Close call yesterday

[LCHIEN]

OK, I wasn't going to ADMIT this, since I am a newbie and most of you probably already think I'm dumb enough. This, however, should make you think great things about me.

Being a newbie, I am VERY careful around blades. The table saw scares me just to look at. What has really scared me was twice, using the table saw blew the fuse and all the lights in my garage went out. I've learned to hear when the saw is working too hard, and about to blow, so I've avoided that. I've been thinking of running a battery-powered lantern while I'm in the shop or something too- just in case. Nothing like being in the dark with a spinning blade slowing down a foot or two in front of you, and a projectile (wood) in between.

But, I've had no accidents because I try to do everything else right (to the best of my knowledge- which could still use some improving probably) around safety with these machines.

So I'm sanding down two SMALL blocks of wood. I have them in a clamp, and I'm using my dads ROS (my belt sander, Dewalt, died and is "in the shop"). I have the wood in clamps so I don't have to hold it, and I"m kind of bent over sanding. I take the ROS off the wood to look closely (I had goggles and respirator on- so not what you're thinking), and there's a ton of dust on the project. I had the sander just slightly tilted, and go to brush the dust off with the other hand. Somehow, in my lack of attention, my left wrist grazes the sander at an angle as I do this motion and I manage to sand my wrist raw in about.....0.01 seconds.

NOw, the point is that I wasn't paying attention, and I wasn't having enough respect for the ROS. Just because it didn't have a blade doesn't mean I didn't have to pay attention. Even after it happened, I almost didn't do anything about the cut, but then decided to go clean it. I didn't think I could have a bad cut because "it's just sand paper". Well, it's not a BAD cut, but it's worse than I thought and I've got to keep it clean and bandaged. In a week it will be fine- but I guess that was god telling me to smarten up. Be more careful- and never assume that you don't have to be careful because "it's just a {insert tool here}".

Lesson learned- you guys can feel free to laugh at me for my clumsiness and ability to hurt myself with an ROS. It's like a bad rug burn.

I think there's two morals that should be learned.
1. Pay attention to every tool until it stops turning... Then you can put it down (if hand held) and llok at the wood or cut or anything else. Don't try and do something else while the motor is still spinning down!

2. Yoiu should not be popping breakers in normal use with your saw. What this means is probably you have other items on your circuit - I know for a fact that you have lights on it! Probably you are using several amps that could be going to the saw to make your cuts. Key culprits are:
lights, Vac, stereos, fans, refrigerators, air compressors etc.

Get those guys off or on another circuit and you won't be in the dark and probably won't be popping breakers either.

[billwmeyer]

Bad Weekend for Safety

Well, i wasn't going to post this either, but I had a close call today. I was helping my daughter clean up her yard. She purchased her house this year, and the yard hasn't been more than mowed for years. Live and dead tree limbs were hanging to the ground all over. The city has a free clean up week coming up, so we started trimming limbs and bundling them in 4' lengths as the city requires. I had an old miter saw that was missing the guard (it came loose and caught up in the blade a while back). I decided that I could cut the limbs quickly into the required length with that saw and if I burned up the saw, it was going in the trash anyway. I was getting tired,and was in a routine, then It got me. I finished cutting a limb, and I turned to grab another one, when I felt pain in my fingers. I got close enough to the blade for it to grab my glove and pull my hand into the blade. The glove pulled off of my hand and wrapped around the blade stopping it. I got a small cut on my middle finger, a small nick on my ring finger, and lost part of my nail and a small bit of skin on my pinky.

I was forced to go the emergency room (hysterical wife) but I really didn't need to. They cleaned it and pulled off the loose skin and nail, and bandaged it. So, I am lucky, no worse for the wear, and now have a fresh tetnus shot. It is hard to type without using the pinky though. It creates a lot of typos.

The saw is offically retired as it should have been.

Be careful out there!

Bill

[lrogers]

Well, it seems that we all have been lucky recently. I want to thank all of you for your words of concern. I hope all or our admissions will stress just how quickly bad stuff can happen when using ANY power or hand tool. This is a very rewarding hobby, but one that can be very unforgiving.

I hate admitting that I did something so stupid, but it saves someone else from making a similar mistake, it's worth it.

Even though I have a ton of work to do on this toy box project, Sunday was a "safety stand down" at the REDNECK WORKSHOP.

On a happier note, I got to fly the Freya over the weekend and it seems that the tail kick problem has been solved. It's a really nice flying helo and looks in the air! Hopefully, before much longer my skill level as a pilot will rise to the level that I can really tear up the sky with it.

[Stytooner]

Let's be careful out there.

[oakchas]

Yep, we've all been there, done that! I get my stitches out today after trying to put a nice 1/4" rabbet in my thumb at the router table...

I'd done 40 some pieces in exactly the same way.. no problem... Complacency set in... Bang! next thing I'm holding pressure on my thumb, shutting everything down and riding to the hospital.

Using the gRRippers would have been too "cumbersome." Not using them cost a "pound of flesh."

To learn from our mistakes and improve is great... To learn from other's mistakes and avoid them is better and less expensive.

[cabinetman]

I was going to repost the "Safety Glasses" video, but I know everybody always wear them (sure they do). Fortunately, I have lived thru all my cuts and scrapes, have all my fingers out to their ends. But I will bring up the long term dangers that are as serious as the close call nicks. I don't care what anyone says about what is or isn't harmful. I can say without doubt, that the exposure to chemicals, either on the skin or inhaling, dust, and noise has it's effect on the human body. In my case, it's been over a 30+ year exposure on almost a daily basis. I think about what changes I could have made to insure a better work environment, and the answer is very little. Between a complete dust system, spray booth, dust masks, respirators, rubber gloves, open ventilated areas, not much else to add.

The idea of WW as a profession may sound exciting and challenging to some, but it's a constant effort to produce. In the quest to save time (time is money), sometimes precautions were sidestepped. I think being so involved, a certain tolerance is developed that the signs disappear. For the last 4-5 years I have made serious changes in my work habits. I would never notice the smell of lacquer thinner or contact cement. Now, I can open a can of lacquer thinner and smell it 15 feet away, and it makes me naucious. I have gone to almost entirely waterbased products.

How bad can it get you ask? Five years ago, I was watering the toilet and noticed a couple drops of the red stuff. Didn't think anything of it, I felt fine, and thought it was just one of those things. Couple of days later same thing. Go to the doctor and find out I need bladder surgery. I couldn't believe I had bladder cancer. I was told that if left untreated, I had about 3-4 months. I had two cystoscopic surgeries to remove an 18mm tumor. Had to get cystoscopies every three months thereafter. If you don't know what that is, it's where they stick a tube up ole willie with a camera on the end for a looksee. Not a lot of fun. I prefer a pencil in the eye, or a root canal.

So, besides a close call getting cut, or whammed with a piece of wood, shop safety takes on many areas. Some you can control. I'm not trying to scare anyone away from the craft. Maybe the answer is to always think about shop safety, what may hurt you, and how to protect from injury. Sometimes it's as simple as just not being ignorant.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Brian in Dawson Creek]

I really don't like reading threads like this, but force myself to read every post. Learning from others misfortune is truly a sad way to learn, but my hat goes off to any individual willing to share what he has learned the hard way.

Brian