Hey, everyone. It’s me, the little voice that whispers in Tom’s head.

No,  I’m not the type of voice that will tell Tom to go out and become the supreme leader of some third world country or anything like that. I’m really a force for good. In honor of Woodworkers Safety Day, I thought it was a great time to make my introduction.

Speaking of introductions, I also happen to  have lots of friends. In fact, many of you reading this post probably have one of my  associates taking up some room between your ears. Why not take a moment to introduce yourself properly?

There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

Tom and I have been together ever since the very early days of life, and during many important times.  I was there telling Tom that it wasn’t a good idea to shoplift that candy bar, even though some of his friends were doing that and telling him it was OK. I was there telling him that he should stop playing his video games and study for that math test back in eighth grade. That he should probably stop drinking at that New Year’s Eve  party before he got behind the wheel and regretted his decision.  I was even there the day he took my advice and realized that Rhonda was the girl for him.

Sometimes, he listens. Sometimes, he doesn’t. I find that surprising, since I have nearly a perfect track record. Whenever Tom does  something stupid, I would remind him that I was looking out for him BEFORE the incident took place, and if he had just stopped for a second to listen to me, he would have stayed out of trouble.

My problem? Unlike Tom, I am not boisterous.  I do a lot of my communication with Tom through subtle whispers that he can hear only when he stops and thinks…

Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t…

This past weekend, Tom was working on another project – a gift for his nephew who is getting his first communion this coming weekend.  It’s the simple cross project he has built probably 30 times. Really easy to build.  So, when he went out to the table saw to rip out the strips for the body and contrasting outside of the piece, he didn’t really notice that the splitter and blade guard was off the saw. It had to come off to use the spline cutter for Katie’s box. There it was, laying on the outside of the rip fence, mere inches away from where it had to be installed.

I said something to Tom to the effect of, “Hey, you gonna put that on the saw?”  To which, the brash, ‘experienced’ woodworker part of his personality said, “No way. These are simple cuts that aren’t going to need the splitter. Besides, the two final cuts are going to be 1/8″ strips, and I’m afraid that they will get hung up somehow.”

I hate the brash voice.  It tells Tom stuff that isn’t really true (when was the last time a thin strip really got hung up on the splitter and pawls?) and tells him to bypass many safety precautions that I dutifully remind him to follow.

So, there he was, ripping a piece of mahogany for the main body of the cross project. No problem with that.  He then brought out a piece of holly to make the contrasting side pieces. The first cut went without  a problem. The second one?  Well, Tom watched as the thin strip nosed down and fell off the saw’s table to the floor.  For a split second, his mind told him what a pain in the butt it was going to be to reach down to pick that up, when something very bad happened.  He lost focus on the board next to the spinning blade, and allowed the workpiece to twist away from the fence.

Quick as lighting, the board, propelled by the uncontrolled back teeth of the blade, forcefully shot the piece  straight into Tom’s right side. Below the ribs, above the pelvis. Right in the gut. Felt kind of like a shot from a boxer to an unprotected part of the body.

As Tom slapped the off switch and threw off his hearing and eye protection, he bellowed loudly enough for the neighbors to come running.

The injury was pretty bad.. the edges of the board tore into the skin to create a perfect image of the size and shape of the piece of wood he was cutting, and it created a large bruise that spread from the location.

And, as Rhonda helped him back into the house to have him  lay down and put ice on the injury, he kept repeating, “Why didn’t I put the splitter back on the saw?”

It’s not a loud warning, but it’s plain as day…  take the time to consult with me now on before you do any work in the shop. I promise I’ll be there to help you out.

The band saw is a very versatile tool. It is also one of the safer power tools in the shop. With the blade cutting in only one direction, there is little chance of a kickback on the saw (unless you are trying to cut something that doesn’t sit firmly against the table.. then you can see some wild action…). And,with my sons both showing some interest in the craft, it was my duty to show him the safe way to work with it.

I figured the best way for him to learn was to take a piece of scrap for practice. This piece of cherry was mostly sapwood and had some serious wane on it, so I figured it would be a good thing to work with.

As you know, the first and most important safety rule is to wear safety glasses and ear protection. Dom wore my setup, while I put on a backup pair of glasses on. One day, I will need to buy that boy a set up of his own. We also tensioned the blade, plugged in the saw and lowered the blade guard into place to ensure that just the minimal amount of blade would be exposed. This also put the guards closer to the top of the board, giving better control on the cut. I also explained that the Laguna has a very powerful motor, and that all he needed to do was guide the wood while the saw did the work.

