using the piece of machinery (with very few exceptions).

I have a Kapex, track saw and router table in my basement shop, and anymore I lock the door while using it. The key is above the door frame so that people can get to me in an emergency but it's just enough work that no one bothers me unless something is very important.

[Wayne Lomman]

I am also one who never locks the shop door. However, being a lifelong professional woodworker, you get taught the rules of distraction early on. Brian's father's rules of distraction are spot on. The machinist has total priority and team protection from distraction or accidental interference.

The uncontrollable random events are the ones that are very hard to deal with. I had a wasp fall down the back of my shirt and sting me around my waist band. What saved me was using the correct body position for machining so despite the stab in the back I had no other consequences.

As for airline failure, one of my close colleagues walked past a 2" air hose on a work site just as the coupling let go. He was killed instantly. The investigation revealed we could maybe have had the hose closer to the floor and he might have lost a leg instead of his life. The ironic part is that the job was underground with myriad apparently far more lethal hazards that were well controlled. RIP GB

[michael langman]

In the ladder plant I worked in they had 2 extrusion presses run by water hydraulics. One day there was a loud bang, and a leak in the hydraulic system.
The foreman of extrusion couldn,t figure out where the fitting went in the hydraulic system, and a few days later noticed a hole in the ceiling,roof above the press.
A good rule had been followed in the assembly of the press. Always have high pressure fittings pointing up, away from the ground, and anyone in the vicinity of the hydraulic lines.
Sadly this cannot be done on nuclear submarines with high pressure steam systems.
In my previous post I forgot to mention that safety was a big concern in the navy . I was taught to always turn off my machine and back away from it if anyone ever approached me while running the machine, and talked to me.