Large Scale Central

!SHOP SAFETY!

General Discussion
#1

It’s fall so lots of people are gearing up to go inside and do shop work. Today, i nearly blinded or worse, killed myself. Remember folks, power tools can cripple and kill you quicker than you think!! Be aware, be safe. My story I was working with the table saw, an ole girl from the 50’s. Solid saw cuts true but it has an open rear mounted twin shaft motor. I never wear loose cloths around it, wear safety glasses and generally follow all the safety guidlines. This morning I was leaning down and got the string from my hoodie caught in the shaft. My work shirt has it removed, I was wearing a different one. It wound up so quick it almost drug my face into the blade. I think the bill of my hat bottomed out on the deck it stopped me from splitting my head wide open. It all happened faster than i could blink. Here’s the hat. Shame, it was comfortable.

Think I’m gonna kick back, drink a few beers and enjoy life today. Stay safe, Terry

#2

WOW! Close call Terry, a few beers sounds like a great option. Keep safe!
Matt

#3

YIKES!!!

We all do it, we just need a reminder from time to time. Thanks for the reminder!

Oh, might want to build a guard for that motor… :smiley:
.

#4

After 30 some odd years of using a table saw, it still scares the piss out of me sometimes…took a chunk out of my thumb a bunch of years ago…

Quote:
Think I'm gonna kick back, drink a few beers and enjoy life today.
Sounds like a plan!!
#5
Ken Brunt said:
After 30 some odd years of using a table saw, it still scares the piss out of me sometimes.......
Scariest tool I own. Only thing that "wories" me more is the prop blade on my R/C airplanes/heli's (Nothing like a 22" blade swinging at 8,000 rpm to get your attention).

Open wheeled grinders are right up there too!

#6

Wow. Heck of a reminder! Thanks for sharing that.

In my own shop, I follow the HALT rule. No power tools if Hungry, Angry, Loaded (drinking) or Tired.

Sometimes I stay out of the shop for months…

#7

Terry maybe time to upgrade that ol’ gal into something with some modern safety features?

I still have my grandpa’s Skillsaw, one of them early original ones without a blade guard. Works great, used it alot until I met a old friend of my sisters who told me how one day on a job he jossled one just like it after it cutting something, right onto his thigh! he says the only thing that saved his life was that the blade missed his major artery, thanks to quick work by his coworkers and that paramedics got their quickly he was OK-eventually…but you should what an ugly scar it left :open_mouth:

I don’t use that Skillsaw anymore, nor will I sell it to anyone else to use.

#8

One of those sayings you often hear is “You can’t fix stupid!”… WHAT they DON’T say is that MOST of us have a LOT of “stupid” lurking just beneath the intelligent surface, that’s just waiting to get out (and hurt us).

We ALL “know better”, yet we ALL cut corners. and 90%+ of the time we get away with it.

Another old saw was “Familiarity breeds contempt”… I’m not sure about “contempt”, but often used tools do very much breed a certain lack of vigilance, even laziness.

You may say “NEVER AGAIN!” now… but revisit this thread in 6 months or a year. One of the greatest traits that has allowed our species to survive horrifying events, war and famine is our ability to forget… one of the greatest constant threats to our wellbeing is that same trait.

#9

No crap! Thanks for the report Terry. Glad you got away unscathed. And yea put a cover over the moving parts and be careful around the blade. edited to say hang the hat up close to the saw for a constant reminder

#10

Wow Terry - Glad you escaped with only a ruined hat. Table saws are great tools but really demand respect.

Michael Moradzadeh said:
Wow. Heck of a reminder! Thanks for sharing that.

In my own shop, I follow the HALT rule. No power tools if Hungry, Angry, Loaded (drinking) or Tired.

Sometimes I stay out of the shop for months…


Michael - I hope that’s because your’e H A or T, but not L for months at a time :slight_smile:

#11

Another reason I pay other people to do my manual labor…:slight_smile:

#12

Many years ago I had an instance whereby my power drill chuck snagged a shirt I was wearing and physically tore the shirt from me. Several years ago, using a Dremel with a thin cutting disc to do some precision cutting, I noticed a pool of blood forming on the ground beneath me. Unbeknown to me I had sliced one-third through my finger tip at the first joint. It is an unreal sensation when something like this happens and it does take a little time to realise the situation has occurred. I will forever remember the incident as the cutting disc severed a nerve in my finger leaving me with no sensation.

Fortunately for me I remembered an old wive’s tale my wife had told me about tobacco and cuts. It seems that tobacco has a disinfecting property on wounds. Being home alone, I rummaged my wife’s ashtray for some used cigarette butts and unravelled them to get some tobacco. I placed the tobacco on the wound and wrapped in tissue. Remember my finger was sliced one-third through at the fist joint and yet apart from loss of nerve sensation the wound healed perfectly with no scarring. I consider tobacco as an evil on society but it seems the Central American indians were well versed in its healing properties, something the Conquisadors and the English ‘privateers’ overlooked when they transported the leaves back to Europe.

Another old wive’s tale that works - toothpaste on burns - try it!!!

#13

Holy carp!! That’s too close for comfort! I think you just used up a whole year’s worth of luck.

#14

Thanks for the reminder, and glad you dodged the bullet

#15

thats why we have a saw stop at the high school… saves fingers…
you know the table saw that will not cut a hot dog…

#16

Wow…I know how you feel. :o Last century I was cutting some strip wood on my Dremel Table Saw…and I wondered about this line of red that suddenly appeared on the wall - all the way to the ceiling! I had sliced off the tip of my thumb and never felt a thing.

Nice to know you’re safe.

#17

Hey Terry, glad to see that the only casualty was your hat and of course a few years off your life. I have to agree with what has already been said.

  1. Keep the hat close as a reminder.
  2. Fix the saw or get a new one that is safer.
    I’ve been fortunate, 18 years as a machinist and another 20 years in construction and the owner/operator of a cabinet shop and I still have all my fingers and no major accidents.

Keep safe my friend.
Chuck

#18

I never liked that hat, anyway! Just kidding, glad your all right.

-Kevin.

#19
daniel peck said:
thats why we have a saw stop at the high school.... saves fingers........ you know the table saw that will not cut a hot dog....
I have sent you an E-Mail asking you to do an experiment with the Saw Stop, if you don't mind Daniel.
#20
Dave Marconi said:
daniel peck said:
thats why we have a saw stop at the high school.... saves fingers........ you know the table saw that will not cut a hot dog....
I have sent you an E-Mail asking you to do an experiment with the Saw Stop, if you don't mind Daniel.
If its the one I've seen videos of, it stops the blade by essentially sacrificing the saw mechanism by jamming the hell out of it and sacrificing the blade and mechanism.