When we think of workplace safety, things like hearing and eye protection typically come to mind. Or, is it hold downs, feather boards and push sticks? Dust collection? Not drinking before you operate power tools?
My point is that we often overlook one very important part of shop safety – what we’re wearing on our feet. There are lots of hazards that could affect us down there – from dropped objects to stepping on sharp items. And then there’s the slipping hazards, splashed chemicals and other concerns.
If a foot or both feet are hurt, you could be out of the shop for quite a long time.
This week, let us know what kind of footwear you slip on before you head out to the shop.
Tom,
What I wear in the shop depends on what I’m working on and how clean my shop floor is. If the floor is clean and I’m just doing assembly or hand planing at the shop, I may go barefoot. For general benchwork, I often wear comfortable street shoes. When I am handling heavy slabs of wood, steel toes are my choice.
Chris
I wear steel toe Red Wing boots. Choose carefully, many of their boots now come straight from China. Most of the $175 + models are still made in the USA.
They might be three times the price, but they are more comfortable and tend to last three times as long as cheap boots.
My older Dress shoes, but it’s not in the list ! :0
Hand carved wooden clogs made from the root of the Mesquite tree harvested under the light of a full moon on the 3rd Tuesday or the 3rd month when Pisces is rising while Venus is in retrograde and the moon at aphelion.
Dangit, Shannon… didn’t you remember it was supposed to be MERCURY that was in retrograde? Now, you will have to burn them and start over.
Burn them in the fires of Mount Doom?
That is your quest, young Mister Shannon Baggins…