Dangerous Technique in FWW

[Rob Cunningham]

I was just looking through the April issue of FWW and was disturbed by the picture on page 57. It shows the author ripping a curved table apron on the table saw wearing a loosely fitting work glove on the hand closest to the blade. I was taught not to wear gloves when using machinery. I hope no one sees this picture and thinks it's a safe practice. It could be a very costly mistake.

[Tim Malyszko]

I noticed that too and the same thought went through my head.

[keith ouellette]

could it have been a cut resistant glove.. There are gloves made that can handle extreme use. I believe there is one that is chain saw proof.

[Aaron Berk]

Although I myself also wear gloves in the shop allot of times when preparing stock. Especially when jointing and planing with power tools. But the gloves I wear are the 3 finger framing type work gloves, tight fitting with Velcro cuff. I find that they greatly improve my control on the stock. I've used them at the table saw occasionally too.
But lose gloves are a big no no, just like jangly necklaces or bracelets. I've had it pounded into my head to not even wear rings while working (USMC, Commercial Electrician, & Aviation field) but for woodworking I don't find rings to be a problem.

Safety is Paramount :D

[Ray Dockrey]

could it have been a cut resistant glove.. There are gloves made that can handle extreme use. I believe there is one that is chain saw proof.Even so they can still grab hold and pull you in. I don't even like wearing long sleeves in the shop due to that reason.

[keith ouellette]

Even so they can still grab hold and pull you in. I don't even like wearing long sleeves in the shop due to that reason.

I agree with that. Now that I'm thinking about it, even if the gloves were cut proof, what happens if the blade pulls your hand in and then pulls the glove off.
big time ouch.

[Rod Sheridan]

In the article "Consider A Shaper", FWW#195, the first photograph shows the author using a pair of push pads, to guide a curved workpiece on a shaper, using a cutter and bearing.

Every time I see that photo I wonder if the author still has all his digits.

Magazines occasionally show unsafe work practices, like wearing gloves or loose clothing, or in the example above, not using a pattern with substantial clamps and handles to keep the workpiece under control, and your fingers away from the cutter.

As experienced workers we've had suitable training, and recognize those practices which are dangerous, and don't perform them.

To less experienced workers, these can have the appearance of reccomended practises, since they saw it in FWW, or other publications.

A short e-mail to the publisher could help prevent an accident in a shop........Regards, Rod.

[Jamie Buxton]

The stricture against all gloves anyplace in a wood shop is too broad. It does make sense when you're using a spinny tool like a lathe or a drill press. There, the glove might get somehow caught to pull your hand in. However, for many other tools, that argument doesn't apply. For instance, a table saw or jointer is not going to pull your hand in. They'e moving so fast they'll just cut the glove (and likely your hand) without doing any pulling.

I use gloves in specific situations. I use a leather glove when I'm using one hand as a feather board. That is, I'm guiding a board against a fence. I don't want to get splinters in my fingers, hence the glove. And I use those rubber-covered cotton gloves to handle work at the table saw and jointer. They give me better grip on the work. That's very valuable when I'm working slick wood. Losing control of the workpiece could be dangerous. I'm sure I'm safer using gloves in these situations than not.

[george wilson]

I wouldn't advise the use of gloves of any kind. Those cutproof gloves aren't cutproof against power tool blades!! Only have a little stainless wire in them. What's that going to stop? A knife,maybe,but then,probably not a knife point.

[Brian Peters]

I use well fit gloves with the rubber coating on one side, they are great for handling rough lumber and sheet goods - ripping on the table saw or passing rough stock on the jointer and milling etc. But I wouldn't use those loose "garden gloves" on any tool and I certainly wouldn't use gloves with a bandsaw/drill press/ or lathe.

[george wilson]

And somehow gloves are safe on the table saw? Thickness planer? Jointer?

[Brian Peters]

If you're putting your hands close enough to where your glove could be pulled into a table saw blade, thickness planer or jointer head you shouldn't be using the tool. Safe is a relative term, none of those tools are safe, but they can be used safely with respect as I do every time I use them.

[Maurice Ungaro]

It is useless to try and tell the editors at FWW about any unsafe practice that they show in their publication. They will either ignore your letter, or find a way of defending their stance with some "holier than thou" quip.

[Don Morris]

Maybe the editors of FWW would indeed give a glib reply, but it would be interesting to hear their reasoning, or maybe even an affirmation that the glove was a mistake and only done for photographic reasons or something like that. I get Woodsmith (was thinking about changing to FWW) so I didn't see the article, but someone who subscribes to FWW should be the one to write the editors.

[John Schreiber]

. . . For instance, a table saw or jointer is not going to pull your hand in. They'e moving so fast they'll just cut the glove (and likely your hand) without doing any pulling. . . .
From what I've learned about table saw accidents (just an amateur examination), that is not the case. It seems many severe accidents start with one finger in the blade and the hand gets pulled in.

[Travis Lavallee]

I personally know one person who lost three fingers due to a table saw accident where the hand was pulled in because the glove was snagged.

