Category Archives: Safety

Safety

Woodworker’s Safety Week – Power tool safety

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Working at the table sawThink of the hardest wood you have ever worked with. What would it be? Hard maple? Ipe? Brazilian cherry?

Now, think about how easy it was to work with. The bandsaw that sliced through the piece with ease. The table saw that crosscut the board cleanly. The drill press that bored a straight, deep hole with little struggle.

Now, imagine those tools slicing through bone or flesh? Ouch.

It’s true that power tools can bite hard. And fast. According to studies conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), some of the most common power tool accidents occur in the following scenarios:

  • Employees can be injured if their hands get too close to the blade, particularly when working on small pieces of stock. The size of the piece dictates that the operator’s hand be close to the blade. Accidents can occur when stock unexpectedly moves or when a worker’s hand slips.
  • Stock can get stuck in a blade and actually pull the operator’s hands into the machine.
  • Employees can be injured if the machine or its guard is not properly adjusted or maintained. An improperly adjusted radial saw, for example, might not return to its starting position after making a cut.
  • If the machine has controls that are not recessed or remote, and the equipment is accidentally started, a worker’s hands may be caught at the point of operation.
  • Contact also can occur during machine repair or cleaning if care is not taken to de-energize the machine—that is, if lockout/tagout procedures are not followed.
  • An employee may be injured if he or she reaches in to clean a saw or remove a piece of wood after the saw has been turned off, but is still coasting or idling. Also, saw blades often move so fast that it can be difficult to determine whether they are moving. This is especially a problem under fluorescent lighting.

Woodworker's Safety WeekOne additional way woodworkers can be hurt is by tripping. I can’t count the number of times in the middle of a project I have stopped, looked down and saw a tangle of power cords under my feet. Sure, it might be easy to navigate while looking down and taking my time, but those loose tails could snag my foot while carrying something heavy…

So, what to do? Well, take the time to read your owner’s manual. Seriously. Keeping your tools properly maintained, adjusted and using the guards that came with them, you can reduce the likelihood of injury. Using hold-downs, featherboards and push sticks can also help.

But, most importantly, keeping your mind on your work is the number one tip to remember when working with your tools. All the safety guards in the world are not going to help you if you are not paying attention.

Safety

A time to stop and think

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My neighbor has this great story he likes to tell.  He worked as a plant manager (read:  Custodian) at a local elementary school.  He was refitting a bathroom in a teacher’s lounge and had done a pretty decent job.

The principal, however, wasn’t as impressed.  “My husband is a MASTER CRAFTSMAN, he will come in and build this piece.”

Well, when the principal’s  husband finally came to the school to do the work, my neighbor noticed that he was missing a finger.  Ouch.  Turns out that he had lost the finger in a woodworking accident – a mishap on a table saw.

Woodworkers Safety WeekI always take time to stop and think when I hear stories like this.  Right now, I’m working on a sweet Krenov-style cabinet, and it’s coming along nicely.  But, what would happen to my progress if I was hurt in a similar accident?

Granted, none of my woodshop accidents has been too severe.  I can remember taking a sliver of aluminum in my left eye while cutting a screen door jamb.  Then, I can remember slicing a chunk of skin off my left thumb when a spokeshave I was working with slipped and did its damage.  I can remember being out of the shop for about a week each time I recuperated.

I also had a few close calls.  The time I had a kickback when working with a powerful Unisaw that almost took off some fingers (Apparently, I had cleared the blade by a matter of an inch – or less).  Or the time a 1/4″ straight cutting router bit snapped and embedded in a wall across the shop from me.  Those could have been very serious injuries.

To help remind all woodworkers about the need for safety, the member blogs of The Wood Whisperer Network are taking the time to call attention to safety during Woodworker’s Safety Week – May 5 – 9.

Each day that week, I’ll focus on a specific area of safety concern – not a finger-wagging admonition, but  some simple common-sense reminders that might help keep you out of the ER and in the shop.   The slate for the week looks like this:

  • Monday – 5/5 – Power Tool Safety
  • Tuesday – 5/6 – Hand Tool Safety
  • Wednesday – 5/7 – Eye and face protection
  • Thursday – 5/8 – Protect your hearing and lungs
  • Friday – 5/9 – Finish safety/Dangerous Chemical safety

So,  take some time with us this week to think about your shop safety practices.  Who knows, if some of this stuff sinks in, we may have more future ‘master craftsmen’ who can count to ten without having to take off their shoes.

Safety, Tom

The Eyes Have It

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My woodworking hobby stated – as many do – as a home improvement urge. My wife and I moved into our home back in 1997, and the previous owner…….Well, as my mom taught me, if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Some of the things I saw still leave me puzzled.

For example, ceiling fan in the master bedroom. Rather than install the silly thing in a way that would 1- ensure the sucker would stay on the ceiling and 2- not cause a house fire, she did things her own way. The electrical wire was just run through a hole punched in the ceiling. The connection between the fan and the wire was made only with electrical tape – and it wasn’t inside a junction box. The fan itself was hanging from a vaulted ceiling socket that was screwed into a joist until the screw heads stripped out. Since neither screw was tightly mounted to the joist, the fan had this nasty tendency to wobble like crazy.

I had faced this, and dozens of other ‘issues’ just like it, for the past decade.

As I was doing this work, I began to develop a reputation as a handy man. One my co-workers and friends found out about quickly. And, I was often offered deals to ‘help’ friends and neighbors fix their issues. I recall one Saturday when I was at a co-worker’s house, doing a few odd jobs (to earn some tool money, of course). While I was cutting an aluminum screen door jam to size with a jig saw, I was amazed at the amount of metal fragments that were flying away from the cut.

Of course, I was not wearing safety glasses. I didn’t have them on me. Needless to say, a piece of aluminum jumped up from the saw and hit me right in the eye. I could see it flying up to get me. The piece stuck. I ran to the bathroom and rinsed the eye out, and, fortunately, the piece came out. But, my eye hurt. BADLY. It was tearing up something awful.

I told my friend that I had to get to a hospital, and – quite foolishly – drove myself to the ER. Two hours, $100 and several exams later, I found that the injury was only a scratch on the cornea. Some prescription eye drops and time was all I needed to recover.

But, I learned a very valuable lesson that day. Your eyesight is one of the most precious things you have. I don’t care how careful you are, there really is no excuse for not wearing safety glasses. In fact, after my trip to the hospital and the pharmacy, I went to the local home improvement store and bought several pairs of safety glasses. One pair went into each portable tool’s case in my collection. One pair went into my toolbox. Others are stationed around the shop in strategic, easy to find locations. I even bought a really cool looking pair of safety glasses and one of those eyeglass retainers, so all I have to do is let them hang when I don’t need them. That way, I can find them without searching around the shop.

Now my rule is, “nothing gets cut unless the glasses are on,” and that goes for guests as well as the woodworker. Hopefully, you will see the wisdom of this decision without having to lose your sight.