How safe for unexperienced?

[rahimlee54]

After reading all those accidents and near misses I am a little uneasy about finishing my tool collecting and firing them up. How paranoid should I be that I am going to lose part or all of a finger or worse? Are there any statistics for that? I wonder if my home owners covers that?

Jared

[Tar Heel]

Jared, woodworking tools should be respected but not feared. Just remember that accidents can, and do, happen but almost always are the result of lapses in concentration or unsafe activity on our part. I speak from experience. Last October, I almost amputated my left thumb on my table saw. It was completely my fault. I was in a hurry (which is a big no-no) and I had a brief lapse in paying attention to what I was doing. There are some "Nevers" in woodworking. Never use a tool with out planning in advance your cuts, etc. Never work when you are tired. Never rush, or get in a hurry. Never use any power tools (hand tools as well) after consuming alcohol. There are others, but you get my point. If you are safety concious woodworking will be something you will probably enjoy. Again, have a high degree of respect for your tools but don't fear them.

Show us some pictures of your work once you get started.

[nelsone]

I don't think you need to fear your equipment. In fact that is probably the worst thing you can do. Pay attention to what you are doing and think about it before you do it. Blood is a part of woodworking, just watch the Woodwright's Shop - Roy is always bleeding!, but it only happens when we aren't paying attention to where the sharp stuff is in relation to our skin. Wear your safety glasses, chips do fly.

Enjoy, pay attention, and be creative!

[Jim M.]

Jared,
Being that I'm one of the recent ones. I have to say don't be afraid at all. I've been doing woodworking most of my life, so the odds of this happening, mixed with a healthy dose of complacency and carelessness, it was bound to happen. I've gone round and round with this ending up at the same place, I made some mistakes and feel dumb, however I did a lot of things right too. I still have most of my thumb because I was practicing some safe operations. My blade was only a tooth above the cut; the blade was sharp and the saw well maintained. The saw was turned off at the first sign of trouble; I my other hand was clear; I did have a push stick with my hand wrapped around it, not open to the turning blade.

The mistakes: I took my eyes off the saw while it was winding down; cheap plastic push stick which was dropped countless times without inspecting it; my guard was sticking in the up position, so I should have fixed it or removed it, not have been lulled into thinking it would protect me still; TV was on with the race; last cut before leaving for church and was thinking about my lector duties, not woodworking; rushing through to get them all done; and the worst... I've done it a million times so I was an expert at this cut!

Please don't give up, but take away from this that if we treat each cut as if it were our first, we'd be more careful each time! It's a great hobby, please learn from my mistake, don't use it as a reason to quit. Jim

[froglips]

Your best safety equipment is between your ears, and I'm not talking about your nose

Ask. Be it here, in books, videos, classes. Or go to any local woodworking store. They will help you with just about any question you could have.

If something feels wrong, stop and think. Walk away if need be.

The one tip I try hard to live by is keeping my ear and eye protection hung up on the wall. After I setup for something, I then go get the safety stuff on. Its only an extra 45 seconds, but that little break has been very helpful over the years.

I say "if I don't have time to put on the gear, am I really ready to do this?"

So, take your time, and buy more tools

Jim

[Bas]

I don't know about statistics specific to woodworking. There are thousands of accidents every year involving table saws, circular saws, nail guns etc., but most of that is by people in construction.

I'd say that 99% of all accidents in the shop are caused by being in a hurry, tired or stupid, or a combination of all three. The remaining 1% is caused by something really unexpected, like a nail in a board or a router bit that disintegrates due to faulty manufacturing.

Safety equipment and methods help a lot. Some help prevent problems (e.g. splitter/ riving knife, featherboard, using a starting pin), others help reduce the effect of an accident (e.g. safety glasses, standing out of the line of fire). There is common sense involved too - no clutter near the tools, good lighting, sharp and clean blades, right tool for the job etc.

If you're afraid of your tools, chances are you have the wrong tool. My old table saw scared me. It was underpowered and inaccurate. Always felt I was forcing things. That's not the right way to work.