Dominic started first by making a crosscut on the board. I explained carefully to him that he should keep good control over the board while keeping his hands away from the blade. It took the young fella a little bit of time to get the hang of things, but soon, he was doing a great job with crosscuts. He soon learned, of course, that no, you can’t get any wider of a cut than the distance from the blade to the saw’s column. That’s just part of the fun of working with a band saw!

We also pulled over the rip fence, and Dom was able to get some experience making some rip cuts. I showed him how to get the cut started, how to set the fence and how to push the wood through. I stressed that no – he shouldn’t be reaching anywhere near the blade to finish pushing the wood. Instead, he should rely on a push stick to help guide the pieces through. His first lesson was a success, and I think he likes the saw.

But, what did we do with the scraps? I mean, cherry is a SWEET wood to work with. And, that’s one of its major strengths, especially when it comes to the culinary arts! Dom and I were in charge of making roast lamb for the holiday dinner yesterday, and we had a crazy idea as to how to get some more flavor on the roast.

We took his perfectly formed strips and the prepared leg of lamb down to my mom’s place, where we soaked the strips in water. This was going to help prevent the kiln dried wood from burning too quickly. Instead, it would smoulder over the hot burner, creating.. yes… smoke!

On the grill, I set the properly seasoned leg of lamb on the side of the grill with the burner off. On top of the grill on the other side with the burner on medium-high, I arranged the soaked cherry strips. I put the probe thermometer into the roast and closed the lid. This turned the grill into a slow-cooking oven/smoker type of affair. After two hours of gentle cooking in the fragrant cherry smoke, the roast came out done to perfection with a beautiful smoke ring from the cherry.

Hey, if you have to use up your scraps, there are worse ways to do so!

How many times do we hear – especially during Wood Workers Safety Week – that safety is job number one? The primo position. Right there on the top of the list.

But, what are jobs number two, three, four and five? How about job number 12? Those are mill, joint, cut joinery, assemble, sand and finish, right?

Not so fast, chief.

True, it’s only fitting and appropriate that before we start working in the shop, we take the time to do the right stuff.  Splitter or riving knife on the table saw? Check. Push sticks handy? You got it. Loose stuff off the floor so you can’t trip on it? Oh yeah.

After that, though, do we continue to put safety on our list? I mean, it’s easy to fall into a pattern when we’re working. We’ll get on a roll and allow offcuts to build up on the table saw top. Or, we’ll maybe forget to grab those safety glasses sitting on the workbench across the room. Maybe that cut we swear up and down is too risky to make while we’re out of the shop doesn’t look too challenging while we’re at the workbench. Or, we’ll work until we are well past tired and want to make that proverbial “One Last Cut.”  You know the one that leads to many injuries.

It’s easy to become lax as we work… making the safety at the top of the list argument an afterthought before we make the boneheaded move that requires us to reach for the first aid kit or – heavens forbid – the phone to dial 9-1-1.

I can’t take credit for this outlook. I’m an advocate of Mike Rowe’s argument that safety is indeed job three… and many other slots on that list. Maybe I didn’t make the point clearly enough, but perhaps Mike can convince you. Check out this link to hear his explanation for yourself.

As we work our way through Wood Workers Safety Week, take a look at your safety practices. Check out your safety gear. And remember, the most important safety device that you own rests between your ears. Use it.

We’re in Wood Worker’s Safety Week, and I’m sure you are 100% fully compliant on all safety practices. There is a zero percent chance of an accident ever befalling you…

Well, we’d all like to believe that. But, as we know in life, the only things that are 100% certain are death and taxes. Beyond that, it’s a crap shoot. That doesn’t mean that you don’t want to load the dice in your favor, right?  I mean, none of us takes down the box of rat poison and pours it over their breakfast cereal in the morning.  Or walks out into the middle of traffic on a busy road without at least a half-hearted glance to see if cars are oncoming. We don’t light the barbecue grill inside the living room, do we?

In the same way, becoming a little bit safer in the workshop really doesn’t take much thought or effort – or certainly cost. By following a few simple safety tips, you can improve the odds that a freak accident won’t befall you.

