Hearing protection and radios

[Keye]

This post is my own personal opinion and is not meant to be a criticism of how anyone else does things.

"I am looking for ear muff type protection. I do not want anything that plays music or radio stations. When in the shop I really enjoy the peace and solitude. I do want something that reduces the decibel level but does allow some hearing. The sound of the tool lets me know immediately if something is not just right.

Comfort as you might expect is of prime consideration. Also a material that does not cause me to sweat. Summer heat and humidity are just around the corner."

In quotes above is a post I made a couple of weeks ago. I sure wish I had stuck with what I said in the post. Typing with one hand is a PITA.

First let me admit I did some really stupid things which have placed me in the situation I am now in. However, these stupid things I did would not have mattered if I had stuck to my normal way of doing things. I will try to explain this in the story that follows.

After thinking about what type of hearing protection to buy I decided to buy the ear muff, with FM radio, style. I decided there were times, on the tractor, weed eating, when it would be nice to be able to listen to the radio.

We had a very bad electrical storm several days ago. I went into the shop and unplugged everything. The next time I went into the shop I had my new hearing protection. After going around and plugging everything back in I decided to try the radio in the ear muffs out. I say this because I plugged everything back in before I put on the hearing protection. Nothing was running. Can you guess where this is heading? I began by cutting the boards I needed to rough length and ripping them. Next came face jointing. As I was about to start planning the boards I decided I should wax the surfaces of the planner. I raised the head a little and starting waxing. I reached under the planner head and the next thing I new I was covered with blood and looking at my hand trying to figure out what had happened. The planner was running. Without even realizing what I was doing I had my son take me to the emergency room. I am a very lucky man. I still have all my fingers and associated parts and they will end up functioning normally after all is said and done. After racking my brain I now realize I will never know why that planner was running.

Now the reason for this post. IMHO anything that interferes with hearing and seeing the normal operation of a tool has no place in the shop. I am not talking about hearing protection that simply reduces the decibel level. I stated earlier that if I had done things my normal way all of the other stupid things I did would not have mattered. I normally do not have a radio on. If I had not been trying out the radio I would have heard the planner running.

While lying in the emergency room I decided I would sell everything in my shop. Today I am trying to figure out how to obtain more of the $10 off coupons from Lowes so I can buy the Bessey K body clamps before they change the style and raise the price. Anybody that feels sorry for me and wants to email me their coupon, yeah right, forget it.:eusa_danc

Hopefully someone will learn a little from my mistakes. When your wife asks you how many stitches it took and you have to tell her that anything that could have been stitched back together is in the bottom of the dust collector it is not a good feeling.

Be safe folks!

 

[Threejs]

OUCH!! Glad to hear you didn't loose the use of you hand.

 

[TracyP]

I am sure glad that you have all of your digits. I am missing the ends of two of mine due to a wood splitter accident in 1993. That was due to being in a hurry to get finished. You are very lucky.

 

[RandyJ]

Keye, Sorry to hear about your misfortune but happy that you will have a full recovery.

I agree, the ability to hear your machines provides a great deal of feedback that is paramount to safety.

Hopefully you have learned from your mistake and will KEEP your equipment. I look forward to seeing you around the sawdust pile.

Good luck,

 

[Bas]

Keye, I'm glad the damage was limited and you'll make a full recovery. But I'm sure it was one heck of a scare. Thanks for posting and reminding us to be safe.

I did an internship once at a company where security would check everyone's offices at the end of the day. You had to have EVERYTHING locked up. No papers on the desk, period. If you did, you were cited. Two citations within six months and you were fired. I've grown a little laxer since I started working from home, but when I was in the office I couldn't help but keep the "clean-desk" policy, even though it wasn't required by my employer. It's all about training and procedure; at some point it becomes habit.

I feel stupid about it at times, and I'm tempted to take shortcuts, but before I service any machine I turn it on first, verify it's on, then turn it off. Then disconnect the power, turn it on again, make sure it doesn't come on. Even when 'just' changing table saw blades. It's a procedure. Maybe I should write it down and hang it in the shop. And stick to it, even when 'just' running the hone over the jointer knives. I pretend an 8 year old is watching you and will emulate me in whatever I do. I might 'lose' a couple of minutes per day this way, but it's a hobby. This way, I'm spending less money on supplies and lumber, and I'd rather lose minutes than fingers.

Everyone be safe.

 

[JackLeg]

Personally, when I'm running ANY machinery, from my tractors to shop tools, I like to hear the engine/motor/tool so I can judge what's going on.

I wear ear plugs when shooting skeet and I sure wouldn't want a radio playing while doing that!

Protect your hearing, but HEAR!

M2CW

 

[ptt49er]

Wow! I'm am glad you are going to have a complete recovery!

Best of luck in getting better!

 

[Keye]

Personally, when I'm running ANY machinery, from my tractors to shop tools, I like to hear the engine/motor/tool so I can judge what's going on.

I wear ear plugs when shooting skeet and I sure wouldn't want a radio playing while doing that!

Protect your hearing, but HEAR!

M2CW

Man are you preaching to the choir. I cut the antena off and took out the batteries:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc.

 

[Glennbear]

I am glad you will have full functionality Keye, I had a non woodworking accident years ago which resulted in a paralyzed arm for a few months but thank God I gained 95% back eventually . I recently starting using ear protection with music but my machines are audible over the music. Bas makes a good point about unplugging things and I have been using a tip I learned years ago to make sure the RIGHT thing is unplugged. The BORG sells sets of colored electrical tape for a few bucks and each tool gets color coded with a strip by the plug and another at the machine end. Combining colors gives you the ability to mark tools beyond the 5 or 6 colors in the set. Certainly beats finding out you unplugged the sander so you could safely work on the TS. :nah: Not that any of us have electrical octopi living in our shops :rotflm:

 

[McRabbet]

Keye,

Sorry to hear of your accident and hope that the damage was not too severe. I must agree with you 100% -- I wear one of two type of hearing protection in my shop or if I'm running my lawn mower or weed eater. I usually wear these: they are Peltor 29 dB reduction ear cuffs and cost about $20-25. They are comfortable and I can still hear normal conversation through them. As a second choice, I wear AO Safety Foam Ear Plugs like these -- I keep packets in my truck so I always have hearing protection if I visit a noisy shop or just need to protect me ears from hearing damage.

 

[sapwood]

Keye,
Truly sorry about the accident. And I also appreciate that you shared the experience. It's a sobering read and a sharp reminder for all of us.

Good luck with the recovery,
Roger

 

[wayne]

Glad to hear the hand is going to be alright.
It would be nice if these smaller machines came with a magnetic starter,would probibly be worth the extra cost.

 

[Canuck]

Oh my goodness!!! Thankfully you will be ok after a little R&R!

Please be careful about cleaning and waxing next time! (And don't even think about giving up woodworking!:eusa_thin:no

Take care!

Wayne

 

[wayne]

Everyone PLEASE FOLLOW THE NUMBER ONE SAFETY RULE when using any kind of power equipment.
You should always render a piece of equipment out of service by either unplugging,throwing the breaker,or disconnecting air hose,stopping the engine or whatever before performing any service or maintenance to said equipment regardless of how small the equipment or incidental the service.
This is one of the reasons that OSHA is so adament about tagout lockout procedures when they make their rounds and inspect workplaces so as to hopefully prevent these kind of accidents.
Again Keye I hope the hand does alright in the future.