Replies

1. 
   CharlieD | Sep 25, 2004 10:59pm | #1

   Other things can be hurt besides the hands, too. My wife bought me a leather apron last Christmas, very thoughtful; a great safety device.

   Charlie

   I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
2. 
   SRToolguy | Sep 26, 2004 02:51am | #2

   Treeguy, Safety in the shop is a VERY IMPORTANT subject. I second the idea of a Safety forum in kind but not in reality. One misunderstood bit of safety advice could cause death or dismemberment. I think it is the responsibility of all who use and purchase these types of tools, to read and understand the manufacturers warnings and advice. I also feel that anyone who goes out and buys a tool that they are unfamiliar with and uses it without proper knowledge is just plain dumb. Please don't take that personnally it is not intended to single you out since I think the majority of us have done it and I include my dumb butt in the group.

   Sincerely;

   The Tool Guy

1. 
   treeguy | Sep 26, 2004 03:21am | #3

   My idea of a safety forum was in no way intended to take place of reading and understanding all of the safety warnings associated with a tool, power of hand.  The idea was to make others more aware of some of the stupid things we have all done, myself included.  The idea came from the type of work I am employed at, which is arboriculture (tree work) We all share of near misses and unfortunatly our accidents on a weekly basis.  This makes us all aware of something stupid someone has done and has the potential for someone else not to make that mistake.  At work we are fully aware of tools we use on a daily basis and fully understand the potential deadly hazards associated with them.  Even guys who have been in the industry a long time still have these near misses and accidents.  The thought behind the forum is everbody understands the safety warnings and inherent hazards associated with their tools, and wouldn't put common sense or a safety label after someone's suggestion.  This forum seems to be updated fairly regular and if someone makes a bad suggestion it would be caught by the thousands of people who use this forum.  I'm sure their are woodworkers out there who have being doing it for years and still make a mistake which can cause bodily harm. 

1. 
   BG | Sep 26, 2004 03:43am | #4

   Treeguy,

   I couldn't agree with you more.  From time to time people on here have shared many of their accidents..but not so many of their near misses.  Almost all of those incidents have a context that others need to know about to avoid...in most cases the situation had nothing to do with the tool per se....  For instance, I use dto keep my three foot level hanging from the rafter near my TS...one day I hit the level with a piece of stock...it came off its nail and bounced on the TS right next the spinning blade....needless to say nothing gets stored near the TS anymore.  Last month I was appling my third coat of shellac to the reflattened workbench....the jar slipped form my hand and crached on the concrete floor....I bent over and dipped my brush in the shellac puddle and finished coating my workbench.  The workbench looked beautiful the next day and I ran my hand across the top...sliced up three fingers pretty good...not so smart...and there was no warning on the shellac flakes bag....lol

1. 
   nikkiwood | Sep 26, 2004 05:33pm | #5

   I would say that good safety practice is about one part knowledge and nine parts discipline.

   I would guess that maybe 90% of accidents in the shop result when a person neglects to take the extra time (sometimes only a few seconds) to grab a push stick, clamp the piece down, etc. -- before performing whatever operation is at hand. Inevitably, the description of such accidents are prefaced with such statements as "I knew better" or"I knew it was a dumb thing to do".

   So most of us know how to perform the operation safely, but the trick is to have the discipline to take the necessary safety steps, even if it means taking the extra minute to clamp a piece of wood, etc.

   Many athletes these days are trained to "visualize" their performance, and this is a technique that is especially useful to woodworkers. I think most of us do this with complicated operations, but routinely visualizing the steps in a mundane task is particularly useful -- since that is when most accidents occur.

   You just can't do any kind of woodworking if you are not able to think logically and sequentially, so the process of visualization is something that comes naturally to virtually everyone involved in the craft.

   I never turn on a table saw, for example, without mentally running through the steps in the operation I am performing (which takes less than a second). You try to anticipate all the things that can go wrong -- and what you will do if it does, or how you can prevent them from happening in the first place.

   As for the other 10%, such as BG picking up a glass shard and brushing it on his workbench, well, I don't know how you can avoid accidents of that nature. But such incidents are fortunately rare.

   Years ago, I read a piece about woodworking accidents, and the writer found that the greatest majority of accidents occurred among people who had been doing this work for at least 5-10 years. With experience comes the attitude, it seems, that after ripping thousands of boards, I'm in a hurry, and I can do just this one without a push stick .................................

1. 
   rod | Sep 26, 2004 07:53pm | #8

   nikkiwood,

        I think your observation that we all should visualize our actions before we perform them is one of the most important one can take.  Realization of this came just after a near accident on a table saw.  I now try to use all my safety devices except when there is no other way to perform the task.  I hope that the realization that the safety device is missing will heighten my awareness to be careful.  Besides visualizing a task, I have practiced with the tool turned off.

      The one time that I needed stitches came just after I had sharpened a chisel.  I transferred the chisel from my right hand to my left and before I knew it I had a gash just behind my right thumb.  It occurred as I was turning, but I don't know how.  I ended up going to a clinic to get it stitched. 

   Rod 

2. 
   RickL | Sep 26, 2004 06:46pm | #7

   One of the other wood forums out there has a safety/accident forum.

   http://www.woodworking2.org/AccidentSurvey/search.htm

3. 
   SawdustSteve | Sep 26, 2004 05:34pm | #6

   My ALL-TIME favorite safety warning is... When working on the table saw, DO NOT use remaining fingers as push stick.

   Some people NEVER learn. That is why there is a thread about the 'Darwin Award'

   SawdustSteve

4. 
   jackplane | Sep 27, 2004 05:13pm | #9

   By necessity, we all work with sharp tools. Whether hand or power tools. You're right; to go buy one and just plunge into woodwork is foolish.

     I always been an advocate of training, whether at community college,or from a pro, or from a workshop.

   How many doctors do you know who grab a #12 French and just have at it, with no training?

1. 
   lwj2 | Sep 28, 2004 01:03am | #10

   We call them 'residents' and try to avoid them, if at all possible.

   The ones that grab the 12French and ask "Is this going to work?" first are worth trying to save.

   Leon Jester

   Roanoke VA