Shopsmith Forums

Not scared here, just respectful of any power tool.

The high speed stuff is scary. The router seems scariest because of the highest speed of rotation, but it probably should be the table saw because I end up too close to the dangerous part of that thing too often.

I'm cautious with any power tool, especially a circular saw or the SS table saw. But my most painful shop accident was when a 3' pipe clamp slipped off a cabinet I was gluing up and landed on my foot. The top of the foot turned black and blue and I hobbled around flat-footed in an unlaced sneaker for about a week. I wear safety shoes in the shop now.

I would have to say it's the jointer.

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Mountainbreeze -

ouch ! do you know how the finger ended up being cut on the jointer?

Yeah, it was just pure stupidity on my part. I was surfacing a piece of stock not using a push block and the tip of my finger got caught. Surprisingly, there was no pain until it came time for the lidocaine injections.

Mountainbreeze “wins”, for sure!

For me, the scariest tool is a circle cutter, in drill-press mode. It definitely has it’s uses, but I will only use mine in concert with my speed reducer, at 100 RPM. And even then, I clamp the workpiece very securely, wear goggles, and I don’t get any closer to it than the power switch and the quill-feed lever.

The one time I came close to needing stitches wasn’t even with a power tool. It was with a sharp chisel, and I was using it improperly. But I got lucky, and only did Band-aid class damage to myself. Now I have plenty of respect for edge tools as well.

I have been fortunate to not have any permanent injuries thus far from my shop. I hate to see when anyone gets hurt, particularly in their shop, so you have my sympathy. Some of the power carving tools scare the crap out of me. Like any tool, I know it comes down to the skill of the operator, but I am scared enough to be hesitant to even try these. Some of the ones that come to mind are for example the power carving attachments for angle grinders, etc. Incidentally, this is what Stumpy Nubs hurt himself on last year. Mistakes do happen so we all have to be diligent and respectful of our tools. Wishing everyone a safe 2021 in your shops...

Jointer is the one I'm extra careful with.

I have great respect for the jointer but never a fear. I suppose that is mostly because I was taught in the very beginning to avoid pushing anything through the jointer by hand. Use Push Blocks.

Edge Jointing is a bit different but still demands respect.