1) Kill clutter.  It never fails – you start working on a project  and the next thing you know, there are extension cords, offcuts and tools all over the place. On the floor. On the bench. Across the shop. They become tripping hazards. Dropping hazards.  I’ve found myself recently becoming lax on cleaning up my messes during a project. There have been times where I have piled up so many tools, clean up could take several days. That’s why I’ve had to institute a plan that at least keeps the mess at bay. My new cell phone has a countdown timer on it. Now, I set the timer for one hour, and when it goes off, I take the time to look at the bench and the tools to see if anything can be cleaned up or put away. Sure, it’s a pain in the rear, but taking a forced break every hour to walk away from the bench and clean up some stuff helps to keep a tidier – and safer – work area.

2) Avoid overloads. In order to save a few bucks, I used to use light-gauge outdoor extension cords from the one outlet in my shop and plug in multiple tools. And, for some time, this arrangement worked well for me. That was until one day I smelled this aroma of hot plastic in the shop. What could it have been?  Much to my amazement, the extension cord was uncomfortably hot to the touch. Now, I’m sure the circuit breaker would have kicked in before something would have happened, but it was shortly after that my wife and I had to have a conversation about adding a few shop dedicated circuits to handle the loads I was placing on the tools.

2a) Sure, it cost some money, but there was an added bonus – when I put the tools on two dedicated circuits, if the breaker ever did trip, the lights remained on in the shop. This was a HUGE improvement over what used to happen; the circuit would trip, and the lights would go off with a spinning blade I could no longer see right in front of me…

3) When in doubt, secure your work.  If I’m going to route a set of dovetails, I’ll take the time to carefully clamp the work to my bench. If I’m going to joint a board with my hand planes, I’ll crank down on the board in the vise. But, when I have to make a few simple cuts with a chisel, I typically just lay the board down on the bench surface and go to it. Or, even dumber, I’ve even HELD the board with one hand while using the chisel with the other. That was cool in my eyes, until the day I accidentally laid the sharp edge of a 1 inch chisel across my inner left wrist. You know, where all the veins, arteries, tendons, nerves and ligaments run that operate your hand run. I barely got a scrape from my encounter, but I could have been looking at some major micro surgery to get my left hand working well again.  That was the day I bought a set of Quick Grip trigger clamps, and now I set the piece down on the bench and clamp it into place. Sure, it takes some extra time, but when I think of complaining about that, my mind flashes back to that scary incident.

These three tips are just a starting point. In fact, I’d love to hear more about your safety tips. Remember, Wood Workers Safety Week works when we all share our collective wisdom and help keep everyone happily pursuing the craft.

There are lots of useful power tools in the shop. The band saw. The router. The thickness planer. The drill press.

But, as far as versatility is concerned, there are few multi-taskers as capable as the table saw.

Rip. Crosscut. Angle cut. Cut joinery. If you can dream it, a well-tuned table saw can get you there.

But, the major concern about this useful tool is safety. A quick visit to the Table Saw Accidents site shows that table saws cause the most injuries of any stationary power saw. A blade with carbide teeth whirring at between 5,000 and 9,000 RPMs can get your attention in a hurry.

Many of the accidents involved contact with the blade or some kind of kickback, but a significant number of injuries occur when an off cut is caught and thrown back toward the operator or the operator reaches across the blade to retrieve an off cut. With the saw blade’s teeth arranged on a circular blade body, it’s easy to see that the the teeth that do the cutting at the front of the blade push the work down to the table. The problem comes in when something contacts the teeth rising out of the back of the table.  Should a workpiece his that, it could be sent flying back toward you.

And, I know you know the safety rule about keeping your hands at least three inches away from the blade at all times, but  there’s always that moment during repetitive cutting where I find myself reaching across the top of the blade reflexively to knock an off cut away. It’s always a bad idea, and I know I have to remind myself to stop doing that.

But, what about those pesky offcuts?  How can you corral them safely to keep them away from the blade and keep them from interfering with your work?

Some of the tips I’ve seen out there include:

Zero Clearance Inserts. These insert plates allow for a very tight opening around the table saw blade, preventing thinner offcuts from falling into the saw’s body. Not only do they prevent these issues, they also allow for cleaner cuts with little tear out where the blade exits the bottom of the work piece. They are very easy to make, so keep a few on hand if you change your blade or for different dado blade widths.

Use your splitter. Splitters and riving knives help to prevent contact with the back side of the saw blade. Working without a splitter could allow the wood you are cutting to do just that. Riving knives, since they raise and lower with the blade, rarely have to be removed.  Splitters do have to be removed for non-through cuts.  So, if you need to take it off for an operation, be sure to return it when you are done.

