Don't Overlook The Obvious

[greasemonkeyredneck]

I'm posting this in General Scroll Sawing because I think it's important for everyone to read this.

 

In the woodshop, we all try to pay attention to tool safety. Tool safety is mighty important. However, please don't overlook the obvious other hazards in the shop. I have an example that happened to me yesterday.

 

I was closing the window and getting ready to go to town. There has been a piece about two foot tall in a triagular shape broken on that window for over a year that I know of. I've never thought nothing about it though. A little duct tape would have helped hold it in. You've probably figured out by now, it fell out. That triangular piece turned into a glass sword basically. It came down too fast for me to react. It sliced my finger. I was lucky though. The point stuck into the top of a WD-40 can about a quarter inch from my leg, sitting on a low shelf. If that can hadn't been there, it would have went straight into my leg. Now, with some of the meds I'm on, I bleed freely. By the time I would have gotten help, I probably would have bled out like a wounded deer.

 

I'm a fool. I've heard God looks out for fools and children. I'll soon be 35, so since I'm too old to be a child, that makes me a fool.

 

After this incident, I wondered what else in my shop besides tools could kill me. It didn't take me long to notice another hazard waiting on me. My largest work table has three plug receptacles that are mounted into the table top. They are handy. They are also deadly when I'm bad about setting my coffee cup right beside one of them. Man I've got to be more alert.

 

 

 

PLEASE! Let's all look around our shop and take care of some of the obvious hazards that can be fixed easily. A few moments of prevention is well worth keeping us all around to cut another day. Be safe ya'll.

[Travis]

I'm glad to hear you're OK. I think we all have those little dangers around the house and shop. Those "I should fix that, but it hasn't caused any problems yet" dangers. I'll keep an eye out for silly things that could be serious things. Thanks for the reminder!

[wombatie]

Greasemonkeyredneck I am glad that you are ok. Yes we all have to be safety conscious especially if there are children about as well. We all tend to put off till tomorrow, don't we?

 

Marg

[ron w b]

i guess after reading that maybe i better start looking around to im a brittle diabetic left foot is turning a little black an my kidneys are working at 70 % i have a back fusion i have metal in my hip,back an shoulder, i cant afford any mistakes

[wood-n-things]

After reading your post, I went out to the shop and just took a look around...I noticed I had several pieces of cutoff wood just sticking up out of a box...In front of the box are pads I stand on to relieve stress on my hips and back. If I were to trip over the pad I might very well have been impaled on these "spears".

 

Thanks for the reminder, everything is now lying flat...

 

Glad you made it by this one with a nick and not a slice or worse...

[greasemonkeyredneck]

We ought to rename this post shop safety.

 

I've been studying other safety issues lately. I was thinking about what ron wb said about his health. Some may have noticed in photos the brace on my left knee. I wear that because that leg is dead. I mean dead with the fact that you can drop a sledge hammer on it and I wouldn't feel a thing. My right forearm is also feeling free. I freaked my boys out one time when I turned my head to do something while holding a torch. I didn't realize I was giving my right hand thrid degree burns until they started screaming. All this is from nerve damage in a life changing wreck back in '99. Anyway, enough with the history lesson and on with the point.

 

I have two table saws. One is set up for ripping and the other has the sled for cross cutting. The cross cutting saw has no guard. With me being prone to falling (I've done it a lot in the past), maybe I'd better rig up some kind of guard on it.

Also with the same saw, I'm the world's worst about runnng my finger between the blade and a fence two inches away. I have many push sticks I've made. I need to start using them.

In the ceiling of my shop, there is a naked wire that has been there since I got the shop. The breaker is off to it, but I need to take the time to tape it up. I go right within inches of that wire when I climb up t the loft to get down a piece of cedar or heart pine.

 

I could list many. The point is though that we all have things that need to be done in our shops. Let's please set aside a day (in the NEAR future) and get some of this stuff fixed. Life is already short, and lets's face it, a woodshop if like playing in traffic anyway in regards to safety. Every tool in the shop is an accident waiting to happen. It's not wise then to have added hazards scattered everywhere. Let's keep safety in mind.

 

 

OH!

One more thing, let's start using some dust masks. I don't as much as I should. I've always blew it off. I've smoked two packs a day for fifteen plus years. I worked for years on asbestos brake liners on cars and trucks. So, I disregard my morning coughs. Lately though, I've actually been coughing up sawdust at times. That can't be good. Scroll saw and sanders especially create very fine saw dust. It is inhaled easily. Do a little test to see how much is in the air in your shop. When you quite at night, clean off a table, or any clutter free surface. Cut out the lights and go home. Now go back the next morning and see how much dust is on that clean surface. All of that was floating around in the air before you went home. Think about it.