What's Your Safety Record While Woodworking?

[Matt Lentzner]

I myself haven't had any bad experiences, but I'm a newbie. I am very serious about safety. I use all my guards, splitters, safety glasses, ear protection, dust mask, push sticks, etc. I generally double check myself before turning the machine on.

The only time things get a little hairy is when I've been cutting sheet goods by myself. I plan to get a guided system in the near future (EZ or Ftool) to rectify this problem.

I did have my first ejection on my TS (not a kickback), but I was standing to the side so it was nowhere near me.

[Jim Becker]

I have hurt myself twice. The first time I clobbered myself with the end of a Bessey K-Body clamp that was longer that necessary, but at the time, the only one available. I have a nice scar on my forehead near the eyebrow from that little incident.

The second time was on New Years Day a few years ago...I proved that the 3/4" Ashley Iles chisel I was sharpening was...well...sharp...by requiring 5 stitches on my left thumb knuckle...on a holiday.

I tend to be very safety conscious in my shop. The riving knife is on my table saw 100% of the time and I use other safety systems as appropriate on other tools. I wear safety glasses 110% of the time I'm in the shop (which means I leave them on even when I walk into the house for a few minutes). I wear hearing protection when appropriate. And I use dust control religiously; both on the stationary equipment and on hand-held dust producers.

Most of all...I try not to rush anything. Rushing (and fatigue) are the main causes of accidents, IMHO.

[Randy Denby]

I've been doing woodworking (hobby) since high school in '73. No major accidents. All my minor accidents have been handtools. Couple of kickbacks, the first being on a shopsmith (terrible tablesaw!) , 2nd on my cabinet saw. Fortunately, the shopsmith didnt have enough power to hurt much, on the cabinet saw,I was fortunate that the plywood piece jammed between the blade and fence, tripping the breaker. I forgot to lockdown the fence, realized it immediately, held the plywood down with all of my might, then kicked the off switch, but by that time the breaker had tripped.
Worst scare was with a drill press and drilling 1/4" metal. It started spinning like a helicopter after loosing control of it. ALWAYS use a fence and if small, some kind of hold down !

BTW...I now use a biesemeyer splitter all the time too , on thru cuts.

[Joe Jensen]

I started woodworking when I was around 14 and about a year later I was trying to cut some parts that were way too small. I ended up with my left index finger in the tablesaw. Fortunately, I only had the blade up 1/4", and it was only 1/4" from the fence. The blade cut my finger to the bone starting on the top of the first joint, and it went all the way around the tip and to bottom of the finger and back to the first joint. The finger just looked like hamburger. Nothing to sew up, so they just wrapped it up with a lot of antibiotic ointment and checked the bandage twice a day. 30 years later it's 99% functional with just a little nerve damage, but it took more than 10 years to heal this well. But, I can still remember how the blade felt hitting the bone.

A family friend taught my dad and I the basics of saw safety, but the education was not very extensive, and the 1940s Craftsman saw had no safety equipment what so ever...joe

[Fred Voorhees]

I seem to remember once or twice where a kickback incident caused a nice welt on my belly. Other than that, I did run the tip of a finger across the spinning blades of my Delta jointer. That kind of s*cked.

[Tim Malyszko]

I have been very fortunate and have never suffered an injury, which I attribute to the years of "Safety First" banners, presentations and training I've gone through at various manufacturing facilities. (I'm probably the only guy in our city that always mows the lawn in Steel Toe Shoes, Safety Glasses, Ear Plugs and Pants).

For a few years, I worked for a company I would rather not name and there were plenty of past instances of people getting caught in augers and grinders. Because of stories like these, I think about what it would be like to lose a finger or a limb when I turn on my tools.

About the only thing that I've ever happened was getting hit between the legs with a strip of wood that came flying off the tablesaw. The piece got trapped between the fence and the blade and hit me square in the wedding tackle. You only do that once.

[Bill Huber]

We won't talk about lawn mowers but I have only had one minor thing happen and I did learn from it.

I cut the tip of my finger one the TS, not really bad no stitches but it did leave a scar.

I had my shop in the garage and the door was open, I was cutting away and one of the kids outside playing got hit by a ball and yelled. It took my attention away from the saw for a split second and that is all it took.

I never used the saw again with the door open, my little shop now is out back and there are no people around.

[Art Mulder]

You'll have to define "close call".

- kickback? sure, a couple times.
- drew blood? who doesn't. Even a sharp edge on a board can be enough to give a "paper-cut" type of cut.
- bashed thumb with hammer? a few times in my youth

[Clayton Masterson]

So far I have gotten myself twice.