As far as I know, anything I do around the house is covered by my insurance. No idea if it's the same for you, but it's very likely. Not sure if that's a comfort or not

[ErnieM]

Jared,

All of us were inexperienced woodworkers at some point in our lives - and most of us still have all of our fingers. Being afraid of your tools is dangerous. Instead, respect the power of your tools and do a little homework. Find out the proper way to use them so that an accident doesn't happen out of tool-ignorance. Read the user manual to learn to avoid the inherent dangers in your power tools (kickback on a table saw, for example).

One more thought: If it doesn't feel safe - don't do it. There's usually more than one way to get something done. Find out what the alternatives are. Like someone else here said, the best safety device is found between your ears. Enjoy your woodworking.

Ernie

[Dudelive]

Excellent advice already but this has helped me many times:

1..Stop Look and Listen just like RR crossings...Stop and survey the area where work is about to
take place, is it safe...you will know? Look for problems before starting the work not after
already started. Listen for anything that sounds different or like something just ain't right, if it
sounds different then maybe it is.

2..When in doubt....DON'T

3..On the table saw, make the cut before actually cutting on the saw, run the board as though
you were cutting and watch for problems that CAN occur when the actual cutting is done.

NEVER cut anything without the use of solid made push blocks

4..Always keep the floor clean and cords and dust collection hoses out of the way. Hoses and
cords on the floor is just a way for your foot to slip and cause you to fall toward something
spinning where you will use your instincts to catch yourself with ( Hands ) to prevent falling.


There are many others as others have stated as well but the most important is to use common sense. Be careful and above all remember the tools have not got any idea as to what you are going to do with them and they really don't care if you hurt yourself so it is up to us as people to protect ourselves and work safe and smart.

Good Luck

[Mike Davis]

I didn't see anyone mention that you need to have someone show you the correct ways to use your power tools. I know that sounds sissy, but reading a book or watching TV won't impress upon your mind the things that can happen and how to avoid them.

Take a class or ask a friend to spend a day going through common procedures, set-ups and actual cutting with him showing and then watching you to be sure you are doing things the safest way.

Your first projects should be making some feather boards and push sticks. If you learn to make your own then you'll never have to buy cheap plastic junk that will break when you need it most.

And the last thing I'll add is to never go in the shop when your mind is not 100% completely there, in the moment and ready to work.

[DaveD]

Besides all the good points so far I'd like to add.....

NO DISTRACTIONS

No wife/girlfriend/kid walking up to you unexpectedly. My RULE was you don't approach me or come in the shop if you hear a power tool running. You must wait till I shut it off. If it don't shut off for 20 minutes then you wait 20 minutes.

No neighbor/friends/wife/kid/etc 'yabbering' at you while you are working. They wait till you put the tool down.

No alcohol till you quit for the day. I don't even care much for coffee/softdrinks/water too close by because you will eventually knock them over.

If you think you are going to get hurt because your typically cheating on how to do something then you can count on eventually getting hurt somewhere along the line.

There have been numerous time that I have said to myself 'I knew there was a chance that would happen'

The older I get the more I think about safety. Didn't wear safety glasses for years till I needed prescription glasses. Now I always wear safety glasses. its second nature.

Minimum crap on the floor to trip over. Particularly around stationary power tools. Sawdust/woodshavings never seem to bother me though (as long as the floor isn't slippery)

No loose clothing and in some cases no long sleeved anything on. Particularly around a lathe.

Consider not wearing any rings. If it gets caught in a hand power tool it will probably tear your finger off. If it happens to get squashed it will hurt like you know what till you get it cut off.

No kids/pets underfoot.

No telephone/buzzer/flashing light for someone to get your attention with.

Know where your fingers are at all times in relationship to the cutting blade/tool.

Recognize ahead of time what will happen if the tool slips while you are using it. You may not want to use the tool that way.

Enjoy your tools and hobby. The vast majority of us have all our appendeges and enjoy our hobbies throughout our lifetimes. I have several hobbies and all of them can be dangerous if I don't stay aware of my surroundings.

Finally, be sure to have a good first aid kit prominently mounted by the shop door and also have a good fire extinguisher there too.