Jamie on safety

I’ve been working with dangerous tools daily for around 40 years and never had a serious accident, or even one that required stitches.  

The most important thing about safety is really quite simple: think ahead when something is or could be moving quickly.  Or the simpler version: Don’t be stupid!

Look in the direction of a movement, and see what it lines up with. If you are cutting something with a knife in your hand and putting force into it, what is in line with it?  Is it your other hand? Either get your other hand out of line with the knife, or brace your knife hand on the work piece or something near it so if the knife breaks free only your knife hand moves a little, not your whole arm.

If you are working with a tool that is spinning fast, realize that something can sling off of it at a high speed, or if you move a body part into it,it will remove that part instantly. So don’t put your body parts in line with the blade. 

The most dangerous tool in a shop is a table saw. If you need to have your hand next to a  blade- which sometimes is necessary to guide a piece you are cutting for example,you should always use a push stick or make a jig to allow you to keep your hand away from it,  but if that is not practical and the blade is not too close to the fence, I always keep part of my hand sliding along the far side of the fence while my thumb is holding down the thing I’m cutting, which means I always know where my thumb is without looking at it. And then when the cut is done, remember that if the blade is still spinning it’s still dangerous. I had one worker lose a bit of his finger by sweeping his hand across the saw area too close to the blade after being done with a cut. Blade shields are great and can prevent this, but some operations on the table saw can’t be done with them in place. 

Just don’t be stupid and you’ll be fine.

Band saws are a better choice for cutting for this reason if you have the option, although just like with the knife, if you have to push the object hard with your hand and your hand is in line with the blade, what happens if the piece breaks free near the end of the cut? Your hand could go right into the blade. And sharp blades, whether a knife or a saw, are always safer because they don’t require as much force to push through the material. Lots of force = lots of speed if something breaks free.

Something else is good to keep in mind is that it’s unlikely you’ll lose a head,  arm, hand or leg when using shop tools unless you’re doing something really stupid. But you can lose an eye in a heartbeat. So even though you can avoid 99.9% of the risk by keeping your eye out of the line of a fast spinning blade, things can ricochet or glance off to one side. The risk isl unacceptable, so you have to wear safety glasses.

Personally I object to having to wear safety glasses whenever entering a shop area- it’s like wearing a helmet whenever you go outside or use the bathroom. That’s the kind of thing lawyers come up with that technically make sense but aren’t realistic- and in my opinion move away from a requirement  that people be responsible for themselves. It’s a good thing for living anywhere and doing anything, that you need to be alert and look out for yourself and others. Sure, you could trip and die if you fall , but it’s better to just get it together and pay attention. Put safety glasses on when you’re around a tool that is moving fast.  

I’ve seen warning instructions requiring safety glasses when using things like screw drivers- and just like you could fall and hurt your head,  sure- you could put your eye out with a screw driver- if you’re being stupid. So don’t worry about safety glasses when using screw drivers, a wrench, pliers, etc. - just don’t be stupid.

So: fast moving things = danger. Be smart. Think ahead.

Jamie