Support your crosscut. If you have to do a lot of crosscutting, a crosscut jig can help you get better control.  By building a version that straddles the blade, your work will be supported on both sides of the cut. Also, if you build the sled properly, you can clamp  a piece of scrap wood as a hold down clamp, holding both the keeper and offcut piece safely in place.

Watch the side space. It’s tempting to use both the miter gauge (to hold the piece at 90 degrees) and the rip fence (as a stop block to cut consistent lengths) to make crosscuts, but that’s a very bad idea. By not allowing enough room for the off cut to fall away, it could pinch between the blade and fence and fly back at you. It’s a great idea to use a stop block clamped to the rip fence as a gauge and setting that gauge behind the point where the blade contacts the wood. This way, once the piece clears the blade, it’s free to fall away.

Support your pieces. The table saw makes quick work of ripping, but you have got to exercise care when doing that. For long pieces, set up an outfeed table slightly lower than the height of the table saw’s top. This way, when the board clears the saw and the weight tips the board toward the outfeed side, you still have support under the board, preventing it from pivoting away from you.

Clear those offcuts. Sure, they seem innocent enough, just sitting there on the left side of the blade. Those little offcut pieces don’t normally cause issues… but  they can vibrate into the blade and be flung at you.  I’ve seen lots of jigs out there to steer those scraps away from the blade. I’ve seen people try to hook up compressed air systems to blow them away.  And, it always seems like such a great idea to push them away from the spinning blade with a stick and keep on cutting. But, so far, the safest way I’ve seen to remove them from the saw is to turn the darned thing off between cuts, wait until the blade comes to a stop and then pull them away.

Needless to say, you should also wear all of the obligatory safety gear, never operate the saw after drinking or on certain prescription drugs and always listen to that little voice in your head. That way, you can spend more time fuming about your offcuts and less time nursing a pretty gruesome injury.

It’s not often that when we think of shop safety that our thoughts turn to our feet, but think about it for a minute.  Do you hand plane? You probably stand to do that. Rip boards on the table saw? Probably standing. Rout mortises with a plunge router?  Up on your feet. Gotta walk across the shop to get the only chisel in your set that you really REALLY need to use to precisely trim a joint, but  you forgot in your tool box.  Feet, don’t fail me now!

Yet, still, we often think about the puppies after everything else has been considered.

Well, my job today is to get your feet to the top of your mind… so to speak. Let’s take a look at some of the footwear options in the shop.

Barefoot. I’m sure this was the footwear of choice of woodworkers for millenia. And, I’m also willing to bet that this level of footwear served its owner well.  Of course, there are a few downsides to this option. There’s no protection from temperature extremes, stuff laying on the ground you could step on or things dropping onto your foot. Also, it’s absolutely miserable to stand on a concrete shop floor for a long time with no sort of cushioning. This may not be the best option in today’s shop.

Socks. Not as silly as it seems. In the Japanese woodworking tradition, special socks with split toes are worn by woodworkers. This gives them the flexibility to use their bodies as weights to hold boards down as they work on their projects. It also helps that the traditional Japanese woodworking is done on the floor or at low trestles.This reduces the likelihood that something could be dropped onto your feet.

Sandals. I’m sure they were popular in places such as the Roman Empire (where many western woodworking traditions began) as well as Florida.  They are a step up from bare feet, but still offers no protection from the occasional gravity test.

Athletic shoes. Super comfortable and supportive, these babies make standing for a long time very easy on the feet. They also have skid resistant soles, which can prevent an unexpected slip. Of course, the only issue is if something gets dropped onto your feet from a bench.

Boots. This is what I prefer to work in when I’m in the shop. I use some gel insoles in them for added comfort. My boots have steel toes and are made of thick leather, which gives me a lot of confidence that should anything fall, my feet will be protected.  They also have slip resistant soles. Now, they are heavier that any of the other options, so they can make my legs tired, but I’m willing to deal with that.

Gosh, it seems as if I’m spending a lot of time worrying about something falling off the bench onto my foot.  Sure, I might be overreacting… but this video shows what happens when a 27 pound cast block of iron falls on a steel toed boot.

No, I’m not likely to drop cast blocks of iron onto my feet, but, hey, ya never know what else could fall.

And, protecting your feet can prevent the need to get back on your feet after an accident.