What are your UNIQUE TO YOU safety rules in the shop?

[Rod Sheridan]

I use the following rules

- check that the front door to the house is unlocked (in case I need EMS)

- make sure I have my cell phone in my pocket (don't have a land line phone any more, when I did I had a phone 2 feet above the floor in the shop)

I think everyone has similar rules, however coming from an industrial background I use, and teach the LMRA method at work, and when I'm hosting seminars

Last Minute Risk Assessment is a non documented safety check. Essentially, before any task, stop and do a risk assessment for the task taking into count all the possible variables for that situation.

LMRA is quick, non intrusive and becomes second nature when applied consistently, and dramatically improves your shop safety.

All the items people have previously mentioned fit in LMRA, such as environment, PPE, guards, work processes, material handling tool and machine safety.

Making LMRA your default first task will mitigate shop hazards..............Regards, Rod.

[Prashun Patel]

I run my air cleaner on my way out of the shop every time, even if I was only using hand tools. I don’t run it when I am in the shop.

[Brian Henderson]

My phone is always in a horizontal belt holster...never a pocket. It's more protective and much easier to get to if I need it. And no "pocket fluff" ever gets in the ports that way, too.

Same here, my cell phone is with me 100% of the time (except when I'm in the shower, I guess), in a belt holster. It's never been dropped, I have never lost or broken a cell phone in the past 30 years I've had them, I don't get people sticking them into pockets. Safe, secure and always available.

[Darcy Warner]

Belt clips for phones look too much like a fanny pack and I am not ready for 1988 again.

[Jim Becker]

Belt clips for phones look too much like a fanny pack and I am not ready for 1988 again.

The Nite-Ize holster I use is pretty unobtrusive...it's nothing like a fanny pack in shape or size. And I use the "XL" version for my iPhone Xs-Max. I don't even know it's there until I reach for the phone.

[Darcy Warner]

The Nite-Ize holster I use is pretty unobtrusive...it's nothing like a fanny pack in shape or size. And I use the "XL" version for my iPhone Xs-Max. I don't even know it's there until I reach for the phone.

I would rip it off and destroy several things in the process.
I have been carrying a smart phone in my pocket for years and never broke one.

Plus I don't wear a belt.

[Jim Becker]

No one best answer, Darcy...what's important is what works for each of us individually. (I use my holster even when using suspenders with no belt...it still grips my jeans fine, but not as securely as with a belt, of course)

[Dean S Walker]

I learned to turn left handed for roughing greenbowls. (picked up from glenn Lucas) Out of the line of fire. It only took a piece flying off that weighed a pound or so hitting me in the shoulder to determine getting hit was worse than learning something new! Not to mention I stay a little dryer!

[Warren Lake]

dont have rules just stuff I do. Never had a cell phone but way back there was a portable phone in the tool belt all the time to not have to walk. It wasnt needed and some say not healthy depending on who you listen to. When ive been hurt the worst a cell phone likely would be no use as I couldnt have worked it. Always had a TV and music, never focused on one musician, so so many talented people out there. Likely the most I do consistently is ear protection, had lost some of my hearing when tested and a year plus later of wearing hearing protection and most of it came back, one area well down that didnt. Ill wear them even when I cut the lawn.

[Rod Sheridan]

I learned to turn left handed for roughing greenbowls. (picked up from glenn Lucas) Out of the line of fire. It only took a piece flying off that weighed a pound or so hitting me in the shoulder to determine getting hit was worse than learning something new! Not to mention I stay a little dryer!

Interesting, I do that so I can see what I'm doing without becoming a contortionist, never thought about the projectile path.............Regards, Rod.

[Kevin Beitz]

I keep a push stick and safety glasses at the table saw.
I have a disconnect switch at my exit door that shuts down the work shop.
I use the back of my hand to touch any new electrical equipment that
come into my shop the first time I power it up.

[Jim Dwight]

When I had an extra one car garage added for my shop in 2014, the contractor was surprised I insisted no outlet in the ceiling for a garage door opener. For years I shared the garage with the cars and I don't know how many times my late wife startled me while I was in the middle of a cut by opening the door with the opener. No way for her to know. But now that I have a dedicated space, no opener.

[Ben Zara]

As a kid my father drilled this into my head: Before you start any cut of any kind on any machine stop and visually check where your hands are.

When we cut on the TS, bandsaw or whatever typically we are staring at the blade or bit and moving stock towards it. My dad would always say "Where are your hands, where are your hands". Annoying at the time but now I appreciate it.

[Edwin Santos]

Sometimes the extension cord or air hose cannot be secured overhead. When one or the other or both are on the ground don't step on them. Everything else is common sense and understanding.

This! Tripping hazards just spontaneously appear, whether cords, wood, boxes, anything else. Also, some floors can become slick when covered with fine sawdust.
This is on my mind these days because I lost a healthy friend just last week, mid-50s, to a Traumatic Brain Injury resulting from a fall. Ugh.
We hope for no injuries in the shop, but remember you can usually survive a cut or severed digit, but striking your head from a fall is very serious. Especially if it hits a cast iron machine or a solid workbench on the way down. This is why the brain is encased in a thick mass of bone called a skull.
Remember that as we get older, our sense of balance deteriorates too. What was safe yesterday may not be safe tomorrow.

Please, please stay constantly mindful of tripping hazards and slippery surfaces!
Edwin

[Patrick Perry]

I take off my wedding ring after having it caught on a part on the lathe.

Jim

They make rubber/plastic non-conductive wedding rings that can easily tear away if caught on something. One of our local police officers wears one and was telling me about it. I have thought about buying one.