Scary stuff...

[robinson46176]

I watch a number of home rehab shows and it seems like lately I'm talking to the screen more. You know, saying things like "why are you standing on the top of a 4' ladder idiot?" Or "The front end of that board you are ripping is almost an inch up off of the saw table, are you nuts?"... Do you think I'm watching "First time flippers"? Usually not but that can be a whole other scary thing. The people I mention first here are supposedly professionals.
I have admitted that I am a bit of a tool freak but I just can't believe how many "professionals" show up to do a job without having the tools for the job. I just can't believe how many "professionals" I see on TV who use a cheap bench saw sitting on the ground to make hundreds of cuts. If you don't want to pop for a decent saw on a wheeled stand at least build a pair of those saw-horses I'm so bored of seeing built on short spots 10 times an evening, and tack a piece of plywood on the top.
Speaking of "First Time Flippers". Have you ever watched some of these people hang ceiling drywall? Dang people... You expect to make $30,000 to $100,000 off of this flip, for Pete's sake go buy a $200 drywall jack. As I watch them hang a ceiling sheet with maybe only 6 screws really holding anything I really wonder how many of those ceilings come crashing down a year or two later, possibly even causing injury? You never see any follow ups. BTW, don't install ceiling drywall standing with one foot on the kitchen counter and the other on the dining table.
About a week ago I saw a lady using a compound miter-saw and she was actually raising the moving part of the guard by hand and then making the cut... I didn't even know one would move like that, maybe hers was broken. I saw another where the entire guard (both the movable and the stationary parts) were gone and 360 degrees of the blade was visible. I only saw one cut with that. (shudder) And why on earth do so may of these folks hold the board being cut by placing their fingers right next to the cut. Nuts...


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[Hobbyman2]

LOL I get what you are saying . no one stays any where more then a few yeas now so no one cares .

[algale]

Very true, Farmer.

[RFGuy]

I agree Farmer...I don't get to see much of the home improvement shows anymore since I cancelled my TV subscriptions, but I know what you mean. There are a few woodworking related YouTube channels that I like to watch. One of them, who will remain nameless, thinks it is okay to climb on scaffolding to hang lights in their brand new woodworking shop WHILE their head is very near a big ass fan (company name) that is running. I believe in safety in the shop, but I get that safety guards often need to be removed for the sake of filming to educate, etc., etc. However, why on Earth would someone think it is "okay" to work near a massive ceiling fan while it is running? Complete lack of common sense? Anyway, just one example of some of the insanity one will see on YouTube and other social media related to our craft. You have to take all of it with a grain of salt, because otherwise it can drive you crazy if you get too invested in it...

[JPG]

Re: working in close proximity to a potential decapitating device:

That is the sort of thing I might do. Hazardous undertakings are sometimes the only way to get something done. However that risk must first be recognized as such and dealt with so as to prevent the bad scene. Also required so as to prevent undesired results is to understand the nature of the risk so to speak. Think through what MIGHT happen so as not to be surprised if and when it does and to take action to prevent it.

Now I would not however document that risky undertaking for some idiots to think it is "OK" for them to unconsciously do the same.

[garys]

I simply don't watch those kind of programs.

A simple thing to remember is to never get advice from someone who knows less than you already know.

[JPG]

I simply don't watch those kind of programs.

A simple thing to remember is to never get advice from someone who knows less than you already know.

But But is that not EVERYONE else?

[jsburger]

I simply don't watch those kind of programs.

A simple thing to remember is to never get advice from someone who knows less than you already know.

But But is that not EVERYONE else?

[mellowmarshmellow]

For tv, charisma and good looks are often selected for over expertise.

For YT, people who are good at manipulating the suggestion algo are rewarded over expertise.

Sometimes you get someone who has it all, but it seems like expertise is a secondary or tertiary concern for most media.

[wa2crk]

My daughter got me a book many years back by Norm Abram. 99 tips for the woodworker or some such title. After reading through the book I realized that my Grandfather already told me about 95 of them.
Bill V
P.S. I will turn 80 this year so my instruction was a loooong time ago