1. I was working on a cedar deck, cutting wet handrails...and gouged my left middle finger with the chop saw. It went down to the bone and literally stopped the blade. The guys I was working with knew it was bad when they heard the "PANG" and then an "oh ^@#%" ! No major damage, just a skin graft from my groin and many painful stitches through my finger.

2. Also laced up my finger with a 3 1/4 " portable planer while planing window jambs overhead. That on reall bled.


Safety devices are nice...but not great. The most important safety device is your BRAIN. Keep your head about you when you work and NEVER take your concentration off of what you are doing. The more comfortable you get, the more dangerous the work.

P.S. I have been working professionally for 6 years now.

[David Giles]

Blood dripped down my face just the other day when I raised up and put the end of an EZ rail right between my eyes. I can't remember what I was doing on the floor, but it must have been important.

I've also learned never to push a chisel or screwgun bit toward the other hand. Get a clamp!

[Ned Bulken]

The only time I've had a tool draw blood so far is my Scrollsaw. Pushing a cut through some hard maple, found a gap and the workpiece and my index finger jumped forward. I put a 1/8" slice right down the middle of my fingertip, nail and all. Nothing to be done with it, just kept it bandaged and some triple antibiotic ointment. awhile, it Healed up just fine.

Sharing that just to show that ANY tool can bite you. I've also had a couple of pieces grabbed out of my hands at the router. Thankfully just the piece went 'zoom' not my hand. (very early on, I learned quickly how to feed a piece through the router table).

[mark page]

I borrowed a friends cms when mine was in the shop, his did not have a blade guard and I forgot. That last little splinter of wood that was not cut all the way through did me in. I yanked on both pieces to separate them, now mind you the saw was fully stopped, but ran my thumb right up the blade, five stitches and still today a numb thumbtip.
Several large hammers to the thumbs before.
The closest I ever came to the potential of being seriously hurt, and the good lord was on my side, was in woodworking in high school. I got some clothes caught up in a wood lathe project. Started at my shirt and wound up with my pants. Left me standing in a pair of boots, plain belt, and tidy whities with a dazed look on my face. Thank god for cheap polyester back then. I would hate to think what would have happened with levi's on.

[Randy Denby]

I borrowed a friends cms when mine was in the shop, his did not have a blade guard and I forgot. That last little splinter of wood that was not cut all the way through did me in. I yanked on both pieces to separate them, now mind you the saw was fully stopped, but ran my thumb right up the blade, five stitches and still today a numb thumbtip.
Several large hammers to the thumbs before.
The closest I ever came to the potential of being seriously hurt, and the good lord was on my side, was in woodworking in high school. I got some clothes caught up in a wood lathe project. Started at my shirt and wound up with my pants. Left me standing in a pair of boots, plain belt, and tidy whities with a dazed look on my face. Thank god for cheap polyester back then. I would hate to think what would have happened with levi's on.

This has got to be the funniest shopbattle I've ever heard !!!! Was it a co-ed class

[Todd Jensen]

Stuck my thumb in the business-end of my portable power planer. Long story how and why, but 'ouch' was the result along with some stitches and a flat spot on my thumb that doesn't get dirty(must be a wierd scar tissue thing). A kickback on my first contractor saw that left a nice scar on my lower right chest. Any lower and it would have missed my ribcage and I'd have been a shishkabob. And finally, I did a really rough manicure on my little finger with an angle grinder with a 60 grit pad. Those are the memorable ones, along with the required near misses around the eyes, bashed thumb(why that one takes more than one time to learn I'll never know), and the frequent nick, scratch, and bumps.
Needless to say, I am now a safety nut; safety glasses, earplugs, dustmask and collection, and heavy gloves when playing with the squirrely tools(along with tool safety techniques to avoid kickbacks, etc.)
I completely agree with Jim about haste and fatigue - both seem to be great accident instigators. And I'd like to add one - the 'it won't happen to me' syndrome'. For those that haven't switched to the conservative path when it comes to safety, I beg you to take heed and take care of yourselves. Don't kid yourself, accidents can and will happen - the resulting outcome is based almost entirely on your own preperation and protection.
And thats my $2,000,000.

[glenn bradley]

When I was about 17 I was cross cutting on the TS without any means of guide (miter gauge, fence, etc.). Kickback pulled my hand near the blade and took about an 1/8" off the end of my thumb. It looked like an "El Explodo" cigar out of a cartoon. Doctor trimmed it round and you wouldn't know unless I pointed it out.

I was obviously not into woodworking back then and was just a dumb kid. Now at 51 years old I can still feel a stabbing sensation if I press the tip of that thumb.