[Pete Bradley]

In the article "Consider A Shaper", FWW#195, the first photograph shows the author using a pair of push pads, to guide a curved workpiece on a shaper, using a cutter and bearing.

What would you recommend instead for this operation?

Pete
(new shaper owner)

[Rod Sheridan]

What would you recommend instead for this operation?

Pete
(new shaper owner)

Hi Pete, do you own any books on shaper operation?

Many books show jigs made of plywood with toggle clamps (Mine are DeStaco brand) which hold the workpiece solidly.

Add a couple of handles to the jig and you can keep your hands safe.

If you're holding onto a handle, and the shaper ejects the jig, your hands go away as well.

If you're pushing with push pads and the work gets ejected, you may drop your pads and hands into the cutter.

I'm a chicken, I use homemade templates for curved stuff freehand, and a feeder for everything that it can possibly be used for.

Enjoy your shaper, very versatile machines, however you always need to be using guards, templates, barriers, power feeder etc.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. Have a look at this site for ideas.

http://www.weaver-sales.com/crown-jigs-manual.htm

[Steve Mellott]

I know a lot of woodturners who wear gloves when turning large pieces of kiln dried wood. The lathe tools and the wood chips can get very hot.

Steve

[Don Morris]

I pulled out my Grizzly 1023SL Instruction Manual. In the front section under Safety Instructions for Power Tools: "Wear Proper Apparel. Do not wear loose clothing, gloves...which may get caught in moving parts...." Thus I am even more curious as to what the editors of FWW would respond to an inquiry about the wearing of the gloves would be. But, again, it ideally should be someone who subscribes to FWW.

[george wilson]

Steve,I sometimes stich a lathe tool through a stiff piece of poster board 4" square to shield the chips.

As to the table saw: You may not intentionally have your hands close to the blade,but you certainly might accidentally make a false move and get caught. I opt for no gloves. You might cut your social finger off !!!

[James Adinaro]

I wear gloves in the shop mainly for stock preparation - jointer and planer. I just got tired of splinters. By the time I move to the table saw, they're usually off.

I only wear the tight fitting kind though. I have never used anything like the loose fitting ones shown in the picture. Those do seem dangerous.

but I thought the picture on Page 58 actually looked more dangerous... Grabbing an offcut out of mid-air? What's that about?

(I haven't read the article yet, so maybe there is something I'm missing.)

[Scott Conners]

Steve,I sometimes stich a lathe tool through a stiff piece of poster board 4" square to shield the chips.

George, that's a great idea! I'm going to put that to use immediately, working with parallam and other dry woods can really hurt. I've used athletic tape to prevent the abrasion, but I like the poster board idea better.

The safety issue I see with a glove near a circular blade like a table saw is the glove getting pulled down between the side of the blade and the work or table, pulling your hand in. A glove with a loose cuff and fit around machinery is just asking to get stuck somewhere dangerous.

[george wilson]

I also use the poster board on metal cutting lathes. THOSE chips get REALLY hot.

[Rob Cunningham]

I also use the poster board on metal cutting lathes. THOSE chips get REALLY hot.

Especially when they hit you in the neck and go down your shirt.:eek:


I read story not long ago about a guy that was ripping deck boards on a table saw, wearing work gloves.The blade snagged the glove and he lost a few fingers. As I recall, they were able to reattach the fingers and he had partial movement. When I saw the picture in FWW, it reminded me of the story.
I would much rather dig splinters out of my fingers than carry my fingers to the hospital in a bag.
Be safe.

[Carlos Alden]

I am not discounting the importance of safety and how gloves can get caught. However, if you look at the picture you'll see that the perspective has been foreshortened (as in use of a telephoto to make things look closer), and in reality I bet his gloved hand is further away from the blade than it initially appears. I think he's putting downward pressure on the workpiece with that hand and not using it to push the piece towards the blade.

Carlos

[Larry Edgerton]

I think that uncatagorically saying "Never Wear Gloves!" is just stupid.

I wear gloves all of the time in the shop. I usually wear motocross gloves, because they are the best I have found, Fit is good and they provide good grip because that is how they are designed, and they are comfortable. If you are older and losing strength in your hands a day of prepping stock is about half as much work if you are wearing gloves. you will not expend all of your energy trying not to lose your grip, and you will eliminate "Slips" a big cause of accidents. I use motocross and gel bicycle fingerless gloves depending on what I am doing.

The tight fitting leather gloves are nice too, but not even close to moto gloves, and jerseys and your general farm gloves are best used on the farm.

If I am doing anything with my hands close to the blade I do not wear gloves, but doing rough rips on full boards is no problem, and in fact I will say it is safer. Many kickbacks happen because of losing control of the board. You have better control with gloves on, and if you are paying attention can stop a kickback on a smaller saw. I can stall my 5HP Powermatic with gloves on long enough to hit the switch or tip the piece off of the blade. I don't have enough grip without gloves.

And then there is the splinter that starts a kickback when you flinch, another reason to wear gloves.

I will agree with the long sleeves, but the gloves rule is not carved in stone, and is safer many times. It may have come into play back when gloves first came off the cow, but todays hi-tech specialized gloves are awesome.