Are your tools dangerous?

[Steven O Smith]

I do hand and power woodworking, blacksmithing and metal machining, hobbies all and at home. I was greatly amused when I had to fill out a form at my doctor's. One question was "is there anything dangerous in your home?". I asked if I could have extra pages.

[Edward Weber]

That popular mechanics article feels like it's targeted to general consumers (not necessarily woodworkers and DIY enthusiasts). Though, there is one tool I have seen that seems stupidly dangerous (or dangerously stupid, lol):

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-1...isc-58013.html

What do you guys think?

There is certainly potential there for damage if you're not prepared.
This is a good video by carvers, explaining these tools
https://woodcarvingillustrated.com/b...ngle-grinders/

Many people have gotten injured by these tools, what percentage, I don't know.
There are many alternatives to these that vary in aggressiveness of cut, which most people equate to how dangerous they can be.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I do hand and power woodworking, blacksmithing and metal machining, hobbies all and at home. I was greatly amused when I had to fill out a form at my doctor's. One question was "is there anything dangerous in your home?". I asked if I could have extra pages.

Next time list - toilet(s).

There were 40,000 toilet related accidents last year.
Compared to - 30,000 table saw related accidents.

[Edward Weber]

Next time list - toilet(s).

There were 40,000 toilet related accidents last year.
Compared to - 30,000 table saw related accidents.

Trying to be thorough, I looked up some stats.
PTI estimates that are approx 9.5 million tabesaws in use in the U.S.
There are approx between 30,000 and 40,000 TS accidents per year in the U.S. (Depending on your source)
A horrible statistic to be sure but from a strictly numbers perspective, that's only about 1/2 of a percent of users having accidents.
This also goes to why there aren't more safety standard on power tools, the numbers just don't justify it in many cases.
I certainly don't know where the tipping point is but less than 1% is not a strong position to bargain from.

[Michael Burnside]

Next time list - toilet(s).

There were 40,000 toilet related accidents last year.
Compared to - 30,000 table saw related accidents.

What are the number of toilets in use compared to the number of table saws? I’m sure many, many orders of magnitude not only in number that exist but the frequency with which they are used per day. The numbers don’t even compare.

For automotive safety standards toilets fall well within DPPM targets but table saws, by comparison, do not even come close.

[Rich Engelhardt]

My point was - who would have thought 40,000 accidents occurred via a toilet.
When I think of "dangerous" - I don't really think of a toilet as being something that is dangerous.

[Michael Burnside]

My point was - who would have thought 40,000 accidents occurred via a toilet.
When I think of "dangerous" - I don't really think of a toilet as being something that is dangerous.

Might be for elderly or people that are intoxicated LOL

[Carl Beckett]

Rugs ultimately cause a lot of deaths. Elderly people trip and break a bone or hip, mobility never recovers, and decline rapidly from there.

So rugs are also dangerous.

Falls are a leading cause of unintentional injury among adults age 65 years and older. Loose, unsecured rugs and damaged carpets with curled edges, are recognized environmental hazards that may contribute to falls. To characterize nonfatal, unintentional fall-related injuries associated with rugs and carpets in adults aged 65 years and older.

[Edward Weber]

What are the number of toilets in use compared to the number of table saws? I’m sure many, many orders of magnitude not only in number that exist but the frequency with which they are used per day. The numbers don’t even compare.

For automotive safety standards toilets fall well within DPPM targets but table saws, by comparison, do not even come close.

Please explain
Auto standards of some type comparing toilets and tablesaws?


And Ive been accused of using false equivalencies in this thread (not by you)

All I can say is be safe on the toilet, I guess
or at least meet some automotive safety standard or something

[Tom Trees]

I just googled "toilet amputations" but didn't find anything.

[Warren Lake]

okay next try zippers

they need saw stop technology.

[Patty Hann]

I just googled "toilet amputations" but didn't find anything.

MAybe you aren't looking it up right.
Maybe you have to Google "commode amputations", or "water closet amputations", or even "loo amputations".
Accuracy matters, juneau...

[Edward Weber]

Now that I think we've gotten to the point where everything is dangerous, I guess nothing is.

You can look up zipper injuries yourself, I did and the numbers are just ridiculous.
Pay attention to what you're doing, be safe.

I'll add, after the last couple of posts, the shop is sounding not so dangerous after all

[Michael Burnside]

Please explain
Auto standards of some type comparing toilets and tablesaws?


And Ive been accused of using false equivalencies in this thread (not by you)

All I can say is be safe on the toilet, I guess
or at least meet some automotive safety standard or something

LOL, it was more in gest from a high-level. But....if all injuries are serious, let's just say they're the same at 30k injuries. Given we have 250 million toilets (used by everyone, including children) vs. 10 million tablesaws (used by a fewer population set) the injury per million is 25 times higher with a tablesaw even completely and utterly ignoring use models, exposure and controllability models. In summary, be careful in the shop and the bathroom!

[Cary Falk]

I think I have caused myself more harm with a box knife than any of my large tools. LOL